I have a problem

kathleena · #1 02/07/08, 09:20 PM

Two weeks ago my children and I bought a pregnant goat. the breeder said she wasn't due for "maybe" a month and a half. hearing that I felt safe transporting her, in my mini van real sloooow. we've taken care of her feeding , talking to her she has become a real good addition to our family(first goat EVER) yesterday about 5pm she had clear mucos coming out so I thought it was gonna be soon 2am she had a babies head coming out no feet just head. I looked on here and found the website that said lube up and go in, bring out the legs, well first baby finally came at 3:50. the baby won't nurse from mom or by bottle . she clenches and doesn't suckle I've tried all day I've only been able to milk out about 2 ounces, her bag is like a bowling ball in a latex bag. she has only one teat the other is fish tailed. The breeder told me she would kid with no problem and that the only problem I would have would be a dominate male over the one teat. now she has a blood tinged mucos steam coming out and she will dig the ground , lay down ,get up. she licks on the baby and talks to her. I tried to bring the baby to the house but brandy chased me and stood on the fence which I don't think is good for her since she could deliver again.. should she had already had another ? could the baby not be nursing due to being stuck so long, and could brandy have just delivered early due to the bad storm we had the night before? she doesn't seem to be in distress she's not straining like she is anyway or being vocal like she was last night. I keep checking on them but really don't think the baby will make it, her neck does seem a bit oddly shaped. I really don't know what to expect, the previous owner didn't even know how old she is or how many kids she's had. I've slept 30 minutes since this started only to wake up being told my daughter had to be air lifted to Louisville hospital to not have her baby 2 months early.
any advise will be greatly appreciated I have to sit by the phone in case my daughter calls .
TIA
Kathleena

Wendy · #2 02/07/08, 09:55 PM

First off, they should have never told you she would kid with no problems. You never know what might happen. Anytime you go in to pull a kid, you should go in again & check for more kids. You can bump her belly right in front of her udder to see if you can feel another. She should have delivered it by now if she was going to have another. You may not be able to go in again as her cervix may not be as open now. You can try. Do you know if she passed the afterbirth??

As to the baby, it is critical to get colostrum in it. If it won't suck a bottle, you need to tube it. They should get colostrum within the first 12 hours. The window for that is closing fast. She may not be nursing to to the trauma of birth, or a defect, or if she really was premature.

If the doe is really full you need to get her milked out some. Milking will also make her uterus contract helping to expel anything left in there.

fishhead · #3 02/07/08, 09:57 PM

Is the kid warm? They won't suckle if they are cold.

Some people give the doe a bucket of warm water with some molasses mixed in it.

Have you tried "bouncing" the doe to see if there are more kids?

fishhead · #4 02/07/08, 09:58 PM

Here's how to check for more kids.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/bouncing.html

waygr00vy · #5 02/07/08, 09:59 PM

she probably is getting ready to pass the placenta...did you find one yet? if it has been since 3:30 am, then if she did have another kid it certainly won't be alive. Normally they have them back to back within a few minutes. Can the kid stand on its own? Did you take its temp? Has it had any colostrum in it at all? Low temp and it needs to be heated up until its temp is over 100 and then maybe you can get some colostrum in it...you can heat it by placing it in warm water, holding head out of the water, until temp increases, then drying with hair dryer. If you are certain its not nursing at all, you definitely need to bring it in and try and get it to take something. Weak kids who can't nurse are usually tube fed with a weak kid syringe, but thats something you want to be somewhat prepared for...not sure why her bad would be so hard...CAE, mastitis, congested udder? The kid defnitely needs colostrum ASAP....good luck!

MisFitFarm · #6 02/24/08, 05:51 PM

Kathleena, what happened with your doe? Our offer of help is still open, if you ever need us. We're a couple of hours away from us, but you can call or email anytime you need help. We have lots of people who do that.