Measures to take after birth for the mom

[Lady Jane]

Hi a few questions,
What should be done for the doe after giving birth? Should she have any sort of medicine or get a check up from a vet?
I ask because when I was younger my family had a couple Saanens. One of them died a few days after giving birth. We thought that she was fine, but one night we found her laying down in the barn baaing very loudly and her body was shaking all over. She was obviously in a lot of pain. Unfortunately, she did not make it. Any idea what it could have been? Now, years later we are getting goats again and I would rather not repeat that experience.
Also, how old is too old when breeding a goat?

Lady Jane

 

[glenolam]

Hello! Sorry to hear about your past problem after kidding. It could have been a number of things.

Usually you don't have to do anything for goats after labor except watch them and make sure they don't seem "off".

Here are a few kidding threads from this forum that may help you get back into it - Mind you, these are very comprehensive lists so you just pick what will work for you and your family:

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7687

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7628

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6314

The "usual" age to stop breeding a doe is 10 years, but some do it sooner due to the doe's condition/health. Just depends on the doe.

 

[Lady Jane]

Thanks for the links. I have been trying to find info on past posts, but there are a lot of posts on this forum and it can be hard to find exactly what I'm looking for. ^_^

 

[Ariel301]

All I do after the birth is watch closely to be sure the doe passes the afterbirth within a reasonable time frame. A retained placenta can kill a doe like you described, as can hypocalcemia ("milk fever", a calcium deficiency). I watch to be sure the kids are nursing correctly (if not being bottle fed) and that mom is taking good care of her babies and nothing seems abnormal. If something isn't right, then I treat accordingly.