Last Night was a Nightmare!

[moosemaniac]

We induced labor after a long, long wait for her to begin by herself. The first kid was a breach, but not a serious problem getting out. However, he only lived about 15 minutes. Then I was subjected to a tangle of feet that I couldn't connect to any head or tail area. I called in my favorite goat expert, our own Mrs. Cook here at homesteading today. She drove an hour or so to help me out. She had the same problem I did. We finally ended up calling in the vet who, again, couldn't get the head turned around. Well...it ended up in a C-Section with 2 dead kids. The second was stillborn trying to come out all four feet first. I'm exhausted. The goat is exhausted. I'm darned sure Mrs. Cook is exhausted too. But I have to sing that woman's praises here. She sure helped me through a traumatic situation.

Ruth

[Jen H]

I'm so sorry things turned out so badly last night!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your doe.

[moosemaniac]

Thanks so much. So far, she's pretty quite, poor girl. This will be her last ever breeding. She's earned the right to be a pet and she's got a lovely temperment.

What made this such a horrid nightmare...this was my first ever kidding...yet, I know it's not usually like this.

Ruth

[debitaber]

I am so sorry for your loss. thank GOD, your doe will be ok. Sorry for your loss.

[Shazza]

Why did you induce the birth? Was there no progress after her water breaking? Thank goodness your doe is OK.

[moosemaniac]

Her water never broke...we induced because she was having mild contractions for a couple of days but nothing else progressed.

The doe, on the other hand, is now not alright. We lost her this morning. She simply stopped breathing...I think the pain of the hard birth and the c-section was too much for her to bear.

Ruth

[Shazza]

:waa: Oh how sad.

[Michael W. Smith]

Oh, Ruth, how sad, I am truly sorry for your loss. Not quite a good way to be introduced to birthing goats! I've had goats for over 8 years now, and so far, I havent' had any problems - ususally the kids are born when I'm not home! During this time, I've only ever had 1 dead kid, the very first doe that gave birth. One was fine, the other one dead when I found them. Don't know if the kid was born dead, or died later. You had a very unfortunate turn of events, as usually the does have no problems. Sorry again for your loss.

[Jen H]

Oh no!

I wish I was close enough to give you a hug and make you a cup of tea. I am so sorry. Take care of yourself today.

[JoyKelley]

What a horrible time for you, I am really saddened for you that you also lost the doe. They are such sweet friends. More hugs from me.{ }

[HilltopDaisy]

Ruth, I'm so very sorry for your loss. What a sad thing to have happen.

[marvella]

so sorry for your loss!

but i have to ask... i never heard of inducing a goat before. i know humans, if they are induced too soon, baby is not down close enough to the birth canal, and may not be head first as expected, leading to complications and c-section. perhaps a similar error in judgement in this case? believe me, i'm not judging you, as i've lost many an animal to mistakes in judgement. this forum is all about learning, right? and if a goat is induced, what do you use to do it?

[moosemaniac]

The second kid was actually quite large. If anything, Tellie was overdue.
On the advise of a friend and goat expert, as well as back up from the vet, we induced with lutalyse. Tellie's been induced before...this problem was the presentation of the kid. He was positioned will all four feet coming out together, head back, just a mess.

Thanks all for your concern. I'm still pretty shook and have a huge hole in the pit of my stomach. I've been at work all day, haven't cried once, but I leave here in a half hour and I'll probably blubber again all the way home.

Ruth

[marvella]

thanks for clearing that up. i saw the thread about lutylase, but hadn't read it. just had never heard of inducing a goat.

once again, sorry for your loss...

[Eunice]

I hurt for you, Ruth. I hate losing critters. I haven't lost any goats yet, but I milk 130 cows at a dairy, and seem to be the one that finds the dead cows. In Nov. I showed up and found our best heifer down(gve 94.6# on test day), and no one around to help me sit her up. I called my husband and son . We sat the cow up and she died in five minutes. She must have in inhaled manure. The cow, I called her Catherine Patricia, had cerebral palsy and some big cows had knocked her down when she came in heat. I cried all through milking that day. But in the livestock business, hope springs new each day and there is something new to look forward to.

[GoldenWood Farm]

I am sorry ruth :waa: :waa: :waa: ....I have lost animals before and it is horrible...my first goat ever was lost due to being attacked....so she her self went through a ton of trauma..she was still alive when I found her and she died in my arms. It is so hard to loose an animal...I am so sorry for what happened....heres <<<<<<<<<<<<<huggzzzz>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and a hot cup of tea to help you through.... :waa: :waa: :waa: :waa: :waa: :waa: :waa:

MotherClucker

[moosemaniac]

Thanks so much all of you. My big problem now is that I have two does that are pregnant, one of them Tellie's daughter. The nightmare birth was my first ever kidding experience. I am now scared to death for Star and Mermaid. Star is a first freshener, Tellie's daughter, and beginning to bag up, drop her tummy and loosen in the tail. I need some serious emotional support on this. I'm petrified!

Ruth

[mamahen]

Ruth,

I'm so sorry for all of your heartache. I know how stressful it is to worry about everything going smoothly & without a hitch.

I hope your remaining girls have no problems. But now hopefully you can talk yourself thru the next one.

Everyone keeps telling me that it's only a "fraction" of goats that have any kind of problem, or need assistance.

I've had the baby moniter out in the barn since January!! My buck ran with my doe, so I don't have an exact date. THis is her first time & mine too. I'm a little nuerotic with the checking & re-checking. And no one will feel her udders or tendons when I ask. :no: Except my son, & then he ran to the house with his face 4 different shades of red! (He's only 9, that was embarrassing, mom!!) And now, the moniter quit working. THAT could be due to the fact that the buck likes to JUMP & grab the cord, then butt the moniter!

If you ever feel like you have to vent, or need a ear to listen to you, pm me & I'll give you my private e-mail.

Here's to hoping the rest of the season goes without a hitch, for everyone.

Tricia

[moonspinner]

What a horrible first kidding experience for you! At the start of every season I get very anxious myself. Last year I had a large buck kid coming out four feet together as well. He was folded over in the pike position and I had one heck of a time stretching him out to deliver. But fortunately he made it. To lose two kids and mom - that's so awful for you! Be aware that goats do NOT take to anaesthesia well at all. It is extremely common to lose does due to C-section. I have found that although multiple births can cause these tangling/stillborn problems, oftentimes it is the result of diet and exercise. Does that put on too much weight and don't move about a lot can be prone to troublesome presentations of kids. I try to keep their weight down and walk them each day and knock on wood I have not lost a kid yet as a result of delivery. There are times this just happens though. There is no reason to believe the next deliveries will be anything like this. The toughest ones in my experience have been with first fresheners who have singles. BTW, what breed of goats do you have?? Please keep us updated on your next kiddings. Keeping good thoughts for you!

[sancraft]

:waa: I'm so sorry. The lose of the babies was hard enough, but to lose your doe. I'm so sorry.