CountryByNet.com Forums :: Goat midwifery

From an email my wife wrote to a friend with some editing, notes from John… I thought this email exchange was very helpful to me in understanding goat midwifery.
Wife’s email begins…
I have been meaning to write you about the wildest kidding I have heard of. Brook (Daughter’s 6 year old) was 2 days late - no real concern as she usually goes over a few. I checked on her on and off all night. She was laboring but not close. About 6:30 I went out and she was getting serious. Woke up daughter and told her what was happening. She went out to check on her and came back in for a blanket. Brook presented with her first kid about 7:00.
A Chammy [some kind of Alpine breeder slang for neat coat coloration-note from John] doe - yeah! Took her inside to clean her up and weigh her. She was 11.25 pounds! Nothing more seemed to be going on with Brook. She got up and walked around a little. She wasn't that big this year so we thought that was it. Daughter milked her out and attended to her as usual. I went back out about 9:30 to give her some more warm water with electrolytes in it. She was passing what appeared to be a mumified kid. 4 little tiny hooves and legs that were about the length of my finger with a brown mass. It seemed to take her a while so I left her alone. I was concerned about what we needed to do after the mumified kid. Antibiotics? Should we worry about infection? I checked my goat books but couldn't come up with
anything. I went back out again to find her eating it - yuck- but I guess that's what she would do in the wild so I left her alone. She passed the placenta and seemed fine. Daughter left for work. I told her that was fine to go cuz everything seemed to have settled down. When I got home I decided to check on Brook. It was about 12:30. She was presenting 2 hind legs! She wasn't working two hard at pushing and I was sure the kid was dead. I started to pull a little but stopped concerned that if the kid was dead the legs might break off. I encouraged her and she started pushing again. Out came a Sundgau who was very much alive! I had to lay the kid down in the straw while I grabbed a towel. In the seconds it took to get the towel Brook started licking the kid. All the while I was yelling through the intercom to John who was napping to come help me. I picked up the kid and ran to the house. Brook chased me all the way to the door. When I got to the house John met me on the porch. I told him "Get her" I was referring to Brook but he thought I meant our daughter and started calling to her, since he didn't know she wasn't home. So I yelled "No, Brook!" I took the very active kid into the bathroom and laid it down but immediately noticed the cord was broken very short, about 1/2 inch and the kid was bleeding profusely out the cord. I clamped it with my fingers hoping it would stop bleeding but it didn't. So I just clamped down again and waited. John returned to the house and I had him call my goat girlfriend [4h club advisor/instigator]. In what seemed like ever but was really only 15 minutes she arrived. It was really a challenge because the kid was so active it did not want to be help on my lap. I was afraid it was going to struggle more and rip what remained of the cord off so John and I wrapped it up in a towel to confine its movement.

When my girlfiend arrived I took my fingers off for a split second and it was bleeding a little bit less, but not much. We tied it off with dental floss.[My note-this kid has a nice minty smelling navel now] It was a doe kid and weighed 9.25 pounds! We named her Tsunami since she came in like a rush! [should we call her Tsweet Tsue? How are they going to register this critter?] Boy was our daughter surprised when she came home to another kid, and one that big, and a doe!

Our friend’s response-her informed opinions, **not* to be considered vet advice*.

I would treat the doe with the mummied kid with antibiotics. You don't know how much bacteria/ goo it may have left in the uterus. The best way to handle that or any kidding that I have to intrude the doe past the cervix to assist is that I leave 6 or 7 cc of biomycin 200 in the vaginal tract- just squirt it in without a needle with a syringe after she's done kidding while the cervix is still open. That's to be safe- you don't want to find out this fall there was an infection and be trying to fight it while she's supposed to be being bred... If you can't get in now go ahead and put her on 3 days in a row with that at 1cc per 20 lbs of goat- once per day. Keep up the probios at the same time...

Very neat you got two live does! Occassionally does can space out their kiddings like that. We don't let them go longer than about 30 minutes in between kids. How do we know there are more???? I roll up my sleeves as far as they can go. Then while standing behind the doe, I reach over and around her and have my hands touch underneath her. I start with my bear hug just behind her rib cage. Then I lift up firm but gentle and feel with my hands and arms for anything hard. I move my hands and arms back 4" and lift again. I do this working my way to the rear of the doe til I hit her foreudder. Most of the time if there is another kid in there you will feel somethng hard- a head, a leg or legs, a knee- something. Doing this after they are done kidding also helps them just a bit with expelling afterbirth.

If I discover there is another kid in there and the doe now decides she wants to take a long time (more than 30 min) to start having it then we intervene.

Hubby will take a bale of hay or straw and put it in the corner of a stall. If I'm by myself I put a short lead up in the corner. Now we take the doe and get her to stand her front feet onto the bale. Now I have lots of gravity helping to send the kids straight out. This makes those hard births so much easier- and I don't have to invade the doe but rarely- like If I have to go for a head that's turned. The doe makes much more progress with each push this way too. I have one doeling who is so deep bodied that this is the only way I can kid them without having to fish kids from their body cavity...

Your doe that you do antibiotics with- please put her on a probiotic while and after treating- even yogourmet powder will work nicely :O).

We did 3 things last year that I think gave us better success with kidding- stronger contractions- nearly always nose/toes presentation, and even stronger more coordinated kids.

1) we really made our does exercise a lot this winter. When it wasn't actually snowing we made them walk out of the barn for hay outside. I would go in the doeling pen more often and play with them- getting them to run and jump.

2) two years ago we started giving 3 selenium (bo-se) shots per year. We are so deficient in this valley, and the blood levels from vaccination only stay elevated for a month anyhow- so a shot every 6 months only elevates for 2 months out of the year. I also give all of my milkers and sr bucks a 3rd shot- timed just past peak lactation- so about 4 months after freshening. You will notice stronger pasterns as well if you do this.

3) We have added purina goat minerals- the loose bagged stuff. We had been using generic livestock loose minerals. I think the goats are getting more copper etc that they need that the livestock blend wasn't providing...

We have 28 kids so far- 14 does and 14 bucks. I have 5 or 6 more to kid thru early June... I might be done already for this month... Our last kidding was yesterday from a yearling and there was a girl in there for us :O). We've really had an uneventful kidding season thus far- for which I am so very very very thankful! I did lose one beautiful doeling- her dam got hit hard by an older doe so she had it at 132 days... Thankfully the dam is fine. She is milking some, but so far not enough to show this year
(darn I was hoping to finish her this year.)

End of email excerpt

I found this very informative- I hope that others on list can share some experiences and their knowledge on kidding issues.

John the Mighty Goat Rancher's proud poppa

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