6 days post delivery?

wmsff · #1 06/16/12, 10:08 AM

My 2 year old doe had twins on saturday, 2nd freshning. I am a total novice here on the pregnancy/birth/kid care. I saw what I belive was the placenta, a water baloon like sack after the second kid. she has a little discharge still, but yesterday she was not letting the babies nurse. She also appears fat still and her sides are tight. She had a very small amount of pink discharge last night.
Is it possible she has another one inside, I did "bounce" her that night and again yesterday. Yesterday she felt more solid, but not hard.

What things should I watch for or do for her? Or should I just wait and see?

thanks all

andabigmac · #2 06/16/12, 10:26 AM

The birth sac is see through while the placenta is is a thickish flesh pancake. The goat can gobble that up in a matter of minutes. Mine prefer to do this the second I leave to go to the bathroom so I can stress for days whether they passed it or not.

I would take her temp and this is gross but go smell her back end. I'm talking up close and personal. There is a normal blood odor in a doe that has passed her placenta but one that has some rotting will have a rotting flesh odor. If she has the bad smell call your vet and he/she will get you a shot to help pass it.

She may not be letting her kids eat because she is engorged. It hurts. You may need to go milk some of the pressure off. If she is a high producing dairy doe this could very well be the case.

Have you checked for mastitis? Is she eating?

wmsff · #3 06/16/12, 10:55 AM

she is eating, and when I try to milk her, her teats are soft. the milk does come out with sucking of the kids, but when I try to milk her its hard. I have a madela breast pump I got 12 years ago when my son was born and I can get milk out with it if I use one side at a time.

My personal situation is complicated now because my daughter is sick, shes doing MUCH better, but Im in the hospital with her now.

there is no one to care for the animals now, and I cant get home for a few hours. i will check her further when I get back there

andabigmac · #4 06/16/12, 11:10 AM

I'm glad your daughter is doing better. Hospitals are scary.Boy, it all seems to happen at the same time doesn't it? Take care of yourself through this stressful time.

Your doe probably isn't letting her milk down for you. You're not her baby after all. Try massage, warm compresses, baby goat noises, and "butting" her in the udder with your hand as hard as her babies would. Be persistent. It may take a while the first few times.

And discharge, fatness, and some tightness are normal for a while. I'm sure she's fine.

PaulNKS · #5 06/16/12, 01:20 PM

Also keep in mind that goat kids don't just stand and suckle for several minutes the way a lot of animals (calves) do. They get what seems like about 2 seconds here, 3 seconds there... A lot of time when it looks like the doe is kicking them off, they are still getting a lot more milk that you think. When I suspect a kid of not getting milk, I just feel their bellies 2 or 3 different times through the day. You'll know if it feels full. If the kids were only a day old, I would be more concerned and most likely holding the doe while the kids nurse.

wmsff · #6 06/16/12, 07:11 PM

DD is doing ok, I'm back in the hospital now.

The doe is obnoxious she steps over and away when the little ones try to nurse. Hey are moving around ok, and their bellies don't feel empty. They must be getting some. I gave the doe a little grain and she held still while they nursed.
They babies will not take the bottle I had. I have a baby bottle and a soda bottle with a Prichard nipple. Is there a trick to get them to use it? You always hear about how stubborn a mule is, but these 6 lb babies have the mule beat!

Ford Zoo · #7 06/17/12, 09:14 AM

If they have been sucking on mama, they don't like the bottle and need some time to get used to it and figure out there's good stuff in there. Or maybe they just weren't hungry. I've seen people using baby bottles, but mine always prefered the pritchard.

mabeane · #8 06/17/12, 03:41 PM

They are probably getting enough from mom if they feel okay belly wise. I wouldn't bottle feed if you don't have to. My mama goat was tight at first and would only let the babies nurse a little but now she is not so tight and they nurse for a few seconds many times a day.