They’re now running at full speed and literally bouncing off of anything in their way, including their mamma, walls, whatever. This video was taken a couple days ago, but just this morning, Gioia conquered that ledge in the wall!

Yes, our little over-achiever and her twin sister will be two weeks old tomorrow.

Ah, in case you missed the announcement on Facebook, the girls’ names are Gemma (JEM-mah; jewel) in my lap & Gioia (JOY-ah; joy) looking on (and just after that, leaping on):

Gemma (left) and Gioia

And you can also see another goat video at the Goat Berries Facebook page as well, so be sure to like us!

The goat sitter

Her name is Luna, and she comes with excellent references.

She’s a first-class mutt, but we’re pretty sure she’s a border collie at heart.

Oh, and she wants me to note that she plays well with other dogs (so long as they’re male) and will work for pancetta.

The newest additions

If you’d like more deets, the sequence of events went a little like this:

** 2 p.m. - I did a normal afternoon check on her, and she was pacing around, bleating *way* more than usual, and generally starting to look nervous. Her back was more arched, the ligaments around her spine were pretty loose (I had noticed they were loosening the day before, and for not goatie people, this is a sure sign that labor is coming because those ligaments loosen to make it easier to push out a kid or two), and her sides were hollowing out (meaning the baby or babies were dropping into place).

All classic goat labor signs.

I stayed with her and called Paolo to let him know it was happening, and that he could find me at the pen.

The last time she gave birth, she started having contractions within a half hour or so of this kind of behavior, so I wasn’t about to go anywhere.

** Between 3 p.m. and 5:35 p.m - I stayed with her most of the time as she got up and laid back down, got up and laid back down, paced back and forth, looked glassy-eyed on and off and also had slightly bloodshot eyes, pawed at the ground a few times, and started talking in her mamma voice, quieter than a bleat and more like mumbling toward her belly.

Again, more classic goat labor signs, and they were intensifying, so I knew it must be getting closer, although I’m not going to lie — I did wonder how long these types of symptoms could go on before there was a problem. I know that if a goat is actively pushing and nothing is happening for 20 to 30 minutes, there could be issues, but I wasn’t able to find information on how long the signs of labor could go on before active labor began — apparently it’s at least three to four hours.

I kind of got the feeling like she didn’t want or need me there this time — a strong contrast to last time when she literally called me into the pen to sit with her. I wasn’t offended, and I took a couple breaks from the pen over the course of those hours, probably ten minutes at a time.

Paolo had come home in the meantime and sat with us both at the pen for a bit; then we decided we were hungry so he went to get some provisions at the store.

** 5:35 p.m. - Paolo brought me back a sandwich, and although normally I would have just eaten it there at the pen, something told me to go to the house.

I told Pasqualina before I left, “If you’re not going to need my help, please go ahead and do this on your own to save your ma some stress — but if you’re going to need my help, please wait until I get back.”

She didn’t need my help.

** 6:00 p.m. - I returned to the pen to this scene:

Goat birth delivery scene

When they say goat birth happens fast, that’s how fast it can happen — she hadn’t even had a contraction before I left, or if she did, she disguised it well (last birth, the contraction was unmistakeable because she *screamed* out).

The second kid was probably out for a couple minutes when I showed up as she was still behind Pasqualina and hadn’t been cleaned off at all. The first placenta was already passing, and both passed within an hour.

Many of the goat sites I’ve read discuss an involved process of assisting with goat births, including “helping” the mamma clean the kids and other actions — we don’t do anything but let the mamma take care of things. We watch closely to make sure it’s all getting done, of course, but the weather was nice, so there was no fear of the babies being too cold or anything like that. The umbilical cords took care of themselves (as they have done in the previous three goat births we’ve had here), so we were just watching while the little ones got their legs.

Pasqualina laid on her side for a good long time after the births, so when she finally got up, one of the kids went for her first meal pretty quickly. The other needed some guidance, so this is an example of where we will step in if needed. She was a stubborn sucker, pun intended, but I finally got her to take the teat by opening her mouth with my hand and getting her to start sucking on my finger — from there I just transferred it to the teat, and she got her first meal in as well.

Here is Day 2, and she’s already an old pro:

This teat is mine.

They both peed to let us know they were girls and then also both passed their first sticky, tar-like poop (meconium), and we breathed a little sigh of relief. As we all know, anything can always still go wrong, but getting those babies out healthy was a *big* relief — and my sweet dam did it all herself and saved me stress in the process.

We still haven’t named them, but I joked with Paolo before they were born that if they were girls, they’d be “Gem” and “Elle” — the word in Italian for twin girls is gemelle, but I’m not sure the names really fit them, so we’re still thinking about it.

Now on Day 3, both are bouncing and running around like mad little goaties — just as it should be — except when I snatch them up for cuddles.

Me and the new babies

And of course there will be more photos and video forthcoming.

Bulging Pasqualina

She’s still in her same good spirits, though I seem to catch her snoozing in the afternoon more than usual. Here she is subtly yawning tell me to leave her the heck alone so she can rest:

Yawning pregnant goat

I don’t know if she’s getting nervous, but I sure am — as usual.

Here’s hoping for a smooth, easy, healthykidding season for everyone still in the throes of it!

This is just a part of the herd, but I thought it would make for a fun, interactive GoatSpotting installment:

Goats goats goats galore!

How many goats do you see?

Tuscan goat

Now that’s a goat enjoying life under the Tuscan Sun.

Shout out to Frances Mayes!

Remember to send your GoatSpotting photos in –

we love seeing all kinds of Goats of the World!

 True cuteness for sure. Nothing brings me joy like watching bouncy baby goats!

Then I read the info below the video and discovered that HuffPo now has a *whole page dedicated to goat news.*

Finally some international recognition for our lovelies — though Pasqualina is confused as to why she isn’t being consulted on editorial decisions.

Forlorn Pasqualina

This is her looking forlorn just for you, HuffPo.

If you happen to need a GIC (Goat-in-Chief), well, you know where to find her.

Word to the wise, though: bring raisins to negotiations. Lots.

Available at the keepcalmstore at Etsy (click photo for more info)

Although really, I think it’s the reverse, because when you’re loving on your goats, calm is somehow magically created.

At least in my experience.

What about in yours? Do your goats bring you a sense of peace and calm too?

Thanks to Samantha for sending me the link!

Common Swelling Areas on Goat Head via Goat-link.com

The evening before last when I checked on the goats about three hours after giving them some grain, to my absolute horror I found Pasqualina with a lot of swelling under her chin. A LOT.* I felt around (it was totally dark by this point), and it was soft on either side of what felt like a lump pretty much right in the middle. She seemed to feel just fine — spry enough to run around and make me chase her a bit as I tried to feel up her chin. Ahem.

So my thoughts turned to bottle jaw even though I was pretty sure I could feel a lump. Bottle jaw** is fluid built up under the goat’s jaw, so there really shouldn’t be a lump, but far be it from my goats to play by the rules, so who knew?

Bottle jaw occurs when a goat turns anemic for some reason and is often linked to a heavy wormload (namely of the barber’s pole worm or Haemonchus contortus) and/or liver flukes. But as my friend and goat guru Teresa at Eden Hills notes, parasites aren’t the only thing that can cause bottle jaw and anemia in goats. Simply being pregnant and having nutrients sucked out of them by their kids can lead to does becoming anemic — just like pregnant women can become anemic, incidentally. And as you may or may not know, we do believe Pasqualina is pregnant.

So the next morning, she still had swelling of about the same size as the night before, but now it was light(er) out so I could look at her mucous membranes to check for anemia — it was a horribly rainy day, so still not all that much light in the pen. Pale, gray, or white mucous membranes (the gums, inside and corner of eyes when you pull down the bottom lid, vulva area) would signify anemia. They all looked pink as ever. *phew* Both links above have photos of healthy versus anemic goats, so do have a look if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.

Then I checked Pasqualina’s teeth (THAT was fun), and I noticed that maybe one of them looked a little smaller than the rest so perhaps broken and that led to a tooth abscess? But then I remembered that goats lose the last of their baby teeth around year three to make room for the permanent ones, so that was probably the issue with the “off” looking tooth. But I still didn’t rule out abscess either.

Based on the handy diagram of where goats may swell up and the possible causes from Goat-Link.com (above, left, click to see larger on the site itself), Pasqualina’s swollen area matched bottle jaw best, but it was kind of toward tooth abscess area too, so I was still undecided.

I knew the vet wouldn’t come yesterday right away as we’re in the midst of a three-day constant downpour, which has even resulted in part of our garden breaking off and washing down the hill. So until he could get here to deworm her if it was indeed bottle jaw, I figured I would do what I could to build up her immune system from what was on hand. I crushed up a human multivitamin and sprinkled probiotic powder in some hot water, then stirred in oatmeal and a bit of honey. I gave her half of this mixture in the morning and the other half later in the day, which she absolutely loved. I hope she doesn’t get used to the oatmeal part as it’s hard to find and also expensive in southern Italy!

The next time I checked on her about an hour later yesterday morning, the swelling had gone down some; I know that wasn’t due to anything I did, but I did feel a little better. When I checked on her again a couple hours after that, it was down again and now I could distinctly feel a lump under her chin. Everything about bottle jaw says the swelling may go down at night so the jaw looks better in the morning and then fill up with fluid throughout the day, so I was leaning against it being bottle jaw at that point, especially since she wasn’t having any other signs of anemia (she still had pink membranes, was eating well, was pooping perfect goat berries, and was being her normal alert and lively self).

So I went back to the Internet drawing board and found the suggestion of an insect or spider bite, which would present with a hard lump (bite site) and swelling. Aha! Had I thought of this earlier, like the night before, I would have given her some Benadryl (they say a child’s dose is fine for a goat, so 12.5 mg in tablet form) to help with the swelling, but it just didn’t occur to me. It’s winter, for goodness’ sake, but of course there are always spiders around.

By the time I checked on her yesterday afternoon around 4, the swelling was totally gone and the lump had disappeared. Ditto for the next three checks on her last night and the first two this morning. Yes, Paolo has asked me how many times I can possibly check on a goat in the pouring rain. The answer keeps rising.

So at this point it seems like Pasqualina probably did get bitten by something that caused sudden swelling, which has now disappared. I’m still watching her closely, of course, as always, but she is doing completely fine at this point, thank goodness.

All's fine now, Maaaa!

She sure scared the bejeebers out of me though!

Have you dealt with swelling in your goat’s jaw, bottle jaw, an insect bite, or anything similar?

Please share your experiences!

* I didn’t get any photos of her swollen face as it was dark out when I discovered it and then it was raining very heavily all day yesterday. It looked quite similar to bottle jaw photos but not as firm or symmetrical.

** For the sake of thoroughness, if your goat has a lump and swelling, another possibility could be “Caseous Lymphadenitis” (CL), which is caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis that may enter an open wound on your goat; this is characterized by a cottage cheese-like discharge when the abscess is popped or lanced and is very contagious, so do be aware of the possibility.

According to researchers at Queen Mary University of London:

Goats don’t have their own language, but they do seem able to pick up accents from one another, scientists found in a study of calls made by young goats.

The researchers say their results could have implications for our understanding of the evolution of vocal learning, or as it is known in humans, speech.

The ability to learn a range of sounds and modify them according to the environment was thought to be reserved to a handful of animals, including some birds, whales, dolphins, bats, elephants, and the most extreme example, us.

I suppose that’s why my goats here in Italy always add an extra “aaa” at the end of their calls. Kind of how my great-grandmother used to-a speak-a the English.

Whatsamatta? You no-a like-a my-a funny? Fine! I’mna-gonna-eat-a-my-a-fiori!

Pasqualina & her favorite treat

Seriously though, this is interesting stuff. Anyone who has ever had more than one goat knows there are sharp differences between their calls, so it does make sense to me that some of their “speech” patterns can be learned like ours are.

I just love how with every scientific discovery, it seems that humans and animals are even more closely related that we thought — confirming what so many of us already know in our hearts.

Have you ever noticed a goat’s call change after being moved into a new situation?