From the miracle of birth to the heartache of loss, the circle of life is a constant element in our lives. Sometimes we experience birth and loss within moments of each other. That’s what happened when our goats, Persephone and Aurora, kidded (gave birth). Aurora gave birth to a healthy baby girl and lost her baby boy a few minutes later. It was an emotional experience for all of us. We were celebrating the joy of baby Faylinn being born while tears streamed down our cheeks as our hearts were breaking because her brother, Danny Boy, didn’t survive.
Preparing For The Unknown
When we were preparing for Persephone and Aurora to kid (give birth), we searched all over the internet trying to find pictures of the kidding process so we would have an idea of what to expect. At the time, there weren’t a lot of pictures showing goat kids being born. Below are pictures of Persephone and Aurora kidding. If goat kids are in your future, hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of what to expect!
Heads Up!! The pictures below show babies being born. The pictures are graphic so you might want to leave this page if you don’t want to see them!!
Persephone Giving Birth
In these pictures, you can see Persephone’s udders are a little full. They really started to fill up with milk within a few days of kidding. You can also see the discharge that happened within an hour of giving birth to her first kid, Orion. There’s no mistaking that something was about to happen!
Another angle of the discharge
Here you can see Orion’s little hooves emerging. In the beginning, the kids’ hooves are soft and white. Over time they harden up.
Orion’s hooves
Orion’s little legs and nose are emerging
Orion’s head and front legs
A beautiful baby is born!
Persephone cleaning her second kid, Chloe
Orion climbing into Tabitha and Ariana’s laps just after birth
Persephone, Chloe, and Orion
Chloe nursing while Orion naps
Orion (left) and Chloe (right)
Tabitha, Persephone, Chloe, and Orion
Aurora Giving Birth
This is Aurora giving birth to Faylinn. If you look closely, you can see Faylinn’s nose and hooves. There aren’t a lot of pictures of Aurora giving birth. After Faylinn was born, we realized we had an emergency so our focus was on Aurora, not on taking pictures. Aurora’s second kid, Danny Boy, passed away during birth.
The kids just a couple of months later!
Chloe (left), Faylinn (middle), and Orion (right)
