MYRTLE POINT —  Sprawled across a bed of hay, Frosty moaned in pain.

Nearly ready to pop, the pregnant nanny goat occasionally wagged her tail as her unborn kid moved inside her womb.

Volunteers of the “Babies and Ladies-In-Waiting” tent watched in anticipation.    

“They are nervous, they get up and down. They grit their teeth. Goats are very vocal when push comes to shove,” said Karen Jernstedt, the director of the Coos County Fair's birthing center, as she looked at the uncomfortable animal.

On Wednesday afternoon, Jernstedt said she expected the meat goat to give birth to twins at any time. But in the tent, where fair visitors get a first-hand look at animal infants and mothers, the timing often depends on the tranquility of an animal’s surroundings. A sign on the goat’s stall reads, “This lady needs her privacy. Please do not disturb.”

“In the real world, animals have to get up and go if they are in danger, so they have the ability to quit labor. That’s why you rarely see horses foaling,” Jernstedt explained. “I’m not going to get excited until I see the little footies, and I want them pointing up. If they’re pointing down, we’re calling the doctor.”

Inside the red, white and blue tent on the northwest side of the Coos County fairgrounds, dozens of babies and their mothers were on display, including a rabbit with two bunnies, a sow with seven piglets, a rat with innumerable fuzzy offspring, chicks, two young alligators, dairy calves and a miniature horse with her foal.

Jernstedt said the birthing center is intended to educate the public about livestock, agriculture and the life cycle.

“As our society moves further and further away from our roots, we find that there’s a disconnect from where their food source comes from,” Jernstedt said.

“I’ve had people here who have never touched a chicken — not that we’re a petting zoo. To get close and personal with an animal is not available to 90 percent of the public.”

Fair Manager Cindy Bedingfield agreed, adding there is a definite difference between livestock and pets.

“You are raising livestock and they have a purpose in life,” Bedingfield said.

Sitting next to each other on a brown couch in the birthing tent, Bedingfield and Jernstedt described how they collaborated to offer the new exhibit, which opened to the public on Tuesday. Fair organizers tried to get a birthing center going last year, but it flopped from a lack of manpower, Jernstedt said.

“It’s her brainstorm,” Jernstedt said.

“It’s her work,” Bedingfield replied.

On its first day, 1,666 people came through the tent’s entrance.

“That’s an incredible number to go through an exhibit,” Bedingfield said. “If they go away with one memory or learn something new, then you’ve done your job. ... And this one makes you feel good.”

Walking through the displays of pigeons and rodents, Jernstedt, who works for the Morgan Veterinary Clinic in Coos Bay, stopped between two cages of tumbler pigeons.

In one, several 1 1/2 week babies (known as “squabs”) sat in a bucket, their little heads nearly bald. In the other cage, 2 1/2 week squabs looked a bit more like their parents.

“You can see the development between the two, because they’re really kind of ugly when they are first out,” Jernstedt said.

She added that in 17 days, the adult pigeons will be able to lay another set of eggs.

Many of the animals were donated by local groups, or are part of 4-H projects, including Frosty. Jernstedt said running the birthing center can be difficult because you never know whether animal mothers will decide to give birth during the duration of the fair.

“You plan, plan, plan and nothing may happen,” Jernstedt said.

Joyce Scolari, 12, who owns Frosty, attempted to calm the goat as it struggled through labor.

“It’s OK, Mama. It’s OK, calm down. I’m right here with you,” she cooed as her grandma and 4-H leader Phyllis Love watched.

Love barked occasional orders to Scolari, telling her to brush foul hay away from the goat’s flanks. She too said animal births are unpredictable, because the animals don’t want to be seen.

“Everybody’s different. It’s hurry up and wait,” Love said.