Umbilical Cord

[lijj]

This has always confused me; do you have to cut the umbilical cord yourself or will it naturally break after the kid is out? Is it better to cut it yourself because it's more sanitary and become less prone to infection?

[dezeeuwgoats]

I haven't read anything about this, and am interested in what the 'experienced' goat people have to say! I will usually cut the cord to a 2" or a little shorter, and then dip. If it is already that short or shorter then I just dip.

Niki

[topside1]

If it rips clumsy long then cut it short, dip it and monitor the cord for bleeding. If it rips normal short, dip it and forget it.

[DocM]

What Tn says above. I rarely have a situation where I need to cut them. For one thing, you want all the blood to move from the placenta into the kid. It will break on its own, or mom will do it. I "trim" and spray with iodine. Not too short. An inch or so - shorter, infection. Longer, mom may accidently pull it off. If you deliver and don't let mom be involved, and you absolutely feel you need to cut it, wait until the last possible moment, like, mom is tangling in the cord.

[lijj]

Do you just trim it with scissors?

[Idahoe]

Anything sharp like scissors or a knife, but soak it in iodine first to sterilize.

[moonspinner]

I too just trim enough so it's not dragging on the ground.

[KayJay]

Usually the doe will do it herself, but some won't, and some people feel the need to do it themselves. If you're going to cut straight through with scissors you'll want to tie or clamp it off before cutting, otherwise wait awhile before cutting it. If you use a fingernail or something similar to gradually shred it you should be ok with not tying or clamping, but when I've had to I've tied it off anyway just to be extra careful.

[Westwood]

If necessary, cut short and dip in strong iodine. Has the effect of sterilizing and cauterizing.

[steff bugielski]

OK a bit of a stray here. My sister and I were discussing the subject of goat placenta and umbilical cords. I have had triplets and quads born , each with it;s own umbilical cord and amniotic sac. Are they all conected to one placenta and is that why the cord breaks after each is born, because the next baby is holding the placenta back.
steff