Our doe Beth finally kidded yesterday afternoon. She went a little late so we got up every morning hopeful that it would be the day :)
I had been in the garden all afternoon and she had been laying around for a while in the barn and I decided to put her in the kidding stall...good call! Less than two hours later we were heading out the door and heard a scream from the barn and I ran to check and baby #1, a buckling, was on the ground. I ran and got some towels and about ten minutes later she delivered #2, a doeling. I got worried because she had not delivered the placenta after over an hour and called my breeder who talked me through it and luckily I didn't have to intervene after all. There wasn't a lot of fluid and it was difficult for her to get it all out. It came out in a small section that broke apart followed by the rest a while later so I just stayed and watched for it. They immediately started to nurse, or tried to. It took about a half hour before they were successful lol.
So now I have twins :) I have one more doe that is hopefully pregnant and due the last week of the month. I do have a question though, I am going out of town Friday night until Monday afternoon. Do I start milking her now some or do I just leave it to the babies until I get back? My mom and grandparents will be here with the kids while we are gone, going skydiving, and my granny said she would try to milk her....she grew up milking cows. I don't want her to have to so do you think she would be alright if I waited a full week to milk???
Lori, does your MIL have a life insurance policy on you! LOL!
I couldn't resist the crack about the airplane cause my Hubby always says that. My youngest soldier boy will be 19 tomorrow and is at Ft. Benning in Airborne training right now, so you know he and the older one both hear there share of that from their dad.
Saw both babies poop this morning. Dorothy's was solid but Bertie's was still more runny. I got a washcloth with some warm water and cleaned him up as best as I could. It is normal in color, just not as firm. I let them out of the stall for a bit this morning and they were popping around and climbing on the cinderblocks in front of the hay rack. I think he is fine but I will keep an eye on him and keep cleaning him so his rectum doesn't get blocked.
Sounds like everything is going well. Glad you recognize the poop as normal breastmilk poo. The first time I ever saw it, I freaked out and called my mentor. I felt so silly when she said it was normal breastmilk poo. Not only had I breastfed my own babies, but I had also been a lactation consultant for 9 years before moving out here! "Scrambled eggs" is a common descriptor of the goat baby poo. If it gets a little looser than that, it only means that the babies overindulged a couple hours ago. If that happens consistently, then it is a good idea to milk out mom because it means she is producing a lot, and the babies are taking advantage of it! :)
Congratulations it sounds like everything is going great! And your question is answered, so I have one for you! Why the heck would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
My MIL paid for it so I told her I had to get through the first goat birth and I would go if all is well :)
The babies seem well, buckling has some dried mustard colored poo on his hind legs. His poop looks a bit runny but Beth is cleaning him up. He is nursing and alert but it looks like breastmilk poo. Not watery but a little loose. It got into the 80s here today so it may have just dried before she could get to it and the doeling didn't have anything on her and also seems alert and is nursing a little at a time as well. they seem to just be taking little sips but her udder looks soft at times so i know they are eating and I saw little Dot pee today.
Do I need to do anything or just keep an eye on him and keep him clean?
Congratulations it sounds like everything is going great! And your question is answered, so I have one for you! Why the heck would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
For anyone else reading this thread who is curious, a goat placenta normally takes 3-4 hours before it comes out, and even if it doesn't come out that soon, there is still no need to panic.
I'm assuming this is a first freshener, so you won't NEED to milk her for the first couple months. However, I like to put first fresheners on the milk stand daily and simply handle their udder while they eat their grain. That gets them used to the idea of milking and hopping onto the milk stand. A first freshener won't have any extra milk to speak of -- maybe an ounce or two -- for the first couple of months.
For information on starting to milk, check out this post:
Replies
Lori, does your MIL have a life insurance policy on you! LOL!
I couldn't resist the crack about the airplane cause my Hubby always says that. My youngest soldier boy will be 19 tomorrow and is at Ft. Benning in Airborne training right now, so you know he and the older one both hear there share of that from their dad.
Sounds like everything is going well. Glad you recognize the poop as normal breastmilk poo. The first time I ever saw it, I freaked out and called my mentor. I felt so silly when she said it was normal breastmilk poo. Not only had I breastfed my own babies, but I had also been a lactation consultant for 9 years before moving out here! "Scrambled eggs" is a common descriptor of the goat baby poo. If it gets a little looser than that, it only means that the babies overindulged a couple hours ago. If that happens consistently, then it is a good idea to milk out mom because it means she is producing a lot, and the babies are taking advantage of it! :)
LOL!!!!! Margaret, you make my day! :)
Margaret Langley said:
The babies seem well, buckling has some dried mustard colored poo on his hind legs. His poop looks a bit runny but Beth is cleaning him up. He is nursing and alert but it looks like breastmilk poo. Not watery but a little loose. It got into the 80s here today so it may have just dried before she could get to it and the doeling didn't have anything on her and also seems alert and is nursing a little at a time as well. they seem to just be taking little sips but her udder looks soft at times so i know they are eating and I saw little Dot pee today.
Do I need to do anything or just keep an eye on him and keep him clean?
Congratulations it sounds like everything is going great! And your question is answered, so I have one for you! Why the heck would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
Congratulations on the babies!
For anyone else reading this thread who is curious, a goat placenta normally takes 3-4 hours before it comes out, and even if it doesn't come out that soon, there is still no need to panic.
I'm assuming this is a first freshener, so you won't NEED to milk her for the first couple months. However, I like to put first fresheners on the milk stand daily and simply handle their udder while they eat their grain. That gets them used to the idea of milking and hopping onto the milk stand. A first freshener won't have any extra milk to speak of -- maybe an ounce or two -- for the first couple of months.
For information on starting to milk, check out this post:
http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum/topics/starting-to-milk