Goat Fell

ChildsFarm · #1 01/13/15, 07:13 AM

We had 4" of rain here the other night, and it's supposed to rain everyday this week. Ugh. So of course everything is muddy and wet. I'm training my goats to the milkstand now so that when they have babies in a few months it will be old stuff. Last night when feeding I opened the gate and one went running out to jump on the milkstand, it was wet, she slid off the other side and landed on the ground. She landed kinda with her right two legs under her it looked like, but it may have been completely on her side. The milk stand is about 20" tall. Is that a hard enough fall to make her lose her kids? What should I look for to know? I have 3 in with the buck to be bred, and I'm really hoping she doesn't lose her kids.

CraterCove · #2 01/13/15, 07:58 AM

All you can really do, that I know of is keep an eye on her. Maybe you can contact a vet and get further advice. I'd make sure in future to snag a collar to keep them from running and jumping but we all know that's not always possible.

Hopefully all is well.

ChildsFarm · #3 01/13/15, 08:32 AM

Yeah, normally I do guide them up, but juggling food and she ran out the gate past me. I'm thinking if I take some leftover rubber stall mats & cut to fit the milk stand that would greatly help traction. I read somewhere said to look for discharge? I'll try to keep an eye on her but not really sure what I'm looking for.

All the vets I can find around here either only draw blood or "haven't really done goats in a while" and it's $100 just to have them come out since they're all around an hour away. So so far, no vet.

Hopefully she'll be fine and we'll get some sun soon. I'm so ready for summer.

marusempai · #4 01/13/15, 08:34 AM

My Emerald made about that exact fall three or four times this summer, and was none the worse for the wear - couldn't even tell anything had happened by the time I let her off the milk stand. Keep an eye on her, look for signs of pain or vaginal bleeding. But I'm sure she's fine (except for her dignity).

CraterCove · #5 01/13/15, 08:38 AM

There is a group called goat vet corner on facebook, I think. You could maybe look at that but I suspect everything is fine. There is a reason they have so much 'water' cushioning around babies.

**mygoat** · #6 01/13/15, 08:45 AM

Is she in with the buck right now? How long has she been with him?

What you see if she looses her kids will depend on how far along she is. Very early abortions may just be a dab of discharge and MAYBE a little blood - you wouldn't find any fetus or anything. 3-4 months along you may find a fetus a bit longer than your hand, usually accompanied by a bit of blood and more discharge. Usually you notice it when their hair on their tail gets really matted.

Some of them do not look any different than a breeding event, however - a gooey tail could mean breeding as well.

It doesn't sound to me like something that would make them abort. They are kinda designed to hold pregnancies through events such as ramming by other goats, but if she managed to do it just right or if the pregnancy was predisposed to loosening or if it was at a precarious stage in development... it is impossible to say.

If she's in with the buck and she did abort, she should breed back if she's still cycling - it's getting late in the season however. Depending on the abortion you may see breeding activity or interest from the buck, which may or may not be a heat and may or may not be fertile.

ChildsFarm · #7 01/13/15, 09:32 AM

Yes, I'm sure she was embarrassed.

She kinda looked around, confused, like why am I not on the milk stand eating dinner? Then she got up and shook herself off and jumped up and ate.

She has been in w/ the buck since the beginning of September (ish). I think it might have taken him a little while though to figure out what his buck duties were though. So maybe 3-4 months along? I will keep an eye on her and know more what to look for now. Thanks.

ChildsFarm · #8 01/13/15, 09:36 AM

I'm also probably just paranoid. This will be our first time trying to do dairy. I have the 3 girls in with the buck hoping to make them into dairy goats. We shall see how it goes. I've only had goats about a year, so still very new to this. Getting excited for babies in a few months.

Frosted Mini's · #9 01/13/15, 01:23 PM

I bet she will be just fine and not abort from this.

punchiepal · #10 01/13/15, 01:42 PM

I had a nubian do this once. Not sure if she hit the wall w/ her nose or what but when she jumped, back off she went and landed on her side. She did have a few drops of discharge (red) the next day. She maintained the pregnancy fine, was about 2 months at time I think.

nehimama · #11 01/13/15, 07:25 PM

I hope and think she will be fine. I like to put those rubber-backed scatter rugs on the milkstand for added traction. They wash up just fine.