Nutmeg Has a Baby!

Jan
10


Yesterday afternoon, I took Nutmeg a treat and asked her to hurry up because I was planning to make cheese and I was afraid I’d get started with a pot of cheese and then she’d have her baby. Just as soon as whenever I started the pot of cheese.

Nutmeg said she’d think about it, but she was busy nesting. She’d been holed up in the goat house all day. Knitting the last bootie. Making up the crib.

Not too busy to stop for a treat, though.

Then she went back to standing in the corner. (That’s just straw hanging off her bottom in this photo, by the way.)

Then she sat down. She’d been crouching and standing in the corner a lot. I figured if she was sitting down, she wasn’t about to have the baby. I expected her to crouch to have it. I’ve never seen a goat have a baby before.

I told her I was going to go start my cheese, MISSY, and I’d be back.

===Graphic photo alert===

As predicted, as soon as I started my pot of cheese, she went to hollering like someone was poking her in the eyeball with a hot stick. And something was coming out of her! It was– A BLOB! And she was still sitting down and everything. I was afraid she was having a miscarriage!

The blob turned out to be a head.

And the head turned out to be a sweet little baby.

Nutmeg reached around to behold what slimy thing she had spit out from her womanly petals and instantly fell in love with it.

It was up and on its feet in no time, under 10 minutes.

Please be advised that this is a graphic video of a real live goat birth. If you think it might gross you out, don’t watch it.


Mother and Baby are in fine form this morning. Mommy is contentedly feeding and Baby is bouncing around in the straw. It has Mr. Pibb’s brown coat with his black markings on the legs, back, and head.

It also has a dash of white on one side and a white top knot like its mama.

And dangles!!! It has dangles! (Wattles. Nutmeg has wattles, too. I love wattles.)

Plus a little frosting on the ears.

It’s going to be a gorgeous goat. After reviewing this handy page for identifying sex in baby goats, I am completely positive that it’s a BOY. It’s a mixed breed–half Nigerian Dwarf and half Fainting. A half Nigerian girl could still be a milker, but a half Nigerian boy won’t make anyone’s stud list. We’ll wether him and keep him as a pet. He’s too beautiful to let go to a hard life scrubbing brush for somebody.

How Rotunda could give birth to only one kid from that voluminous belly remains an unsolved mystery, though Nutmeg offered this explanation upon questioning.

“I had to save room–

–for cookies.”

Comments

  1. DustyRider says:

    Very cute baby, glad that the birth was uneventful. πŸ™‚

  2. Melissa says:

    I’m pretty sure he is saying, ‘put me back in! It is cold out here!’. What cute little bleats he makes.

  3. Becky says:

    ADORABLE!!!
    And I loved the video, too!

  4. Eunice Moore says:

    Thank you for sharing this miracle of birth. Nothing gross about it; I thought it beautiful. Beautiful baby, happy mommy,

  5. drucillajoy says:

    just beautiful…congratulation to Nutmeg & family…I love the cat supervising from above on the porch rail… & thank you Nutmeg for allowing full exposure to one of a woman’s more private moments on the world wide web πŸ™‚

  6. Rhonda says:

    congratulations to you all – he’s so cute!

  7. Becky says:

    Awesome….thank you for sharing the moment with us. I live vicariously thru this website. πŸ˜€

  8. Linda Segerson says:

    Baby is adorable! The video is so cool, it so amazing how God made “mommy animals” and “mommy humans” so much alike!

  9. Erika Williamson says:

    :sun:
    I miss having goats and sheep.
    It not that uncommon for first timers to have 1, just watch out for next year when she can have 2 or more..LOL

  10. CATRAY44 says:

    What a wonderful video!!! The baby is beautiful!

  11. Sally Dunn says:

    beautiful !!!!

  12. lauren says:

    Beautiful!!! Nutmeg did such a great job πŸ™‚

  13. I Wanna Farm says:

    I couldn’t stand to watch her cry in pain every time she pushed, so I skipped to the cute part. I remember that pain well, I wish they made epidurals for animals. lol What a sweet little baby with that sweet little voice. I’m glad you got to see this one.

  14. Carol Radtke says:

    He’s just handsome! Good job Nutmeg. As my goats always do, you always need to keep the humans guessing and of course, always start acctive labor when it is the most inconvinent for them!

  15. Carmen at Old House Kitchen says:

    So beautiful! All our kiddos enjoyed watching! Especially since our Nubian will be having a baby(ies) in the spring! Congrats to all!! :snoopy:

  16. CindyP says:

    Just beautiful! Congratulations, Nutmeg!

  17. IowaCowgirl says:

    “her womanly petals”?????

    Hilarious!

  18. Kathie says:

    That was wonderful. How long did the whole process take? I wanted to reach in and pull it out for her. Thanks for that. I will watch it again.

  19. Clarissa says:

    Sooooo cute!!! Looks, voice and all. Congratulations and thank you for sharing the video.

  20. Shelly Messier says:

    I am so happy for you, he will make a beautiful addition to your farm. Glad everything went well. It’s so exciting!!! :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

  21. Karo says:

    That baby is adorable. I’m so glad you’re going to keep him.

  22. Sharon says:

    Precious..just precious. Thanks for sharing the video..I’ve never seen a goat born and I love, love, love the little sweet bleating. Just want to cuddle him!!!

  23. Alyce Shane says:

    I have Nubian-Boer cross does ready to start spittin out the kids from Jan 28th through March. I’m a wreck!!!! So glad to see Nutmeg and baby is doing well! CONGRATULATIONS!

  24. Alyce Shane says:

    By the way, I watched your video in a classroom of 1st and 2nd graders! Great educational film! LOL!

  25. Nancy K. says:

    Excellent video, Suzanne! Don’t you just HATE it when they’re pushing so hard and crying and nothing’s coming out?! I get so worried about my ewes when they’re lambing. I pray like a nun when they’re in labor…

    Why on Earth did you time breeding so that they’d have the babies in January???????

    Wishing you many more Healthy (girl!) kids.

  26. Sarah says:

    That is the cutest little goat sound I have ever heard!!!! I just wanted to reach in and give the little guy kisses. So sweet!!

  27. Marianne G says:

    Amazing! Thanks for sharing and congratulations!

  28. jan~n~tn says:

    I’m so glad that Nutmeg was able to birth the kid with no assistance.
    Have re-watched the video 4 times now, to make sure my statements would be correct. He was in a partially wrong position at birth. Front hooves were headed toward the rear.
    True, it should be head first. But you should also have the two front hooves coming out under the nose, at the same time. Like people dive into a pool…kids, lambs, foals, dive into the world.
    Really proud of all involved. Great video. He’s one sweet Fizzy.

  29. Merlin says:

    Awww, so cute! :happyfeet: I wanted to cuddle with the little :hug: fuzzball!!!! Nothin’ gross about a birth! :sun: Congrats!!!!

  30. Teresa says:

    He is too cute! I want a baby goat so bad, but can’t have one right now. Thanks for sharing.

  31. Barbee' says:

    Love the little mommy sounds she makes to her baby. Thank you letting us be there, too.

  32. Shirley Corwin says:

    How could anyone think that is gross. It was so neat, I haven’t ever seen a goat give birth. Horses, dog and cats yes!
    Her (your) baby is beautiful!!! And don’t you just love the first little calls the mother and baby make to each other!

  33. windspiritwhimsies says:

    Aaaah, the joy of motherhood! Great job Nutmeg! What a beautiful new baby! :heart:

  34. Anita says:

    Aww! What cute little baby noises!

  35. Miss Becky says:

    this was a common scene for me as I grew up on a farm and witnessed many a birth throughout my childhood. One thing I never got over though? Having a strong desire to help out the mother and push for her. Oftentimes my dad would have to “pull” a calf, as the birth was just taking too long. congratulations on another birth at Stringtown Rising Farm Suzanne. And thanks for sharing this joyous occasion. It was beautiful! I’m glad Nutmeg and baby are doing fine. Glad it’s over… :yes:

  36. Diane says:

    Congrats!!!! Looks like a beautiful baby goat as well. Nutmeg did well.

  37. Kelly in TX says:

    Absolutely PRECIOUS. He really is a beautiful little boy and I can tell that Nutmeg is a good mama. Congratulations again – I know y’all will enjoy him!

  38. Joy says:

    How precious (the whole experience, I’m sure)!! :heart: I too love the sounds she is making at the end and the little baby bleats. :moo:

  39. Casey says:

    What an adorable little baby! Such sweet little noises at the end of the video too. Congrats Nutmeg!

  40. whaledancer says:

    That little Squirt is too cute for words, and Nutmeg looks justifiably smug.

  41. Patty says:

    Congrats on the exciting birth!! While she still has colostrum, milk out some extra and freeze it in ice cube trays just in case you or any of your goat friends need some. This has really saved me a couple of times. Nutmeg looks like a great Mommy!! A good mommy is worth it’s weight in gold. I just love it when the kids start flipping around. :0)

  42. Sheila says:

    The little one is so adorable πŸ™‚ , I loved the video (such a beautiful miracle) even though my hubby raised his eyebrows at me as I watched it LOL.

  43. holstein woman says:

    Happy baby, and momma. Glad all went well and both are fine. Thanks for sharibg the birth. What a beautiful thing God created.
    :happyfeet: :hug: Good Job Nutmeg and Mr Pibb!
    I have a theory I share with my husband about looks of animals because he always wants his calves to be black since the bull is Angus. The first one always looks like the dad and the second looks like the mom. So, not that it will matter, when Nutmeg has second baby it should be her coloring. It has always worked like that here.

  44. JOJO says:

    :woof:
    The miracle of birth is always a special event, it is amazing how Mommy cleaned the baby’s face right away so she could breathe. another of Gods’s miracle.
    Bless them both.

  45. Vicki in So. CA says:

    Sooooo cute! Thanks for posting the video. The mommy noises and baby bleats at the end made me smile. Congratulations to Nutmeg. Looks like she’s already an excellent mommy. Hugs to everyone. :hug:

  46. Julie says:

    Congratulations Suzanne. What a sweet baby!!

  47. CherShots says:

    Good job Nutmeg! He looks like a little anise drop or a piece of licorice. lol Thanks for sharing the birth. Your little hobby farm just keeps on growing. πŸ˜€ It took me back to when my folks raised sheep and it was lambing season.
    ‘hugs from afar’

  48. WAMMY says:

    :snoopy: I’m doing the happy dance for you all. Congrats!

  49. Mary says:

    Thanks for the opportunity to “see” a farm birth. That was too cool, and she is so cute!

  50. Adrianne says:

    Thank you so much for posting all of this!! The video was wonderful to watch. I am hoping to have goats in the spring and it is great to see kidding actaully HAPPEN! Love the blog and everything you do!

  51. Journey11 says:

    Yea! That was awesome; I enjoyed the whole documentary. The squacking in the background was a bit unnerving at first. I wouldn’t want that soundtrack playing at my labor. Ha. It was hard to tell at first what was what when he was all slimy, but he’s so cute now that he’s cleaned up. I love that little white dot on his noggin!

  52. Melissa (N4M) says:

    So adorable…congratulations πŸ˜€

  53. Debby says:

    Well I must say, that was quite interesting Suzanne!!!! That baby goat is adorable and I loved the comment about saving room for cookies at the end of your story. I am moving to rural West Virginia in the next few months and I have been reading your blog for sometime now preparing myself for my new adventure!!!! I hope to love it as much as you do.

  54. Jackie Georgiou says:

    Just watched this video with my 3 1/2 year old (who is no stranger to watching live births) and she was in LOVE immediately! Thanks for sharing Suzanne!

  55. Blessings says:

    Congrats on the beautiful lil guy! Thanks for sharing.

  56. catslady says:

    Beautiful!!! Her tongue should be tired lol.

  57. Deb says:

    Ahhh totally adorable!! Can’t wait till we start having our kids, they are always my favorite babies on the farm…our new calf is cute, but not as cute as goat kids. πŸ™‚

  58. Grammie Earth says:

    Good job NUTMEG! Your lil one is just as cute as can be…I love the baby teeth pic (third to last)! Do kids get ‘second teeth’?

    Great video!

    Pam

  59. Edie says:

    What sweet little baby bleats! Congrats! :snoopy:

  60. Nancy in Iowa says:

    Oh, my! There was nothing gross about that beautiful birth – maybe a little teensy bit icky, but definitely not gross. What a beautiful site the birth of any infant is!!! Were the chickens trying to help her through her contractions?

    Congratulations to Nutmeg and her humans…I remember when she was just a little kid arriving at Stringtown Rising with her Mom and brother. Now comes the naming part! And, uh, Suzanne, are you SURE it’s a boy? Hee Hee…..

  61. EightPondFarm says:

    Congratulations Nutmeg!! I agree with the video-viewer above: NO GUINEAS should be allowed to attend births!! Goats make enough noise on their own (so unusual for ewes and that is what I am used to) — except for the mommy noises. Is there anything better than those?? And I love seeing the “steam” coming off his wet little self. Oh, good job, Mommy Nutmeg!

  62. glenda says:

    I enjoyed the birth! Goats are a whole new thing for me. Very like a cow calving. I got nervous for her and when she bleated, I wanted to tell her it would be over soon. I feel their pain.

  63. Susan says:

    Absolutely amazing video! Congrats to all!

  64. mary ellen says:

    I am so proud of Nutmeg. We are hoping to have kids of our own this April and I am reeeeeeeealy nervous! Nutmeg, you deserve all the cookies you want.

  65. Yvonne says:

    Now you have to have a name contest….some interesting combination of a spice and a soda name…LOL! He is precious and I hope he’s warm enough, been worried about that. Thanks for sharing the video with us.

  66. Lynne says:

    What a sweet little baby!

  67. marymac says:

    Thanks for sharing this life’s little miracles Suzanne.

  68. Jim in Colorado says:

    WOW! What can you say. One of gods miracles. Cute little bugger.
    That tuff of white fur on his head is like a dab of whip cream.

  69. wvhomecanner says:

    Dab of whipped cream – yeah, good point Jim!
    So – name him Latte’?
    Cappy, short for Cappuccino?

  70. Linda Goble says:

    So cute indeed. DO you worry about getting to cold out there for it? Do you have to run a heat lamp for the baby? How many goats are due? I think you talk about nutmeg having one.
    Congratulations!!!!

  71. Donna Mc says:

    Precious! I especially love his wee little bleats. Just makes me want to hug him. And congrats to Nutmeg – verra brave lil’ goat! And congrats to Nanny Clovers and to you, too. Wahoo!

  72. 4jsMOM says:

    Thanks for the wonderful video. I just wanted to be there in person to hold the new little one. Congratulations to everyone at the farm.

  73. annabel52 says:

    Oh so sweet…Nutmeg did really good.She will be a great mommy.
    The little guy was born on Elvis birthday. That could be his middle name…

  74. Mother of a ROCKSTAR says:

    Wow, my 14 year old daughter and I watched the birth. We were on pins and needles waiting for the baby. Great video. What is his name? Weight,and height? When will the rest of the gang meet him? He is adorable, thanks for allowing us to be apart of Nutmeg birthing party.

  75. Barbara W says:

    So cute. Glad it went well.

  76. Michelle says:

    I’ll bet that if you asked my husband, he’d say that I made that same sound when I was in labor. πŸ˜‰

    Congrats Great Granny(?) Suzanne! He’s beautiful! :sheep:

  77. Brenda E says:

    Oh how wonderful you shared the video. What an amazing thing – and the baby is so cute – I love the little sound he makes. I just wanted to run over and give them warm blankets though – it looks so cold. Congrats on the new kid on the block – now for a name – what are you going to name him?????? hmmmmmmm

  78. Lindsay says:

    Oh mt gosh he’s so cute!!!!! I’m glad they’re both healthy and happy! I didn’t watch the video yet (we’re about to eat!).

  79. Lindsay says:

    That video was nerve-wracking! I kept thinkin she’d never get that little guy out! Poor thing looks so bewildered! He’s adorable and Nutmeg was being such a good mama…

  80. Patty in TN says:

    Oh thanks for posting the video! Like the others said I wanted to help her push haha. Nutmeg is such a good mama already! Love the sounds they were making to each other. He’s so beautiful!

  81. Richelle says:

    Congratulations! I think Spice would be a nice name for him… this way you’ll always remember who his mother was… and you will lose track after a couple of years of having goats’babies, I promise you. Lovely to hear the communication between Nutmeg ans Spice. Brought back nice memories.

  82. Jill Garofano says:

    I’m in love and glad that we dont have to lick our babies when we give birth!! LOL!! Congratulations Suzanne!! what a cutie!!

    Jill from NY

  83. Lisa says:

    So CUTE !!!! I’m glad you are keeping him. :woof:

  84. Connie says:

    Congrats Mama Nutmeg and Granny Suzanne! What an adorable little baby!

  85. Linda Goble says:

    whoops met to say is Clover due to have one, silly me it was nutmeg that had the little cutie. I like the name pepper too. Maybe DR. Pepper. Thanks for taking the time to film this precious moment for all of us to see.

  86. lavenderblue says:

    Golly, see what you miss when you don’t check in with this blog every half hour or so. How beautiful. May the rest of your kids be girls, so you can build up a good strong milking herd.

    Suzanne, how will you keep him warm? I so want a little farmette, but when it gets as cold around here as it is now, I find myself feeling very grateful that I didn’t get around to building that shed for the rabbits this year and still have to bring them into the unheated backporch. I’d have no idea how to keep chickens and baby animals warm in a big old barn.

  87. DarleneS says:

    What a beautiful thing to see. Nutmeg is a very good mama. The baby looked so strong right from the start. I am glad you got to be there for the birth.

  88. Ramona says:

    I wimped out on watching the vid.

    But, I do like the picture of nutmeg and the description of hollering like someone was poking her in the eyeball with a hot stick!

  89. Sandi says:

    OMG – so stinkin cute!!!!!!!!!!! :sheepjump:

  90. Tovah says:

    Well, I’ll say that I thought the video was a bit gross and I felt bad for Nutmeg but when the baby was born…SO CUTE! Suddenly I was jealous that I didn’t get to be there in person. I loved his little blets. What a cutie! Looking forward to more updates about him (her?) is he officially a boy?

  91. Tonya says:

    He’s just darling! I want to hold him and hug him close. There’s actually a Korean rock band named Spicy Soda…who knew??

  92. Andrea McCardle says:

    I grew up on a beef farm, but am an aspiring goat famer (one of these days)! I am so glad you showed the video!! And your description of the birth was nothing less than hilarious. Way to go Nutmeg! Also, I’m from WV too, and to me you are the WV equal to The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond). love your blog!

  93. Sandi says:

    Just had my kids (4 & 3 years old) watch the video. They just loved it and asked me to play it again. I’m so glad you posted that. What special thing to watch. I don’t think it’s gross. I think it’s wonderful.

  94. Shar says:

    CONGRATS!!! I needed a kid fix! I have to wait til mid March here.

  95. claudia w says:

    I just finally got a chance to sit and read this post. How wonderful it is! That sweet little baby. I love the little noise he makes!

  96. Denise says:

    There is nothing more precious than to see the birth of any animal. I have goats and have seen mine kid 3 times now. Just awesome! Congrats to all. Here is a thought on keeping the little one warm: take a sleeve off an old sweatshirt, cut holes where the legs go and slip it on over the head and down the body. I did this and it works well. Be sure to cut away where they pee. I live in northern Michigan and we get lots of snow!

  97. Susan M. says:

    That was amazing !!!! Congratulations to Nutmeg and family !!!
    This was the first time I ever saw a video of a birth ! Beautiful…
    And what a darling little one she had too ! I bet life on the farm is about the best it can be !
    Great job, Suzanne !!!

  98. Shay Robertson says:

    :shimmy: Your photos are wonderful!!! I just had my first goat baby deliveries last summer – First one arrived at 12:30 4th of July, of course a male, then his sister 45 minutes later. What a blast. Of course we kept Junior and had him whethered. The first baby born to a herd is toooo precious to sell!! LOL!!! Junior’s cousins were born two weeks later. I was lucky enough to sell all three of the babies we were not going to keep to a school teacher friend of mine – she spoils them as much as I do mine – I have not tried cookies with my girls, but they do loooooove their molasses!!! LOL!!! Going to vote for Bloggies next. Shay (Bucky & The Baaaad Girls” – my web site is under construction!

  99. Nina Roberts says:

    What an amazing thing!! Thank you for sharing with us the Birth of the new Beautiful Baby. So happy to know the family is doing well. Nina Roberts { California}

  100. Jeanne says:

    His little bleats are the cutest thing ever! They made me laugh out loud with their cuteness! Glad he and momma are doing well.

  101. Lyn says:

    What a cutie he is, well done Nutmeg what you going to call him?
    love
    Lyn
    xxx

  102. Laura Fears says:

    Brought me to tears…
    What a beautiful thing to see nature’s little miracle take place…

  103. Sheryl says:

    If I had my life to live over, I’d want to be right where you are today :happyflower: Enjoy your new baby kid =)

  104. Amy G. says:

    What a good mama and what a beautiful baby! Good luck and Happy Easter πŸ™‚

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