Nigerian Dwarf birth information and videos

Fair warning: it gets gross. If you didn't come here looking for a birthing video then turn back now! If you came here to research goat births, then you're in the right place! The videos below show Lucy Lou in various stages of delivering triplet does. I was by myself for some of the birth, and assisting with the birth at other times, so I didn't catch every moment and what I did catch is broken down into 5 separate recordings. If you (like me, once upon a time) are doing copious amounts of research trying to mentally prepare yourself for your first goat birth and all the fluids that will come with it, then these videos just might help you out.

Some background first: The day before she gave birth, LL started letting another goat's kid nurse from her. At that point we removed her from that pen to her own birthing stall. (We didn't want the older kid to use up all the colostrum meant for the new babies!) Her "birthing stall" was actually just a metal shed that we had cleaned out. She could hear her pals and see other goats that she didn't know very well yet, but that wasn't enough for her. She was fit to be tied in that shed. Fearing that she would hurt herself, get loose, or-worst of all- attract the attention of the local coyote population, I spent the night in the shed with her. Neither of us got any sleep.

I left the shed for about 15 minutes in the morning and then returned. She was acting funny (can't give specifics, but it was just odd behavior for her) and 5 minutes later her water broke. I'm actually not sure if that is technically a thing that happens with goats, but I swear that is what happened. She laid down, then stood back up and there was a huge splash. Then she started pushing. As soon as I realized what was happening, I pulled out my phone and pressed record.

After the second doe was born, I ran inside to get some extra cleaning supplies. I was inside for about 5 minutes, but when I came out she had already had the third doe. My mom was there, and she said it wasn't there and then it was. The second doe needed a bit of assistance coming out, so we think she stretched everything enough that the third one just slid out. LL didn't even notice the third baby laying in it's sack, until my mom started cleaning it off and it made noise. I'm very glad she was out there to help!