Lost 4 kids overnight

My doe lost 4 kids in the middle of the night. I missed the signs that I should have stayed up with her to assist. We had bred her twice, thinking the first time had not worked. She was uncomfortable, very much so, in the week preceding. Not bleating, but eating hay. She had taken herself off of grain, she was drinking, but had no room in her it seemed. When she laid down, she had difficulty breathing. We still do not know which breeding worked, either the kids were one week early, or 4 weeks.

When we came to her on Easter morning we found 4 sweet little kids, they all had died in the night. I do not know whether they ever stood up or took a breath. But Pepper, the doe, she could breathe and bleat again, I noticed a lot of poop in her pen, which she had not been doing before so visibly.  WE were grateful our doe made it through the birth, but wished we had assisted. It was as if she had been plugged up in all senses and was not healthy enough to hold the kids in any longer. The kids were early. 

I am milking Pepper now, for her comfort. We did want the milk, but I am nervous to drink it, thinking she may be ill to have lost those 4 kids all at once. 

I wonder if this is a sign of major illness, or if maybe the 4 babies were not developed enough to stand up and get the milk before they died. 

Our doe seems well now that the kids are out. She is eating, drinking and talking a lot. 

My first thought is that I should bring a fecal sample to a vet, but is there also a milk test, a way of testing whether the milk is safe to drink? 

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Replies

  • Thanks Deborah, last spring she had one kid successfully, who nursed all day long, but slept separately at night so I could milk in the AM. She never produced much milk for me then, either. I wasn't picky when choosing a goat to buy, I just took the one Nigerian doe my friend was willing to part with. I have read of course, that you should choose a doe coming from a milking situation, or born of a good milker. I did not do that. Mainly our goats are for our campers pleasure as we run a camp. The milk is a side bonus for me. 

  • Glad to hear she is doing well, but sorry she isn't producing more. I always recommend that people who are new to milking have a doe that has kids nursing so that if you don't get the udder empty, the kids will keep up the milk supply for you while you're learning. Of course, in this case, you had no choice. I just wanted to mention it for your future planning needs.

  • Thank you all kindly :) Pepper is pretty happy now, giving so little milk that I just let her drink it. I checked around to see what people say about that, seems to be okay to help them get back on their feet. 

  • My very sincere condolences to both you and your friend. {{{ Hugs }}}

  • Best wishes to you!  So sorry you lost the quads.  That is so hard.

  • This discussion has been very helpful, sounds like the baby monitor might be on the shopping list! Thank you so much. Two more does birthing in June, so we'll see if we can't help more. 

  • LOL!  No, you don't, and there's nothing like going out to a cold barn to bring it on! :)

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    When I have a doe due and go to bed, I lay out my clothes on the bathtub in front of the toilet so that I jump out of bed and while sitting on the toilet peeing, I pull on the clothes. (Believe me, you do not want to be with a birthing doe and needing to pee.)

  • I always say that with NDs, we don't have to be at the births because they unable to give birth on their own. They are actually TOO efficient at giving birth many times, especially these does that have 3-4! It is funny to hear the exclamations of people after their first birth when a does has multiples, but I certainly remember our first birth and how I was yelling for someone to help me because I couldn't get the kids cleaned off before another one was shooting out. If I can't do it with two hands and towel, I don't see how anyone could expect a doe to do it with her tiny tongue -- and while she is in the middle of pushing out another kid. 

    To avoid such surprises, many people buy a cheap $15 baby monitor at the discount store and put that out there. It may make for some mad dashes in the middle of the night, but that's better than the alternative. When I have a doe due and go to bed, I lay out my clothes on the bathtub in front of the toilet so that I jump out of bed and while sitting on the toilet peeing, I pull on the clothes. (Believe me, you do not want to be with a birthing doe and needing to pee.)

    Shana Henry said:

    Thanks Deborah for your reply, it sounds like I just needed to be there. My friend has Pepper's sister on another farm and strangely enough, she had quadruplets the other night too and lost 3. My friend had checked at 10pm, came back at 1:30am, and 3 kids were out and had died, but one was up and trying to nurse. This kid made it fortunately. Looks like we'll sleep in the barn next time. 

  • Thanks Deborah for your reply, it sounds like I just needed to be there. My friend has Pepper's sister on another farm and strangely enough, she had quadruplets the other night too and lost 3. My friend had checked at 10pm, came back at 1:30am, and 3 kids were out and had died, but one was up and trying to nurse. This kid made it fortunately. Looks like we'll sleep in the barn next time. 

  • It has usually turned into mature milk by day four, so the milk is fine to drink. After reading your original post, I thought the doe had just given birth in the last day or two. If she was bred on Nov. 27, then Easter was 145 days, so they were right on time. Nothing you've said leads me to believe there is anything wrong with the doe. I always say that 95% of the time you only need to be there to dry off the kids and make sure they start nursing. Sounds so simple, but it can mean the difference between life and death. It is really not unusual to loose one or two kids in an unattended birth when a doe has triplets or quads. Does just cannot dry off the kids fast enough in many cases. I've had does shoot out four kids in only five to ten minutes. And unfortunately they cannot count and do not always realize when one kid is dead, so may be continuing to lick one that is already dead when a live one is born that should be cleaned off.

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