Hello! I have a doe due to kid in two days. I’ve spotted her son (a wether that lives with the herd) trying to sneak a quick nursing from her as her udder has been filling up. I stop it when I see it but I can’t be there all the time of course. I’ve heard that it can put the doe into premature labor but can’t find any specific articles that talk about it. Do you know if this is true - wondering if I should tape her off or do something else? Also, is it possible he could take the colostrum and the kids wouldn’t have enough?
Thank you!
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Congratulations! Back legs first is not that unusual and is actually a pretty easy way for a kid to be born since it's very tapered and starts with the smallest part of the kid coming out first.
Like Tammy said, you can click on the paper clip to add any kind of attachment. You can also click on the little photo icon to add the photo to the post so that everyone can see it in your reply (rather than needing to open the attachment). If you mouse over those icons in the upper left corner and pause, it will tell you what the icon is for.
Heather said:
Yay! She had two beautiful bucklings last night! All went well and I saw kids born with their back legs first for the first time! I’ll post pics once I can figure out how lol
Congats on your kids! So glad all went well =) To upload pictures, just click the little paperclip up in the header of the reply box and you can upload files.
Heather said:
Yay! She had two beautiful bucklings last night! All went well and I saw kids born with their back legs first for the first time! I’ll post pics once I can figure out how lol
Yay! She had two beautiful bucklings last night! All went well and I saw kids born with their back legs first for the first time! I’ll post pics once I can figure out how lol
Good luck with the kids! We would love to see pictures =)
Heather said:
Thank you! She does kick him away pretty quick so I don’t think he is really getting much of anything - just want to be on top of it for sure so I appreciate the advice!
Thank you! She does kick him away pretty quick so I don’t think he is really getting much of anything - just want to be on top of it for sure so I appreciate the advice!
When I interviewed Dr. VanSaun, a vet professor, he mentioned a study they did on cattle where they milked out pregnant cows regularly before calving, thinking that this would somehow prevent milk fever, which it did not, but they did wind up with low quality colostrum and sickly calves. If he is just getting a quick sip before mom kicks him and walks away, it's probably not a big deal, but at this point I'd probably lock him up in a stall or pen with another goat until after mom kids. Here is the complete interview about colostrum:
Please do NOT freak out and give the kids a fake colostrum, which is what someone else did when I told her about this study. Fake colostrum is really not anywhere close to the real thing. And I can't imagine he would be consuming that much of the colostrum anyway. Plus, it's easy enough to just put the wether somewhere until mom gives birth.
If the doe is due in two days, meaning she is at day 143 now, you don't need to worry about premature labor. Kids would not be premature at 143 days. But in the cow study, they didn't put any cows into labor at all.
Replies
Congratulations! Back legs first is not that unusual and is actually a pretty easy way for a kid to be born since it's very tapered and starts with the smallest part of the kid coming out first.
Like Tammy said, you can click on the paper clip to add any kind of attachment. You can also click on the little photo icon to add the photo to the post so that everyone can see it in your reply (rather than needing to open the attachment). If you mouse over those icons in the upper left corner and pause, it will tell you what the icon is for.
Heather said:
Congats on your kids! So glad all went well =) To upload pictures, just click the little paperclip up in the header of the reply box and you can upload files.
Heather said:
Good luck with the kids! We would love to see pictures =)
Heather said:
That's crazy that she is letting him even get close enough for a taste! They get soooo maternal when they are close! Keep an eye on her for sure =)
When I interviewed Dr. VanSaun, a vet professor, he mentioned a study they did on cattle where they milked out pregnant cows regularly before calving, thinking that this would somehow prevent milk fever, which it did not, but they did wind up with low quality colostrum and sickly calves. If he is just getting a quick sip before mom kicks him and walks away, it's probably not a big deal, but at this point I'd probably lock him up in a stall or pen with another goat until after mom kids. Here is the complete interview about colostrum:
https://thriftyhomesteader.com/colostrum-for-baby-goats/
Please do NOT freak out and give the kids a fake colostrum, which is what someone else did when I told her about this study. Fake colostrum is really not anywhere close to the real thing. And I can't imagine he would be consuming that much of the colostrum anyway. Plus, it's easy enough to just put the wether somewhere until mom gives birth.
If the doe is due in two days, meaning she is at day 143 now, you don't need to worry about premature labor. Kids would not be premature at 143 days. But in the cow study, they didn't put any cows into labor at all.