helmstead
Goat Mistress
This thread will end in heartbreak, how much we won't know until it's over, but I feel for educational purposes it should be shared.
We purchased Hannah last September. She has everything we are looking for in our herd - conformation, udder and new bloodlines. We were excited to get her home! We got her up to date on her copper and selenium, and put her in the pen with our buck, Fire Flame. She was bred once, but slipped, and was bred again the following month. We weren't sure if she had settled, but crossed our fingers.
Shortly after, I noticed her belly dropping. I thought, good! She must have settled. She has a history of large litters, so I figured we were expecting triplets (or more) and she was showing already.
Maybe a month later, I realized something didn't look right. Her dry udder appeared to be sticking out at the wrong angle, and her belly had suddenly dropped further than it should be, large litter or not. So I brought her into the barn for an exam. There was something VERY amiss. She had herniated...from what I could tell it was a complete abdominal hernia of the ventral crease.
She didn't act painful, and was eating/acting normally. Soon though she began to loose condition. So we decided it was in her best interest to give her some personal attention, feed her separately, etc. Still not sure if she had been bred, but really feeling she was open/had slipped...we began to make plans to have her euthanized.
Last night I brought Hannah to the front of the barn to spend some time with her. We had decided to go ahead with the euth the following morning (today). She was eating some treats, and I was giving her a good body rub. I ran my hands around the herniated area, trying to feel for some clue. Instead of a clue...I was shocked to be kicked by a fetus.
Best I can tell, there are at least two in there. Her uterus is obviously completely external of the abdominal cavity...but the fetuses feel correctly sized for an approximately 3/20 due date.
Our options are limited. Plan A) vaginal delivery, of course assisted, with some manual manipulation externally to get the uterus lifted so kids can be pulled/delivered. Plan B) C section. Unfortunately either plan ends in the destruction of a beautiful doe, all we can hope is that we are able to save these kids she's gone through all the trouble of incubating these past 4 months.
This morning I will be clipping her and documenting her condition. I will post photos of the hernia and keep you all updated on how things go. Hannah is now isolated for her own comfort. Our regular vet is over an hour away, but I have a recommendation for a closer vet, whom I will be calling about the C section - if she goes into labor at an odd hour, we will need to have a vet available locally.
We purchased Hannah last September. She has everything we are looking for in our herd - conformation, udder and new bloodlines. We were excited to get her home! We got her up to date on her copper and selenium, and put her in the pen with our buck, Fire Flame. She was bred once, but slipped, and was bred again the following month. We weren't sure if she had settled, but crossed our fingers.
Shortly after, I noticed her belly dropping. I thought, good! She must have settled. She has a history of large litters, so I figured we were expecting triplets (or more) and she was showing already.
Maybe a month later, I realized something didn't look right. Her dry udder appeared to be sticking out at the wrong angle, and her belly had suddenly dropped further than it should be, large litter or not. So I brought her into the barn for an exam. There was something VERY amiss. She had herniated...from what I could tell it was a complete abdominal hernia of the ventral crease.
She didn't act painful, and was eating/acting normally. Soon though she began to loose condition. So we decided it was in her best interest to give her some personal attention, feed her separately, etc. Still not sure if she had been bred, but really feeling she was open/had slipped...we began to make plans to have her euthanized.
Last night I brought Hannah to the front of the barn to spend some time with her. We had decided to go ahead with the euth the following morning (today). She was eating some treats, and I was giving her a good body rub. I ran my hands around the herniated area, trying to feel for some clue. Instead of a clue...I was shocked to be kicked by a fetus.
Best I can tell, there are at least two in there. Her uterus is obviously completely external of the abdominal cavity...but the fetuses feel correctly sized for an approximately 3/20 due date.
Our options are limited. Plan A) vaginal delivery, of course assisted, with some manual manipulation externally to get the uterus lifted so kids can be pulled/delivered. Plan B) C section. Unfortunately either plan ends in the destruction of a beautiful doe, all we can hope is that we are able to save these kids she's gone through all the trouble of incubating these past 4 months.
This morning I will be clipping her and documenting her condition. I will post photos of the hernia and keep you all updated on how things go. Hannah is now isolated for her own comfort. Our regular vet is over an hour away, but I have a recommendation for a closer vet, whom I will be calling about the C section - if she goes into labor at an odd hour, we will need to have a vet available locally.