Recommended reading-Birthing, Weaning, and Raising Young Goats

[Honest Omnivore]

Emergency Pulling technique- learned the hard* way, demonstrated by the vet. If you can't get the kid out, even with a good grip, here's the "last ditch" method a vet taught me when we had a crazy bad birth. Place the doe over a bale of hay, have a helper lay across her (only leaning a little weight on her if needed) to hold her in place. Pull down towards the ground as you pull the kid. This position allows gravity to help as the doe's weight, and a little of your helper's weight, add internal pressure to aid pushing the kid out.

Sounds crazy -the vet said that it can help if the puller doesn't have enough strength, or if the kid is "wedged" like ours was.

*The uterus was punctured, and intestine has snaked inside. Two kids were knotted together with the intestine. The vet's theory was that the contractions pushed a hoof through the uterus wall, causing the intestine to herniate into the uterus. He had never heard of it happening. None survived, it was my FIRST kidding experience. Thankfully we've had only positive experiences since then, and only one birth that required any assistance (mispositioned kid) which resolved with everyone happy and healthy.

 

[mikiz]

Jeez that's one horrible way to learn any emergency technique! I'm sorry for your losses

 

[Jenn27]

Emergency Pulling technique- learned the hard* way, demonstrated by the vet. If you can't get the kid out, even with a good grip, here's the "last ditch" method a vet taught me when we had a crazy bad birth. Place the doe over a bale of hay, have a helper lay across her (only leaning a little weight on her if needed) to hold her in place. Pull down towards the ground as you pull the kid. This position allows gravity to help as the doe's weight, and a little of your helper's weight, add internal pressure to aid pushing the kid out.

Sounds crazy -the vet said that it can help if the puller doesn't have enough strength, or if the kid is "wedged" like ours was.

*The uterus was punctured, and intestine has snaked inside. Two kids were knotted together with the intestine. The vet's theory was that the contractions pushed a hoof through the uterus wall, causing the intestine to herniate into the uterus. He had never heard of it happening. None survived, it was my FIRST kidding experience. Thankfully we've had only positive experiences since then, and only one birth that required any assistance (mispositioned kid) which resolved with everyone happy and healthy.

OMG.....that's scary!! We want to breed our goats, but I'm not sure I could handle that!

 

[Jenn27]

Thank you for this! Quick question. So my doe just gave birth yesterday and we didn't realize she was pregnant. So we have been deworming her every two weeks as usual. So is it safe to continue to deworm her as she is due today...or should I wait until she is finished nursing?

 

[norseofcourse]

Thank you for this! Quick question. So my doe just gave birth yesterday and we didn't realize she was pregnant. So we have been deworming her every two weeks as usual. So is it safe to continue to deworm her as she is due today...or should I wait until she is finished nursing?

What are you using to deworm her with every two weeks?

 

[Jenn27]

Panacur. I spoke to my daughter's FFA /Ag teacher first.

 

[norseofcourse]

Panacur. I spoke to my daughter's FFA /Ag teacher first.

Interesting - is this for a limited time, or every two weeks forever? When was the last time you had a fecal test done, and what did it show?

Protocols for wormings have changed a lot in recent years, to help slow the rate at which worms become resistant. The teacher may have a very good reason for recommending that worming schedule, however, and I would be interested in her reasoning if you could share it, please. I'm always up for learning about something I wasn't aware of.

 

[Latestarter]

That's a LOT of deworming! Before you do any more, I might suggest you have a fecal done to see if it's even needed. Typically, they shouldn't need worming more than every 6 months or more... and even then, a fecal should be done first to determine what if any worm load there is, and what dewormer would be best to use against that specific parasite load. Typically different dewormers are used in succession to help prevent the/any surviving worms/eggs from building up a tolerance to the dewormer being used.

 

[Jenn27]

Well she was telling me that it helps kill the cycle. But she did tell me today it eas best to hold off on the deworming until Missy is done nursing.

 

[AFewGoatsForMe]

The whole milk that you recommend for goat kids, are you saying to use cows milk? Or to find a store that sells goat milk?