By Bobbie Milsom

    In and effort to provide detailed pictures and experienced advice I've composed links to website that can assist you with any problems you might encounter. I've also attempted to give all the information I've learned in my years of breeding various livestock.

    Once again I'd like to remind you that all articles written by members are based on their own experiences or opinions.  These articles are in no way intended to replace advice or assistance by your Veterinary.  Please consult your Veterinary whenever you feel your Goats  are ill or need assistance.

Preparing for the Birth
    
    As with all our livestock we recommend that Doe  should be vaccinated 3 weeks prior to Kidding with Clostridia per fringes C & D with tetanus. This will stimulate the their  immune system to produce antibodies   that will concentrate in her colostrums. The Kids will then have high levels of antibodies that will help prevent type C and tetanus.
  

     Nutritional needs for goats  in late gestation greatly increase as they approach Kidding. Does carrying twins or triplets require even more feed.  As discussed in the article about ketoses/pregnancy toxemia.  Thin Does  should be sorted into a smaller group to allow them eat a more and have less competition for their food.  If the goats are on a hay diet the vitamin level may be sufficient although you will still benefit from feeding a mineral high in Selenium and Vitamin E. These are important to ensure that the babies are not born with White Muscle Disease.

  It is important that the Does have dry shelter.  Small amounts of exercise are beneficial to the pregnant Does such as feeding in an outside area to allow the them access to a small pasture during the day.  This gives you an opportunity to see slow, limping, ketosis or problem Goats.  Any Goat  noticed to be limping or sluggish should be move to an area where it can be monitored and fed correctly to avoid Ketoses or pregnancy Toxemia. (article below on this disorder)

All feed fed to gestating Goats  should be fed in feeders. Feeding gestating Does in large groups enhances the possible spread of abortion disease. Feeding 250 mg. per head per day of tetracycline will help control Chlamydia abortions. Any aborted fetuses and placenta need to be immediately removed from the pen to prevent infection. You should always wear disposable latex gloves when handling aborted fetuses as many of the common causes of abortions can infect humans.

    As a general rule mammal reproduction is much the same from one species or breed to another.  Some breeds or species can have more difficulty giving birth then others.  It is my personal feeling that many of the problems are man made.  We tend to breed sizes of animals together that would not normally breed.  We also tend to feed our animals to much.  Fat animals that do not get enough exercise will have at least a  50% higher difficulty during birth then those who are out of open range foraging for themselves.

Difficult births

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Ketosis or Pregnancy Toxemia

by Bobbie Milsom

    Pregnancy toxemia or ketosis, is usually only seen in Does  carrying two or more kids.  In simpler terms the Does becomes unable to process consistent blood sugar levels.   As the nutritional  demands of the fetuses become higher and the organs become more crowded, the Doe becomes unable to eat enough in one meal to sustain stable blood sugar.  As a result her body starts to use up all her stores of fat.  When the fat is burned to quickly it releases Ketones into her blood stream and she becomes toxic.  Often her pasterns will swell and she becomes weak and shaky. 
 

How to diagnosis Ketoses:

     Does  with ketosis are lethargic and usually not eating well. They usually  have poor muscle control and balance or shaky and weak.  Often they have swollen pasterns and stand on the pastern instead of the hooves.  Some Goats or Ewes will grind their teeth and groan.  Some producers say they can smell a sweet acidy smell on the Doe breath.  More often it can be detected by using a urine strip to test the sugar levels in the urine.

 

 Treatment of ketosis is relatively easy if it's caught early. It's corrected by stabilizing her blood sugar. Giving her  a mixture we call Magic several times a day will raise her blood levels and help her regain her appetite.  Give 20 cc of Magic  per 100#  by mouth every few hours

Magic is made with: 

 2 parts Molasses;

2 parts light Kayro Syrup

and 1 part Corn Oil.

    The Doe  should be moved to an area where she can have a slightly higher protein diet to enable her system to covert the proteins into more stable blood sugar levels.  Giving her a small amount of 16-18% protein feed several times a day is very helpful and  fresh hay available to her when she wants it.  Monitor this Doe very carefully.  If she goes down there is a very high risk you could lose her and her babies.

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Difficult Kidding

By Bobbie Milsom

 

    Before we talk about pulling a Kid  out of its mother we first need to know what to pull on.  It's very important to know if you have front legs or back legs.  If both or all of the legs belong to the same Kid?  Never pull on anything until your sure you have a correct position for birth. You can pull a head with no legs showing but you never pull on legs with no head showing.

    Correct Position:     In a normal presentation you will see a bubble come out of the Dam.  If you look closely at the bubble you should see two little  hooves and a nose . Often you'll see the tongue sticking out one side of the Kids mouth.  The top of the baby's  head should be up toward the tail and the hooves just below it.  This is a normal position.  In this presentation the Doe  will usually push the baby out in just a few pushes. 

Your part:  Your very lucky.  You have an excellent Doe  and all you have to do is help her clean up the  Kid, dunk it's umbilical cord in iodine and make sure it gets a tummy full of colostrums. 

Presentation with one leg:   This presentation is exactly as described above but with only one hove showing.   This presentation can still be born with very little risk to the Dam or the baby.  Very seldom is it necessary to go in after the other leg.  In fact I don't recommend going in after the other leg unless there is no other way to get the Kid out.

Your part:  In this position the Kid can sometimes get stuck at the shoulders on the mother's  cervix.  It isn't usually to difficult to free the Kid.  Slid you finger in just one side of the Kids spine. Wiggle it in until you can feel that you are behind the Kid's shoulder blade.  Once you feel the shoulder blade pop it  down, forward and out of the cervix.  Normally you will be able to pull the Kid the rest of the way out.  If it doesn't come out....go back in with your finger and release the other shoulder in exactly the same manor as the first.

Head first, no legs:   Most Kids can be born in a head only  position but some assistance may be necessary.  Often the Kid will get stuck in the cervix at the shoulders.  In this case you have to make a judgment call to decide if you need to go in after one or both front legs or to pull the Kid out by its head. 

Your part:   This position usually gets stuck at the shoulders within the cervix as well.  To release the Kid you can usually just pop the shoulders lose as I explained above.  If this isn't possible you will have to push the baby back into the Doe and find at least one of the  front legs.  I would suggest that you do all you can yourself.  You don't have time to wait for your Vet to get there or your baby will surely die.  You only have, at best, am hour to get the Kid out alive.  Pushing a Kid  back inside is very dangerous and should be done gently to avoid rupturing the mother's  uterus. 

In many cases I've been unable to push the Kid back in.  When this happens I go in at one side of the breast bone of the Kid.  Since the Kids chest is very "V" shaped and flexible at birth I can often go into the Doe below and to the side of the breast bone to find one of the legs.  Once you find one of the front legs you must gently fold it and lift it up into the cervix.  Try to keep your fingers over the tip of the hove so it doesn't tear anything as you lift it up into the cervix.  Try to imagine the direction the legs of the Kid fold up to help you guide it out along side the head.  Your Doe  will be screaming at this point but you have to remember that her life is at risk.  Don't let yourself get scared or upset.  Block out the sound of the Doe  and concentrate on getting the kid out.  Believe me when I tell you that the mother will be just fine the second you get that baby out of there.  Now lift the leg up and out. Extend it all of the way out.  Now wrap your hands around the kids neck and pull it directed down toward the mother's hooves.  It may still be a little tight but if the Kid  is progressing out at all....keep pulling until it's out. 

Front legs, no head:  No head present.  This is a difficult one.  The Kids can not be born without the head being brought into the birth canal.  In my experience these Kids are often dead or dying.  When a baby begins to die it draws its head back over its side.  This can be one of the more difficult birthing problems.

Your part:  As I said above the Kid is probable dead or dying.  Quick action is necessary if there is any chance of saving it.  For this difficult birth you need a Kid puller.  They can be ordered from most of the livestock catalogs on the internet.   I use this one  Pull-Eze Lamb Puller   Now slide the kid puller inside your Doe.  Follow it with your hand and gently feel up one of the legs , along the breast area of the lamb finding the neck and lastly the babies head.  You'll need to roll the babies head up.  If you can't reach it push the Kids body back in a little ways by pushing on the legs that are outside the Ewe with your other hand.  You should have enough room now to get the Kid puller wire behind the Kids ears and under it's chin.  If you can do it quickly get one or both legs in under the chin.   If you can't get the legs very quickly forget about them and pull the Kid with just it's head.  There is no time to waste. Once your certain you have it's head in position pull the handle outside the Doe with your other hand.  While pulling with the outside hand use your inside hand to guide the Kids nose into the cervix.   "Congratulations!"   You just pulled your first Kid and hopefully it's still alive.  Quickly work on the Kid to get it breathing.  If you don't have a small flexible plastic tube add one to your birthing kit.  I use it to suck the liquid out of the babies mouth and throat so it can breath.  As soon as you get that KId breathing well put it in front of it's mothers head.  She worked very hard for it to arrive and deserves to get to clean it up and love it. :O) 

If by chance it's dead........go right back in and pull any other Kids left inside.  Often if the difficult birth is cause by no head presentation the other Kids  in there are distressed and near death.  Getting the rest out quickly increases the odds of getting at least one live baby.

Back legs only:   When you see back legs it isn't as scary as you might think. 

 Your part:      First you must make sure both legs belong to the same baby.  Then grab the legs above it's hocks and pull it out and down toward the Does hooves. You will most often have to pull a little on the baby but the Kid should slid right out with no complications.  It is important however to pull the Kid out because it's head is inside and it can't breath if the umbilical cord collapses from the stretch during birth. 

Breach birth or Butt first:   Breach or Butt first  are more difficult.  The Kid most often can't be born in this position. 

Your part:  This one isn't very difficult.  Gently push the baby back into it's mother far enough for you to reach under it and find it's back legs.   Once your certain both legs belong to the same baby, lift them up and out of the cervix pulling  it out backward the same as the back legs only example.

Upside down lamb:   You'll very seldom see this one but it's good to be aware.  It is necessary for the spine of the Kid to be up toward the tail of the Doe.  If it isn't, the Kid can't be born until it is turned over.

Your part:  I've only seen this a couple of times but when I do I bypass the upside down baby and look for another kid which is head first and easy to pull out.  The reason I do this is because the upside down baby has to be turned over and there has to be enough room in the womb to turn it.  Once you have pulled one or two other Kids out and have them breathing go in and turn the upside down baby.  Most often if the womb is empty except for this Kid there will be enough room to turn it right side up.  However if you can't get it right side up you can pull it by it's back legs and twist the spine into alignment as you pull it.   I've only done this a couple of times but the baby appeared unharmed by the twisting. Two lambs in the birth canal: 

     TTwo kids in the birth canal.  Both the Kids and the Doe can die if quick help isn't offered.  One of the Kids  has to be pushed back in to make room for the other to come out.  I usually pull the smaller of the two if possible to make more room to pull the larger one right after the small one is out.   Generally the Ewe has been in labor for some time when this position is seen.  Its important to get those Kids out as quickly as possible.

Your part:   The easiest way to tell if you have two Kids trying to be born at the same time is to make sure you are out there from the start of labor.  If you see one bubble expose itself but no Kid appears in a few mins;  then suddenly you see another bubble starting to form and you still don't see any Kid presentation; you probable have two babies trying to come at once. Stick your finger in there and see if you can feel two babies ( one in each bubble.)  Be careful not to break the bubbles if possible. 

Now is where you develop good protocol instincts.  Normally one of the babies is a little further ahead then the other.  Sometimes one of them only has feet in the birth canal and no head.  I have found that when two babies are coming at once, one of them is large and one is small.    Once you have felt with your finger you will have to decide which of the two babies  (or both )  to push back inside.  Normally I try to get the small one first because it will allow me more room to work to get the larger one out. If they're both head first use the Kid  puller as I described above. Work carefully and draw out first one Kid and then the other.  Get them breathing and give them to their mother. 

Water breaks but no presentation:  This is often a very difficult birth.  Usually the mother isn't dilated large enough to let the baby be born.  Often she has lost a lot of her water in the process and a dry birth can be the end result.

Your part:  Hopefully you already have a birthing kit ready and at your side.  If you don't then go gather the supplies you will need.  You will need the Kid puller or a plastic covered wire may work. You'll also need some Mineral oil or Olive oil to use as a lubricate. 

    Now put your finger in the birth canal to determine what the problem is.  Rub your finger around the cervix to see how much the Doe is dilated.  Often in this situation the Doe isn't dilated nearly enough to allow passage of the Kid into the birth canal.  Sometimes if you gently rub your finger around and around the inside of the cervix the Doe will begin to dilate more.  If that doesn't help you can give her a shot of Lutalyse to help her dilate.  If you don't have Lutalyse and you don't have a Vet close enough to get some very quickly then go in without it.  You will need to lubricate your hand and arm with one of the suggested oils.  Group your fingers together  and gently rotate your hand back and forth while creating a gentle pressure to force your way in a little at a time.   Slow but persistent pressure will eventually get the Doe to dilate enough for you to get inside. Once inside you will have to decide what of the above procedures you will need to follow to get the babies out.  If the Doe has lost all her water you may need to pump some of the oil into the uterus to allow enough lubrication to get the baby out.

Dead Toxic lambs:  This is a very difficult birth at best.  If the Kid  have been dead for more than a few hours they begin to decompose in the warm environment.  They become gaseous and watery.  As a result of the decomposition it's very hard to feel what body part you are touching.  It is also very hard to pull them out because of their bloated condition.  Often these lambs/Kids have to be taken out in pieces.  I don't recommend anyone handle this one alone unless your very experienced.  Take your Doe in to your veterinary and let him help you.