Hiya Ladies,
Just wanted to check in and offer many thanks to ya'll.
Yesterday my pygmy girl Itty Bitty gave birth to our first goat baby. She only needed a little help getting a foot out and a little help getting the babies head out of the dirt.
So far things look good. I can not tell if baby is nursing. She hunts & bumps but I have not seen it actually nurse yet. I try to help but to no avail. It was extremly hot and I decided to give it a little formula to get it going as it seemed very weak. It was what I had on hand . She is strong today and standing moving around well.
Q. Do you think she is acutually nursing and I just miss it? Should I try to supplement baby just to be sure? I'd hate to not feed it and it die!
Q2 Momma still has some small slime hanging from her vulva.
Note:I did see the plascenta in entirerty. Thank you so much for the pics post of the condelydons or I would have worried!!
Q3 Note:It has been 100 to 105 here in Texas...I put a small fan for them becasue the baby is panting but its mostly moving hot air...I also sprayed water all around outside the pen they are in to cool it off some..any other suggestion as to how to cool them down????
Thank you so much for all the info ya'll post it has helped me so much !
Will post pics later to night. :)
MsC
Replies
Sounds like everything is going great! Poop sounds normal. I'm not surprised Mama got mad when you tried to clean up her back end. Goats HATE getting wet! If the flies were buzzing around her back end, however, I would have cleaned her up too. I hate maggots! Mama and baby should stay together. I don't think I've ever seen a one-day-old drink water, but I can't say that we've ever had a kid when it was 100 degrees either. I wouldn't be worried at all if I saw a kid drinking in that kind of heat. Mama's milk is warm, so she might be wanting the water as much for its cooling ability as anything else.
Enjoy that baby and give her lots of cuddles. You won't believe how fast she's going to grow!
Thanks so much for asking Deb... I have to admit I'm so new that I'm dumber than dirt! Today I took the baby inside and gave her a warmish bath . She had pooh stuck to her butt. It was orangish in color and little berries, but some was soft. Is that close to normal??? I also bathed Momma's hind end area because she had slime stuck to her and shavings too. She wasn't happy but it needed to be done. I'm hoping all this is ok. I'd think the cool water would be refreshing? I dried them both off and put the fan on them . Today was another 100 temp day .
Q. Do I need to worry about her pooh?
I saw the baby drinking water from the bucket...do they drink water that young???
I have them in a clean, open but shaded pen by themselves with fresh water, food and hay. I aslo cut some branches and leaves for her.
Q. Do they need anything else? Should I let Mom out to graze without the baby?
Q. Any advice you think I should know and didn't ask???
Thanks again,
MsC
Poop sounds normal. It should be like little bits of scrambled eggs.
Anything in particular you're worried about remembering?
Just wanted to share a pic of my little blessing. So far she is still doing well. I finally got to see her nurse this afternoon. She is so black and has a curly coat . I think she is pretty for a pygmy goat. I'm surprised to find that the baby is a female!! I really thought SHE was a HE. LOL
She seems strong and in good flesh. Guess I ought to weigh her, too. How do you guys remember everything to do???
Her pooh is kinda runny/pastey yellowish???
Mom has been a real trooper. She was NOT tame at all when I got her but she has come around pretty good. She actually let me wash her off a bit and I can see why no one wants to milk a pygmy!
Now I just have to wait for the other 3 girls to bingo...first lesson learned....aim for winter babies in Texas...LOL
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Thank you so much Deb!!! Well she could have choose a better place to have the baby. At first sight I thought it was dead but as I got closer I saw it move and tried to get mom to move up to a grassy area close to her. I ran back to the house and got towels and went back out.As I got there I could see baby was stuck and so I took the towels and cleaned it face off. I then saw that only one foot was out and could see the other foot folded back so I just looped my finger around it and pulled it forward. She came right out after that.
It was sooo hot for them and me .The baby looks stronger today and I was pleased she could stand pretty sturdy. Still seems like it is struggling to nurse the baby bumps the bag but never seen it latch on??
You have an wonderful site here and I just thank everyone because I found so much help lastnight just reading old post .
I will get pics later... I'm so excited!
She would probably be dead by now if she hadn't nursed. They need colostrum within about six hours of birth. You know she is getting milk if she is peeing and pooping. The poop should turn from black to bright yellow by 24 hours after birth. It should also feel like there is a little golf ball in her tummy, which is right behind her ribs.
You may see slime for up to a couple of weeks, and it's not a problem as long as it doesn't stink like something rotten, which would mean there is an infection.
Unless you want to bring the goats in the house, I'm afraid a fan is about the best you can do. It will help them to feel cooler as it dissipates the heat from their skin. Make sure mama has plenty of cool fresh water always available so that she can make lots of milk for the baby.
You mentioned the baby's head being in the dirt, which is a little worrisome. If she got dirt in her mouth, you might have a problem with coccidiosis in about 3 weeks, which is how long it takes coccidia to go through their life cycle and make a goat sick. So, if she suddenly gets diarrhea at 3 weeks, that would be why.