Question about goat birth if help is needed

SkyWarrior

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I tried gloves at first. My hands are too big for them to get inside properly! :th (I have big hands for a woman) So it's dive in and pull. Wash up afterwards. I also noticed that I don't have near the sensitivity for feeling what's in there when I wear gloves. (Okay, guys, no rude comments about raincoats, okay? :hide)

I always keep my nails trimmed to the quick (drives me nuts, otherwise)
 
BlessedWithGoats

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Thanks SkyWarrior! :) I have big hands too. :) Hopefully I'll be able to help them if needed, but even more hopefully they'll deliver fine with no assistance needed! :)
 
Ridgetop

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Actually, just be calm. Once you have all the equipment assembled and ready you will probably come out to check on her and the babies will be up nursing! Assembling all the equipment will take some time though and that will make waiting easier on you!

1. If you use gloves they should be sterile. You can sterilize them yourself with iodine sloshed over them. I never used gloves although I tried. I had them but I couldn't feel the babies properly. Usually when assisting it is because twins or triplets (or quads) get tangled. You need to identify which baby you have hold of and often have to push them backwards to get the other obstructing one out. Since your doe or ewe isn't cooperating this can be difficult. Since you are in almost up to your elbows with large ewes and does, short gloves aren't much use anyway. Long OB cattle gloves are too big and loose. I always close my eyes when I am inside a doe or ewe - it helps me focus on what my hands see.

2.I keep a gallon jug of antibacterial soap in the barn and also you can get the antibacterial wash that makes things slippery for the doe or ewe at Jeffers. I usually use the antibacterial soap - easy and quick to get. I slather it on and it acts as a lube as well. If you are just assisting in pulling a large baby that is presenting normally I use a towel to get purchase on the legs. I always tell myself I should buy some cheap cotton garden gloves for this, but since I am usually in a hurry I never have any with me.

3.I have a separate tool box with all my kidding tools in the barn so I don't have to go back to look for anything. lf the babies are stuck you don't have a lot of time. I keep old towels and newspapers in a plastic crate with a lid. Iodine in a bottle to sterilize, iodine in a pill container to dip cords in, baby aspirator (fondly known by us as the "snot sucker", scissors, dental floss and cord clips, and other odds and ends I have purchased over the years. I even have a lamb puller, but have never used it. I prefer the sense of touch to recognize what the baby parts are and who they belong to. (We have all heard the horror story about the rancher who pulled the wrong leg.)

4.I always give a shot of PennG after going into a doe just in case. One shot is all, a couple dys if one of the kids was dead for a while. If I am worried about the cleanout I will either call the vet a day later, or if you have Oxytocin, you can give a clean out shot yourself. I wouldn't give Oxy unless the doe or ewe is so exhausted she isn't contracting. Milking the mom or putting her baby on her will stimulate her own oxy so cleanout has never been a problem. I do search for the placenta when the mom gives birth in a pen. Out on the field the LGD usually cleans up LOL.

NOTE: Memorize the birth illustrations in your sheep or goat book. If you have to help, you don't want to be looking it when you should be pulling kids. On our first difficult kidding I took the book to the barn and my daughter held it for me while I sorted out the legs. She had quads!
 
BlessedWithGoats

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Ridgetop said:
Actually, just be calm. Once you have all the equipment assembled and ready you will probably come out to check on her and the babies will be up nursing! Assembling all the equipment will take some time though and that will make waiting easier on you!

1. If you use gloves they should be sterile. You can sterilize them yourself with iodine sloshed over them. I never used gloves although I tried. I had them but I couldn't feel the babies properly. Usually when assisting it is because twins or triplets (or quads) get tangled. You need to identify which baby you have hold of and often have to push them backwards to get the other obstructing one out. Since your doe or ewe isn't cooperating this can be difficult. Since you are in almost up to your elbows with large ewes and does, short gloves aren't much use anyway. Long OB cattle gloves are too big and loose. I always close my eyes when I am inside a doe or ewe - it helps me focus on what my hands see.

2.I keep a gallon jug of antibacterial soap in the barn and also you can get the antibacterial wash that makes things slippery for the doe or ewe at Jeffers. I usually use the antibacterial soap - easy and quick to get. I slather it on and it acts as a lube as well. If you are just assisting in pulling a large baby that is presenting normally I use a towel to get purchase on the legs. I always tell myself I should buy some cheap cotton garden gloves for this, but since I am usually in a hurry I never have any with me.

3.I have a separate tool box with all my kidding tools in the barn so I don't have to go back to look for anything. lf the babies are stuck you don't have a lot of time. I keep old towels and newspapers in a plastic crate with a lid. Iodine in a bottle to sterilize, iodine in a pill container to dip cords in, baby aspirator (fondly known by us as the "snot sucker", scissors, dental floss and cord clips, and other odds and ends I have purchased over the years. I even have a lamb puller, but have never used it. I prefer the sense of touch to recognize what the baby parts are and who they belong to. (We have all heard the horror story about the rancher who pulled the wrong leg.)

4.I always give a shot of PennG after going into a doe just in case. One shot is all, a couple dys if one of the kids was dead for a while. If I am worried about the cleanout I will either call the vet a day later, or if you have Oxytocin, you can give a clean out shot yourself. I wouldn't give Oxy unless the doe or ewe is so exhausted she isn't contracting. Milking the mom or putting her baby on her will stimulate her own oxy so cleanout has never been a problem. I do search for the placenta when the mom gives birth in a pen. Out on the field the LGD usually cleans up LOL.

NOTE: Memorize the birth illustrations in your sheep or goat book. If you have to help, you don't want to be looking it when you should be pulling kids. On our first difficult kidding I took the book to the barn and my daughter held it for me while I sorted out the legs. She had quads!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much Ridgetop!! :)
1. I have gloves, but I don't remember if they're sterile or non-sterile... have to check that out, and also have to get iodine. :)
2. Do you just use the antibacterial soap by itself, or do you mix it with water?
3. I have a canvas bag that I've started putting stuff in... still have quite a few things to collect though! :)
4. Where do you get PennG? Is it something I can get from somewhere like TSC?
5. Thank you! I have this link (http://www.gryphontor.com/youre-kidding---dont-panic.html) (one of you might've mentioned it), and I'll be looking at this some more! :)
 
SkyWarrior

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BlessedWithGoats said:
Thank you so much Ridgetop!! :)
1. I have gloves, but I don't remember if they're sterile or non-sterile... have to check that out, and also have to get iodine. :)
2. Do you just use the antibacterial soap by itself, or do you mix it with water?
3. I have a canvas bag that I've started putting stuff in... still have quite a few things to collect though! :)
4. Where do you get PennG? Is it something I can get from somewhere like TSC?
5. Thank you! I have this link (http://www.gryphontor.com/youre-kidding---dont-panic.html) (one of you might've mentioned it), and I'll be looking at this some more! :)
Click to expand...

Almost all feed stores have some version of Penicillin. I think the brand I use is Norocillin. You can get PennG or Procaine penicillin at Valley Vet. I used Terravet 200 on Galadriel which brought her back from the brink of death. I had to really be careful with it in a newborn because the amount was something like 4.5 cc per 100 lbs. How do you drop that to a kid that maybe weighs 1 lb? 10 lbs for 4/10 cc. So, less that 1/10 cc for a tiny critter like her.
 
Sweetened

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My first year, when girls would start labouring, id go in and get a bucket of soapy piping hot water to wash my hands in and keep nearby. It could cool down and still be warm enough if i went in to look.

This year because im pregnant, i purchased gloves and HATED them. It took me forever to figure out what i was feeling, no texture perception and so on; i truly found them a hinderance. When dealing with the triplets one ripped open while i was inside so, off it came. I scrubbed and scrubbed after that but everything turned out fine for everyone involved.

I do not medicate after going in. I too believe antibiotics are over used, though i do have some on hand for emergencies. Cant say theyve ever saved a life here.
 
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