Coco's quintuplets -- left to right, doe at 3.5#, buck at 2.7#, doe at 2.8#, buck at 3.7#, and a doe at 3.5#. The vet said it was "a miracle" to have five big healthy kids. You don't see five kids very often, and at least one is usually a runt or stillborn. We are still missing Coco, but the babies are making us smile often. I can't believe that poor doe was carrying around 16 pounds of kids!
Here is the story on the quints birth and Coco's death:
http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum/topics/sometimes-everything-isn-t-enough
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Wow there they are , all 5 fat and healthy and as cute as can be.
They are absolutely beautiful ! Enjoy !
Thanks, Ruth! That is a very insightful comment. Coco was truly amazing at producing 4-5 large kids yearly from age 5 to 9. At age 4 and 3, she only had twins and triplets, and she miscarried at the end of her pregnancy as a 2-year-old, which was before we realized we had a copper deficiency problem in our herd. It was definitely the quads and quints that stretched the poor girl's uterus to an unnatural size! Her udder and belly were usually only about 4-5 inches from the ground by the end of her pregnancy. Sixteen pounds of kids would be normal for a standard size goat carrying twins!
As I said in a different thread, I had decided a month ago to never breed her again after this year. I realized that she was probably carrying quints again, which just seemed like a very bad idea for a 9-year-old doe. Last month I had a 10-year-old doe give birth to twins just fine, but she's only had twins for the past three years. Prior to that she'd always had triplets except for quads one year. I really liked the fact that her ovaries had the good sense to only release two eggs as she got older.
I will definitely be considering the number of kids per pregnancy in the future when deciding when to retire a doe. It isn't something that I had ever heard discussed in the past. What you said makes total sense about the uterus stretching and the increased risk of rupture. Having her uterus stretched to such an unnatural size for the fifth time at age 9 was probably a big part of the problem that led to her death.
Deborah , I am so sorry for your loss of Coco, I know this has been a tough time for you. You do such a good job of caring for your animals .
AND Wow! Those are beautiful kids! I looked at your website on Coco's breeding history. It is remarkable that Coco was successful at producing a total of 27 kids by the time she was nine (right?)years old!! Maybe we can all get some insight from this amazing Doe. I am new to goats but was an RN in Labor and Delivery for many years. In people, we know that the uterus does stretch incredibly and successfully through several pregnancys. However, Each pregnancy takes its tole. Eventually those muscles will wear out. Older Moms who have had many babies eventually become high risk for uterine muscle weakness and chances of rupture. The risks are compounded in multiple births. I wonder how many babies over a lifetime is a reasonable # to expect from a healthy doe? I read that it is wise to retire a doe from breeding around age 10. I also read that if they continue to be bred late in life that their death will almost certainly be from from birthing complications. I think is it amazing that they do not quit having heat cycles as they age (sure would be better if they had menopause!) If a Doe repeatedly has births of 3,4 or 5 kids would it be wise to retire her from breeding at a younger age? Deb, I know you are an amazing Goat keeper and do everything known to keep them all healthy. You did all that could be done for Coco, She was lucky to have you.
What a wonderful legacy Coco has left you Deborah, so sorry to hear about losing her. Beautiful kids indeed :)
A retirement farm for goat ladies! Gotta love it! :)
See, See! She was trying to make sure that I saw which one she was! She wanted me to get a good look at her! But, you see which one ended up posing pretty right? I love her coloring. I don't have anything that looks like that!
That's what I love about my new little doe of Karley's. She is so pretty and flashy with her awesome chocolatey roaned base color and all her moonspots, and I get to enjoy all that flash without guilt of conformation or milk being more important because she is mixed and will only be used to raise meat goats for us!
Patty, believe me, you would not want to live HERE with my wild bunch, but the land (just over 100 acres) I have my eye on, now I would let you come live there. If I get that, you will have to make plans to come retire down south with us and we will sit in our rockers and rock the kids while the younger folks do the hard stuff! And the men!
Ya'll can come retire there with us to Deb!
Margaret, I feel sure any goat would want to come stay with you! I think I want to come stay with you! :)
Deborah, I was going to ask how many pics you took to get that, so thanks for sharing. It figures Margaret and I would both just LOVE the little trouble maker. They're usually the cutest. :)
LOL! It took 34 shots to get ONE of all five kid's faces unobstructed by another kid! We had a good laugh trying to keep them lined up and snap pics before they'd move! And that one on the left was the worst. She kept running in front of the others.
No Patty! She told me she wanted to come stay with me! She typed me a private message and said that momma Deborah was going to have her hands full and that she wanted to come down south to get away from her brothers! She said she was going to be on the far left side of the picture and for me to look for her! He He!
That was amazingly good to get them to stay put! They are a wonderful looking bunch of kids! They all look so healthy and beautiful! Very happy for you that they are so strong!
Oh, so beautiful! What a great picture you managed to get of all five at once! :) I love that doeling all the way on the left! You must have your hands really full(er) now! It will be fun seeing them grow. Best wishes with the rest of the spring's kids!