Dairy Goats are a very special part of life at Quaker Hill Farm. We milk our goats and make cheese and yogurt and ice cream and other delicious milk-based foods. We even make soap out of our goat milk.

Dairy Goats are wonderful farm animals. They are playful, friendly and very nice to have.

One of the breeds of Dairy Goats we have are called Saanens. Saanens are large white goats who are very gentle and quiet. They originally came from Switzerland.

A female goat is called a doe and a male goat is called a buck. Baby goats are called kids

Baby goats are born at Quaker Farm in the spring time usually in the month of May. When a doe has a baby, it is called kidding. Kidding season is a very busy time because we have over 50 kids born every year. That's a lot of baby goats!

Angel is a Saanen Doe. She is ready to have her baby. As her time to kid approaches, we bring her in from the pasture and put her safely in the barn. We usually stay with a doe when she kids to make sure everything is alright. Birth is a normal process and our help is very seldom needed. When a doe kids, it is very important to be quiet and not talk or make a lot of noise. The Mama doe needs to concentrate on giving birth.

At first, we can see the feet of the new baby starting to come out.

The process of giving birth is called labor. It is called labor because birth is hard work. Birth is a normal part of life and is not something to be afraid of. God designed the birth process and his design works very well and should be trusted.

Angel decides to lie down to be able to labor in a different position. Every time she moves and changes her position, she helps her baby move through the birth passage more easily.

Now you can almost see the baby kids nose between his little yellowish feet.




After a few pushes, Angel decided to stand up. She needed to push standing up and when she did, more of the baby's head came through.

Every goat, and every other animal is different. Each is an individual. Some mothers move around a lot during labor and others move less. The important thing is to allow a mother the freedom to move as often as she needs to. This makes her body work best and helps the baby birth the easiest.








Angel lies back down and continues to labor. Time passes but steady progress is being made. There is no need to rush anything. Birth should be a slow, gentle process.












Angel stands up again and continues to labor slowly but surely. She walks a bit and pushes a little more. Slowly the baby makes progress. This is a big baby and will take time to push out. But, that is no reason to fear. Remember, birth works.
















Moving with the progress of birth, Angel lies down once more. She is almost finished with the hard work of labor and soon her baby kid will be completely born














Finally, Angel pushes the rest of her baby out. It's a little girl and she has made the birth journey safely!

Angel talks to her baby and tells her what a good and brave little girl she is.















We name this little girl Star-Bright because she was born at night when big beautiful stars filled sky.