Robbie in waiting at the barn door.
Mamma goat presenting with first twin
foot first delivery, only one, is hard for mother and sometimes needs assistance. She managed to birth the babe herself.
The entire body of the kid was gelatinous and handled like a bowl of jelly. I allowed mother to lick the kid to stimulate her milk.
Mamma presenting head first twin number two. No movement from the babe at this stage at all.
Yay, he is alive. I was praying for his life for the poor mother. It is so hard on the does to lose their kids. He is yellow from his own poop, neonatal meconium, in the sac. He was likely squished by the birth of the first kid.
After towel drying with three towels, Mom is finishing the job of cleaning him off. He is crying but unable to stand.
He opens his eyes for brief periods, though not for long. His little legs are thin, as is his body, and he cannot stand.
This is what the insides of the first doe kid look like, full of jelly.
He is dry, has had a selenium and vitamin e shot and at least 2 ounces of milked colostrum from the mom. He wears a sleeve jackets (he is male, I know) and is presented to his mother for her watchful care and love. HIs prognosis is very poor. It is just after 11 pm now, and I have come in with a sad heart. The little boy did not survive.
I bought 4 Angora goats, three females bred, and a male kid that is not related for future breeding. The owner of the goats admitted that he had used Valbazen wormer after the goats were bred and had already experienced problems. I had no idea what to expect, since I had read also that some mothers are fine, while others throw kids that are malformed, stillborn or otherwise unhealthy.
The first doe kidded a single male kid, not very large, but reasonably healthy at birth.
She cleaned him off and he was able to stand and attempt to nurse, with help from he to direct him and to hold her still. Suddenly he collapsed and was unable to stand. I milked the colostrum from her and syringe fed him. This went on for 2 days. Each day I tried to put him to his mother to nurse with no luck, but on the third day, he was able to suck and nursed if I held him up. He had lost all muscle tone. He was given a half of a cc of selenium and vitamin e within a half hour of birth, after he lost his muscle tone. Today, he is healthy and robust and lives outside with the goat herd and his mother.
The second doe kidded today. Her water broke around 9 am this morning and it was not until 11 that she birthed the first of twins. The baby presented with only one leg, not the most convenient or comfortable birth. The foot was white and gel like, so I was wondering how this would go. The head presented at least a half hour later and the kid was still born with a gel like body, particularly the abdomen.
The second kid did not present for another half hour. There was meconium in the sac and he was yellow, but alive. He presented head first, another sometimes problematic birth. Mother birthed unassisted, but stopped once his head presented, at which time I cleared his nostrils and mouth so he could breathe. He is extremely thin and tiny, possibly not quite 2 pounds. The first twin was a ewe and was close to 5 pounds.
His mother cleaned him off with much help for three towels and a lot of gentle rubbing on my part. The temperature is only -5 and though he has a hot water bottle and heat lamp, it is still cold. He is unable to stand, barely can open his eyes and has zero sucking reflex and to top it off, the mother will not stand to allow him to nurse.
I managed to hold her in a corner with my shoulder and milk colostrum from her, about 4 ounces, with great difficulty. The kid was then put in a kid sac (sleeve from a fleece jacket) and the colostrum was fed to him with a syringe. He was not cooperative and much dribbled down his chin, but there were times when he actively swallowed so I am sure he got some at least, possibly two ounces. Given his tiny size, that may be enough for an hour. I returned him to his mother, set his back to the hot water bottle and the heat lamp directly over him. He could not hold his head up and I do not have much hope for his survival.
The pictures I am posting here are graphic. The kid that was stillborn was given to the dog and he ate the front, which is why the belly is exposed, but it allows a good view of what the kid was composed of -gel. At this point, I am taking a break and having some lunch before going back to see how he is progressing. He did not survive past 11 pm. I am sad for his mother.
The first doe kidded a single male kid, not very large, but reasonably healthy at birth.
She cleaned him off and he was able to stand and attempt to nurse, with help from he to direct him and to hold her still. Suddenly he collapsed and was unable to stand. I milked the colostrum from her and syringe fed him. This went on for 2 days. Each day I tried to put him to his mother to nurse with no luck, but on the third day, he was able to suck and nursed if I held him up. He had lost all muscle tone. He was given a half of a cc of selenium and vitamin e within a half hour of birth, after he lost his muscle tone. Today, he is healthy and robust and lives outside with the goat herd and his mother.
The second doe kidded today. Her water broke around 9 am this morning and it was not until 11 that she birthed the first of twins. The baby presented with only one leg, not the most convenient or comfortable birth. The foot was white and gel like, so I was wondering how this would go. The head presented at least a half hour later and the kid was still born with a gel like body, particularly the abdomen.
The second kid did not present for another half hour. There was meconium in the sac and he was yellow, but alive. He presented head first, another sometimes problematic birth. Mother birthed unassisted, but stopped once his head presented, at which time I cleared his nostrils and mouth so he could breathe. He is extremely thin and tiny, possibly not quite 2 pounds. The first twin was a ewe and was close to 5 pounds.
His mother cleaned him off with much help for three towels and a lot of gentle rubbing on my part. The temperature is only -5 and though he has a hot water bottle and heat lamp, it is still cold. He is unable to stand, barely can open his eyes and has zero sucking reflex and to top it off, the mother will not stand to allow him to nurse.
I managed to hold her in a corner with my shoulder and milk colostrum from her, about 4 ounces, with great difficulty. The kid was then put in a kid sac (sleeve from a fleece jacket) and the colostrum was fed to him with a syringe. He was not cooperative and much dribbled down his chin, but there were times when he actively swallowed so I am sure he got some at least, possibly two ounces. Given his tiny size, that may be enough for an hour. I returned him to his mother, set his back to the hot water bottle and the heat lamp directly over him. He could not hold his head up and I do not have much hope for his survival.
The pictures I am posting here are graphic. The kid that was stillborn was given to the dog and he ate the front, which is why the belly is exposed, but it allows a good view of what the kid was composed of -gel. At this point, I am taking a break and having some lunch before going back to see how he is progressing. He did not survive past 11 pm. I am sad for his mother.
This is the kid, now healthy, born a week and a bit ago, with his mother. He too had a rough start.
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