HALLOWEEN = BIG GOAT DAY

Yesterday was Halloween. This holiday doesn't mean much in Costa Rica but for Monte Azul it was a big day for baby goats. We had a total of 4 babies born. It started with a call from Asdrubel, our goat herder. He called to say that Betty had just had a baby boy. I quickly went up to the goat pen and discovered that Betty had just had another kid. This time it was a girl. We watched her clean the babies off and then moved them to a clean dry enclosure. While we were marveling at the new arrives and how cute they were, Asdrubel’s wife yelled that Maria had just started giving birth.

Within a few minutes, Maria had given birth to a baby girl. Over the 2+ years that we have had goats I had seen the babies minutes after being born but had never witnessed the actual event. This changed yesterday. I actually saw the baby come out. It was quite a sight. About 10 minutes after Maria’s first kid was born, came the 2^nd one. This one is also a girl.

Because the babies were born on Halloween, we thought names of witches would be appropriate. But, the names had to be of fun, happy witches. So their names are Endora (Betty’s kid) , Samantha and Serena (Maria’s twin kids). You may know these names from the popular TV show Bewitched.

I have attached a few photos. The first being of Betty’s 2 kids, Endora and Boy #7. They are about 1 hour old. The second photo is of Maria’s first kid, Samantha. The final photo is of Maria’s 2^nd kid, Serena. She is only seconds old. If anyone would like to see the photo of Samantha ½ inside and ½ outside of Maria during the actual birth, let me know.

All 4 newborns are doing really well today along with the other kid born on Friday, the 29^th. Our score card now reads GIRLS 3, BOYS 2. I will keep you posted of their progress and what happens with Debbie’s pregnancy.