Baby Watch is Over: Meet James!
Early May, we were looking at Peach and wondering just when she would finally be ready to deliver her kid. You can read all about Peach’s rescue story here, but the short of it is that she was very very pregnant and had been rescued after being hit by a car. Surprise - the delivery would end up being that afternoon! A few hours into the morning, Peach’s water broke and we started monitoring her very closely. Due to her young age and her dislocated hip from the car impact, we didn’t know if she would be able to deliver her baby by herself or if we’d have to opt for a C section. We called the vet and asked them to head on over. In the meantime, we stayed in the med barn giving her encouragement. Caregivers, office staff, and interns all checked in on little Peach while she got ready to welcome her new baby. She pushed for an hour, which is about the average time it takes for a goat to deliver once their water breaks. She expended tons of effort, her long radar ears waggling as she pushed, but things were not progressing.
Shelter Manager Diana watching over Peach as she labored
Thankfully, a few minutes later the vet arrived to assess the situation. We were relieved to have a doctor on duty! She palpated Peach to see what was going on and why we hadn’t seen baby’s hooves or nose yet. (Those are usually the first things you see when a kid is being born.) The vet determined that the baby was upside down, which meant she needed to give assistance. Carefully, the she rotated the baby to the appropriate position for delivery, and then began helping guide him out. This was pretty difficult for Peach and everyone in the Medical Barn was nervous. Some of the caregivers had to help hold Peach calmly while the vet helped deliver the baby very very slowly.
We all held our breath—we knew things could easily take a pretty bad turn. Back in 2015 we rescued several pregnant goats and sheeps, and one birth went really badly. Luna and Louie’s mom passed while giving birth the two of them. There are so many factors in any birth, human or nonhuman, and nothing is guaranteed. Fortunately with the vet’s help, baby goat James was born a few minutes later. Tiny, wobbly, and looking around for his mom as we quickly examined her to make sure she was physically okay. Our first concern was checking if she was torn anywhere - Peach’s young age and small frame were a big factor in the difficulty of this delivery. While the vet examined her, Shelter Director Hervé held James in a towel waiting to put him down where Peach could see him.
Brand new seconds-old baby James
As soon as we determined that Peach was okay, we set baby James down and she sniffed him curiously. We waited to see what she would do - younger moms and traumatic births can spell rejection. But to everybody’s relief, she started cleaning him off with little licks. She stayed very attentive as James began trying to stand up and walk around. Within a short while, James was wobbling around the stall. He has impossibly long ears, a brown head, and a big brown spot on his back. A little cap and coat maybe!
Did some of us cry a little? Yes, definitely. Did some of us cry a lot? Yes. It was really incredible to witness the beginning of this chapter in Peach’s life and the beginning of James’ life. And knowing that the two of them are safe here and not subject to the exploitation that their kin experience on farms was an even bigger relief than anything else.
Peach starting to clean her baby, much to everyone’s relief
Peach worked hard getting James all dried off and we got proper weights recorded for both mom and baby. Then they rested — it had been a huge day for both parties! Visitors came in and out of the medical barn, but we tried to be quiet so that everybody could relax and ease into life with a newborn. The next challenge was ensuring that James was nursing properly. Peach was a little alarmed by his first attempts, and we needed to soothe her while he tried again. We have bottles in case supplemental feedings are needed, but the two of them did figure it out! It’s a lot to learn in just a few hours.
“Look what I did!”
So the name James - yes, it’s a reference to James and the Giant Peach. While Peach isn’t really giant, she’s a lot bigger than baby James right now, but we’re sure someday he’ll overtake her in size. Then it’ll be Peach and the Giant James! The two of them had an amazing first Mothers’ Day together just a few days later.
As always we have to remind everyone that these rescues would not be possible without community support. We rely on the general public in order to care for these rescued animals, and there are many ways to get involved with our work. We’ve just begun telling Peach and James’ story, but there are many more stories out there we need to tell. We hope you’ll keep up with this duo and become a part of the community here, making even more rescue possible in the future.