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Kidding time; Volunteers assist in birthing of goats.

Byline: Lynne Klaft

RUTLAND - Quiet excitement was building in the barn, which was alive with the sounds of rustling and munching munching - Exploration of security holes of someone else's computer for thrills, notoriety or to annoy the system manager. Compare cracker. See also hacked off.  and the soft smell of hay and goats.

"There's a hoof hoof, horny epidermal casing at the end of the digits of an ungulate (hoofed) mammal. In the even-toed ungulates, such as swine, deer, and cattle, the hoof is cloven; in the odd-toed ungulates, such as the horse and the rhinoceros, it is solid. !" Karen Chimento cried.

Then the 14 women witnessed the birth of the baby goat. It was the first night of their stay at the Women's Kidding Program at Overlook Farm in Rutland.

"We had the goat-birthing training earlier in the evening and at 10 p.m. that night we could hear someone calling out," Ms. Chimento said of her experience during a scheduled barn check.

"It was Maggie; then we saw the hoof. Donna (the farm's livestock coordinator) reached in and turned the baby and out he came," said the social worker from Ithaca, N.Y., who attended the program with her friend, Delia Ingham of Rochester, N.Y.

Both women, friends from their college days, have known for many years about the Heifer International Heifer International is a non-profit charitable organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty. It provides gifts of livestock and plants, as well as education in sustainable agriculture, to financially-disadvantaged families around  program based at Overlook Farm.

"Delia is a birthing coach, and I just knew she would love this," Ms. Chimento said. "And sure enough, she couldn't wait to get here."

The kidding program, an annual event scheduled during late February, is an offshoot of the very popular Women's Lambing educational program at Overlook held during April and May.

Program coordinators invite women to come together to share and work with one another on the farm while experiencing life's renewal process with the birthing of kids and lambs.

"We go with the rhythms of the farm, learning about Heifer HEIFER. A young cow, which has not had a calf. A beast of this kind two years and a half old, was held to be improperly described in the indictment as a cow. 2 East, P. C. 616; 1 Leach, 105.  Project International's mission and getting some farming experience along the way," said Heather Soares, operations and volunteers coordinator.

"We are very flexible, and you can hang with the goats any time you want," Ms. Soares said to the women in the introduction to the kidding program.

The four-day program included optional farm chores, field trips to goat farms, a short course on the goat birthing process and nighttime checks at the goat barn.

"I did a lot of farm chores. I even got to feed and water Abu the camel," said Marian Fritz of Vermont.

"I have noticed that mostly women have goat farms," she added. "Goats are very endearing animals. They nudge nudge 1  
tr.v. nudged, nudg·ing, nudg·es
1. To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.

2.
 you, wanting to be petted. They have all kinds of personalities. The babies are born with springs in their feet, and you know, the mother goats know what to do when birthing. ... We just seemed to be the audience."

The mission of Overlook Farm is to promote awareness of hunger and poverty issues and the role of sustainable agriculture sustainable agriculture
n.
A method of agriculture that attempts to ensure the profitability of farms while preserving the environment.
 by providing educational programs to the 22,000 visitors to the farm yearly.

"We are a volunteer organization. We have residential and local volunteers, about 100 per week who work on the farm," said Ms. Soares, who helped develop the program at Overlook.

Heifer International was founded by a dairy farmer, Dan West, in 1944 with a simple goal in mind: "a helping hand, not a handout." He sent heifers to people overseas to combat poverty and hunger with the one stipulation An agreement between attorneys that concerns business before a court and is designed to simplify or shorten litigation and save costs.

During the course of a civil lawsuit, criminal proceeding, or any other type of litigation, the opposing attorneys may come to an agreement
 that when the first female offspring Noun 1. female offspring - a child who is female
female person, female - a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies

child, kid - a human offspring (son or daughter) of any age; "they had three children"; "they were able to send their kids to
 was born, that calf was given to another family, passing on the gift.

Nancy and Bill Hudson
For the heavy metal guitar player, see Bill Hudson (guitarist).


William (Bill) Louis Hudson (born 17 October 1947 in Portland, Oregon, U.S.) is an American musician most famous for being in the band The Hudson Brothers.
 have served as a host couple at Overlook for eight years, spending up to two months at a time volunteering their time.

"We got hooked on Heifer when our children gave us a cow when they were in high school. After we retired, we decided to volunteer," Mrs. Hudson Mrs. Hudson is the landlady of the fictional house 221B Baker Street, in which Sherlock Holmes lives, in the Sherlock Holmes detective stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

She is described as a very good cook by Dr. John Watson.
 said.

"I'll always remember this wonderful story I heard from a volunteer from Thailand," she added. The girl came from a village that received two goats, one each for two different families. "She told me that the only thing that young folks there had to look forward to was going to the big city to sell themselves. The preteen pre·teen
adj.
1. Relating to or designed for children especially between the ages of 10 and 12.

2. Being a child especially between the ages of 10 and 12; preadolescent.

n.
A preteen boy or girl.
 boy from one family looked at the girl from the other family and said, `Now we don't have to go to the city.'"

Millions of families have been helped by Heifer International and Overlook Farm.

"I think of it as planting the seed," said June Chapman, another volunteer. "Every one of those kids that visit the farm gets to hear about our programs, about what we do, planting that seed."

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: (1) Kidding program participant Rebekah Crampton Kamukala of Agawam feeds nutrients to a goat that has just given birth. The extra nutrition helps the goats survive the birthing process. (2) Maggie and her 2-day-old kid share a pen at Overlook Farm in Rutland.

PHOTOG pho·tog  
n. Informal
A person who takes photographs, especially as a profession; a photographer.
: T&G Staff Photos/RICK CINCLAIR
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Title Annotation:LOCAL NEWS
Publication:Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
Date:Mar 9, 2008
Words:763
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