Kids born, hanging afterbirth, what now?

[jill.costello]

As you all know from the other thread, MY KIDS ARE HERE!!!! I now have a few questions:

Cayenne passed one very large afterbirth- almost 24" long and thick. It seperated about 8" from her vagina, so now there's an 8" piece hanging down; it has been almost 10 hours.

I DID have to have a quick feel inside her while we were waiting for her first kid to be born; he was rear-feet first and I wasn't in there very long; I also had cut all my fingernails short the night before, and had covered my hand with iodine prior to going in.

Will she need antibiotics? How long can the afterbirth hang there before there's a danger for her? Can she get Penicillian? Which kind and how much?

Also, the buckling was VERY hot today (Texas), and was much slower to nurse than his sister. We helped him, and pointed the teats at him, but he only sucks about 8 sucks and then just drops the teat. He seems to tire of it easily. I have no problem going out every hour to hold the teat for him, but will he get enough this way? He flat-out refused a bottle- too hard to suck...

thanks!! -Jill

[mygoat]

when daisy had her babies pulled the vet gave me a bottle of pennicillin suspension, and i gave all three of them shots for 3 days. daisy's baby Cadee seemed 'weak and hot' she panted, but she was fine. both her babies also only sucked a few times then stopped. i think that as long as he nurses alot, he'll be fine

[dale anne]

Howdy....just make sure the lil one eats....I dont know if yer aware but the kidds wont be able to regulate the body temp for a few days...I had this happen a few months ago and had to put fans on the kidds for the first few days and the temps were only in the 80's....living in arkansas myself i know in texas the heat os going to be just as bad as ours today...were going to 103 they say...115 with heat index.......make sure the kidds dont overheat and try to introduce them to water. I had both my kidds drinking water the first day of life. i would take them over to the water and scoop some out with my hand and hold it to the mouth. i had to do it a few times untill they got it but it worked and seemed to keep them a bit cooler and I didnt have to worry about them getting dehydrated.....ohhh just so ya know I didnt place the fans right on them..I set them up high so the shed had circulated air but didnt cause a draft on the kidds.....hope this helps dale anne

[trnubian]

Since you did have your hand in the doe it would be a good idea to give her a 5 day corse of Procaine Penicillan G. It is 1 cc per 15 lb. twice a day. It is SQ but can also be given IM if the animal needs it in the system RIGHT AWAY.

Keep the kids in the shade, in a recently cleaned area with fresh bedding. Have fans going to circulate the air in the encloser and have lots of water available to mom. Kids don't eat very much, they just eat very often. Every hour should be fine. he is probably just hot and not hungry like you would be in hot weather. Just watch his breathing, if it seems hard for him to breathe he may have lung issues.

[jill.costello]

Thanks everyone, the kids seem much stronger and the buckling now nurses on his own (still in small bits, but nurses).

The 8" of afterbirth hanging out of momma started to smell as high as rotting fish, so I called my vet and she told me to come on over and get 2 doses of Oxytocin and a Uterine Bolus, as well as Pen-G and a Tetanus shot.

So, I gave her one dose of Oxytocin IM, and the Pen-G, and waited to see if that would cleanse her....after 5 hours, she was straining alot, but still the 8" bit is hanging.

So, this morning, I plan on carefully washing her back side & udder, putting on the OB sleeve (that my vet so graciously provided!), lubing up, and trying to slip the Bolus into her uterus. I hope I do it right! How do I "get around" the part that's hanging out to GET TO the cervix??

Anyone ever done a bolus before??

[Cygnet]

Bad thought: Is it possible she's prolapsed rather than this being afterbirth?