I have a friend a couple of hours away who has a goat that kidded on Friday. It was a somewhat difficult delivery. The first kid was breech and my friend had to stretch the doe out and then help get the little guy out, but he lived. Then a doeling came out easily. The mama was worn out and rested, then took care of the kids but now she won't eat or drink and the kids won't nurse or take a bottle (just a couple of sips).
My friend gave her banamine (suggested by the vet), but she said I could ask you all if you have any ideas what might be wrong with the doe. I suggested a stomach tube for the babies.
Other facts:
the placenta came out
the vet does not know goats
she ate a couple of tablespoons of goat chow, and a tiny bit of alfalfa this morning
Thanks!
Replies
I did recommend several times that he take her to a vet if he can't get in there, but I am guessing that someone who cares even a little for a suffering animal would do that if they had that in their power, but the fact that they haven't yet makes me think maybe they can't...I offered to talk them through it over the phone, as my mentor had done for me but they just said they'd go out there and check her again. I just called back to offer to go out there and at least try to save the doe. Assuming her cervix hasn't closed and she doesn't need a c-section...I could at least get the kid out, and give her some calcium and nutridrench...Leaving them with some Penicillin for after she passed the placenta... but they didn't answer. If he calls tomorrow and she's still alive after all that...the dear lord help her. As I am pretty sure she will need a c-section by then. I don't have any children and I know I would not want to be in labor that long! What are they thinking?
I remember I came home from work to find Oviedo on the ground dry and nursing, and Isabel would push once every 30 minutes or so, and then she laid down about an hour and a half later and really started to push hard but nothing was moving after about 5 minutes, and I knew something was up.
I just can't understand it. I think it will be my practice now if anyone calls me within an hours drive I will go and help them if I can. Not for the people, but for the goats. I'm not a vet but I have to be better than nothing in situations like this.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Adrienne said:
I think I'm ordering arm length gloves for this very reason.
So glad everything appears to be working out now! I was extremely skeptical about the neighbor who said that if there was anything in there, she would have pushed it out, but it's tough to evaluate third-hand information. Once you go in to check for more kids, you feel around until you are feeling nothing but uterus everywhere, and you put your arm in until you're hitting the back end of the uterus, which could be anywhere from your wrist to your elbow, depending upon the doe. It's pointless to do a half-hearted check because you've just introduced the risk of infection, but you're still not 100% sure.
Update: The contractions began again in earnest as soon as the Banamine wore off and my friend found a vet that would take her last night. Then as my friend suspected, the vet found a dead baby - positioned sideways way in the back. She said it would have never come out. It's a very good thing she had her on antibiotics already. The vet said if she hadn't brought her in last night she probably wouldn't have made it. Babies are nursing. Mama is resting. Not out of the woods yet, but much better and we know what we are dealing with. Thank you all so much for your help!
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