New goat kids **I'm new to this! FREAKING OUT

[Deer Heart]

I just got home from work and my first time mother doe had a pair of doelings. I am also very brand new to this! How do you know when your doe is done popping them out and do you need to do anything if they already are cleaned up and the afterbirth appears to be completely gone (they have their nibbled ends of their cords left, a spot of blood on the forehead of one, a little blood on mommy, but that is it right now) She is pawing like crazy though and keeps laying down, she also still looks fairly large, is it possible she has more in there?? I took pictures of one since she seemed a little less "awake" than the other (which was already prancing around the pen). They both have wattles like mom and blue eyes like dad but has coloring like mom (a pinkish rosie color, the second one I couldn't photograph is darker) but a few white & dark brown marks from dad who was primarily white with blk & brn spots. They also have "speckles" on their ears like daddy had. They are nigerian dwarf. So damn small, IDEK...


I'm trying to leave them with mom for bonding, will try for a pic of the other one tomorrow. Another thing................ they weren't due until the 20th (that was the soonest date, latest was the 30th) holy moley.

 

[alforddm]

I was hoping someone else would chime in here as I'm by no means an expert. However, if the dam is being restless I would be concerned. Usually (at least with horses and cows) the dam will calm down after giving birth and (hopefully) start eating. Goats can have more than 2 kids although it is rarer.

Has she nursed the kids at all? Is she still acting restless? If your brave you might try washing up really well and having a feel. Sometimes you can feel if one is malpresented as it will often be pushed up close to the exit just not able to get out.

 

[Deer Heart]

I was hoping someone else would chime in here as I'm by no means an expert. However, if the dam is being restless I would be concerned. Usually (at least with horses and cows) the dam will calm down after giving birth and (hopefully) start eating. Goats can have more than 2 kids although it is rarer.

Has she nursed the kids at all? Is she still acting restless? If your brave you might try washing up really well and having a feel. Sometimes you can feel if one is malpresented as it will often be pushed up close to the exit just not able to get out.

She has since eaten (as I put down her pellets after work), not much though, maybe two bites then she wandered off. She also will stand for them and stays really close to them and even grooms them quite a bit. She holds still even when they try to search out her ninnys, UNTIL they actually find them. She seems uncomfortable (tries to rub at the nipples with her feet) and moves away from the kid. It is almost like her nipples are very tender. They do not look red or swollen in any way but her udder is HUGE Spoke too soon there, just looked out the window and one is very clearly nursing and mom is holding still for it now.

By restless, it seems when the babies decide to lie down, she tries to lie down with them but just can't seem to get comfortable. Spinning and pawing spinning and pawing laying down getting up repeat. She also keeps shifting from her right legs to left legs and pawing at her nipples when they aren't feeding. I feel like she is saying "for the love of god you two get to drinking!"

I'm also kind of afraid to interrupt them again, especially when she does not seem to be in any distress yet. The problem is, she is very shy of humans. Came from an abusive situation and still reacts VERY STRONGLY to sudden movements, holding anything long in your hands, and open hand movements. Just opening the door to her pen initiates a small flight response (though she has come a long way!) I am very afraid of initiating a situation where she may accidentally trample her kids.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Put your legs around her chest, and bend over. Wrap your arms around her stomach, and pull up like you're doing the hiemlich.

Soft = no baby. If you feel anything there's a baby.

We had 2 does have triplets each one year. I wouldn't say triplets are too rare.

I'd be concerned about the afterbirth passing, but if she's a first time mom she could just be scared, or in pain or something.

Edit: sounds like she could be sore. I know she's skiddish, but if you can, hold her still and let both babies drink. They NEED colostrum within their first 24 hours otherwise they will die. Within an hour is the most ideal.

That said, if you can't bump her then see if she's still contracting. No contractions mean she should be done.

 

[Deer Heart]

Put your legs around her chest, and bend over. Wrap your arms around her stomach, and pull up like you're doing the hiemlich.

Soft = no baby. If you feel anything there's a baby.

We had 2 does have triplets each one year. I wouldn't say triplets are too rare.

I'd be concerned about the afterbirth passing, but if she's a first time mom she could just be scared, or in pain or something.

Edit: sounds like she could be sore. I know she's skiddish, but if you can, hold her still and let both babies drink. They NEED colostrum within their first 24 hours otherwise they will die. Within an hour is the most ideal.

That said, if you can't bump her then see if she's still contracting. No contractions mean she should be done.

The babies are drinking on their own (she lets them, only wouldn't once or twice due to soreness I think). She does not appear to be pushing at all. Just seems uncomfortable. I will try to do that feeling test though. Hopefully I don;t freak her out too much.

 

[akane]

When any large livestock is new to having offspring and swollen up with milk they can be sensitive and fight with the young ones and if they are of the nervous type sometimes get bent all out of shape. Some places go so far as to hobble the backlegs of every mare or donkey after birth is done to prevent kicking the foal. I always handled mine and have milked out some horses so they weren't much of a problem. By foal 3 my favorite mare was helping me line the foal up and shoving it's butt to the right position while I shoved it's head to the right position. Goats seem every bit as intelligent as horses so I would guess this is a first timer problem. I'm not sure how much shifting around is normal in a goat though and with horses we always ultrasound at 2 intervals and quite frequently abort any 2nd foal starting to grow early on. Horses rarely have twins survive. Most likely neither will and the dam is at risk so that aspect is different from goats. We know what is going to come out ahead of time.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Nigerians are usually tiny, hence tiny tiny tiny babies since they have to be able to hold em inside and be able to pass through the pelvis.

A lot of first fresheners (freshening= birthing, coming into milk again, refresh the milking year) will be sorta scared of the kid(s) at first. I guess the whole "OHMYGAWD THAT HURT SO @#$%$#%$Y%$ MUCH WHAAAAT IS THIS TERRIBLE THING HURTING ME SO MUCH??!?!". We had one doe who was a deplorable mother and almost never let a kid latch on at all and if she did she never even nursed it a full day. Not much of an issue for us though since we milked and all kids would be bottle fed after day 3 anyhow and moms being milked.

A lot of first fresheners will also be apprehensive to let the kid(s) nurse at first. Some take to it awesome and some will be like "NOOOO DONT TOUCH ME YOU EVIL TINY THING! NOOOO THAT HURTS!" I guess because its a new thing to let a baby nurse and some does udders and teats that are really packed tight of milk would probably be quite annoying and even painful. Rarely a doe will have her milk come in quite early before kidding and its so tight and the milk plug is really difficult that we had to massage them and really work out the first bit of colostrum.
Most does figure it out soon and few will need a stern holding at first and once they realize the kid(s) nursing relieves the pressure they give in and go along with it.

It is quite normal for a doe to be antsy after the actual birthing until the afterbirth(s) are all out. It wont be good if she doesn't pass them so try and let her do her thing and work em out. I don't recall us ever losing a doe to not passing the afterbirth but I have heard and read of it a few times. Its always nice to give momma a nice bowl of molasses water too as a pick-me-up. But don't offer feed if she is still antsy or pushing, you don't want to distract her with food. And she may well ignore the molasses water.

Nigerians and pygmys is pretty common for them to have multiples. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of up to 6. Rare stories of more than that with all kids surviving except really one very good Nigerian breeder I followed once on a forum documented a really ginormously round doe who had 7 or 8 as I recall and she managed to adopt two smallest onto a very motherly older doe who had a late term miscarriage but was late enough to go into milk. The kids were absolutely tiny as can be and I honestly still wonder at them all living.

Its good she had them all cleaned up when ya found em. Good instinct. Wild animals do this to keep predators from smelling it and comin by for an easy meal. Also helps them get back some nutrients. A lot like rabbits only in the wild goats don't have the added safety of a burrow etc.

Keep us updated. I miss my milk heathens Hahahaha.

 

[Deer Heart]

Welllp, prepare yourselves for picture heavy!

Mom is fine, eating and drinking normally today (I think she passed the afterbirth yesterday, just ate it before I got home) She is also comfortably nursing the kidletts which have also now had very normal milk poops (which mom is trying desperately to clean when they hold still :roll: )

Lily is the lighter colored doeling with the white on her leg and mostly white face (with brown spot just below the forehead).
Rose is the darker colored doeling with the black dorsal pinstripe and white polling (also them perfect vulcan eyebrows :lol: ). <br /><br /> __________ Tue May 19, 2015 6:51 pm __________ <br /><br /> and I forgot to mention, before anyone asks, the harness is purely on her as a means to safely and painlessly catch her when I need to; it gives a nice comfortable hand hold that does not choke her or hurt her in any way. The collar is for identification (my info is on a metal plate bolted into the leather). I just worry because under normal circumstances she would not look like a hodge podge of restraints. :notsafe:

 

[alforddm]

You just really made me start missing my goats! I only had them a year before we had to move and I sold them. Oh gosh baby goats are cute! Ours would try and try to jump up on a big rock in the yard. It was the funniest thing watching them not make it, bounce off the rock, and try again.

 

[Deer Heart]

You just really made me start missing my goats! I only had them a year before we had to move and I sold them. Oh gosh baby goats are cute! Ours would try and try to jump up on a big rock in the yard. It was the funniest thing watching them not make it, bounce off the rock, and try again.

Mine keep trying to climb the tire stack but can't even get up by one. :lol:

 

[Susie570]

Mine keep trying to climb the tire stack but can't even get up by one. :lol:

I would totally have goats if we could... they are soooo cute.
That tire stack will be conquered in no time.

 

[JenerationX]

I want a few of those fainting goats.... but I'd probably be too mean and scare them all the time

 

[funnies50]

Eeeee! They're so cute! Hope they come out great.