My question is about Ginger. This was not her first pregnancy but the first time she delivered babies (had to be hand delivered but two full term babies, 5-lb. buckling and 3-lb doeling) and the first time she has had milk. A year ago, she miscarried a single 2-oz. mummified fetus from a pregnancy that went nearly full term. The day after, at the vet's recommendation, I emptied her udder from the fluid that was in it, not milk, likely from the shot the vet had given her to expel everything.
Last month, she had two full term babies and two undeveloped fetuses. I asked the vet why the fetuses; he said that they apparently did not get proper food supply and starved but no way of knowing for certain. Either way, because of circumstances, her babies are buried under the apple tree but she did have two full-term babies. She is milking and doing quite well, all things considered. Most of her milk is going to feed a rejected kid so it is not going to waste (I don't care for the flavor yet). I also have a good supply of colostrum in the freezer for an emergency that I hope never happens.
So, is Ginger a first freshener this year? At a goat association meeting last night, they said she is not a first freshener because she had a full-term pregnancy before. In my mind, because she did not have full-term babies (or even half-term babies) or milk, she is a first freshener, but is she?
Replies