Pistol Gives Birth

Just a warning~if you are squeamish, this post does contain explicit pictures of a goat giving birth.  This is the adorable end result, but you can leave now if you don’t want to see the process.

When I walked into the barnyard, I happened to have my camera and heard Pistol talking.  I knew that meant she was kidding.  I was so happy to walk in and see that she already had one baby out.

It was just a few seconds after I arrived that she started having contractions for the second one.

This is the way it’s supposed to happen!  It leaves someone else who was watching the whole process thankful that she only has to lay an egg.

Linking to SOOC Sunday and Homestead Barn Hop.

A Tale of Two Births and Photo Memes

I had planned a post consisting of just two pictures to be linked to the Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge and Farm Photo Friday.  Here they are.

All four of the Canada geese living in the Back Forty were flying by, but I could only get two of them in the shot.

Then last night, we had some major events begin that I really wanted to share today, so you get a tale of two births.  After chores I did a few things, and then I went back out to check my three goats due to give birth on May 12th.

Bonnie

I saw Bonnie get chased by Pam, and when she stopped, her tail was straight up at attention.  That tail going up is a sign of labor.  I told my mom it was time to lock her in.  I already had the pen fixed, so I led her in.  I could just walk up to her, but she was nervous.  It wasn’t hard to catch her though.  I tell you, she planted her feet and we have a couple of furrows that I could plant more corn in.  She wasn’t happy, so I got her some hay and her twin sister, Blaze, and figured I’d see if that helped.

Both girls immediately began eating.  They aren’t very high up in the food chain, and they were very happy to have all that hay to themselves.  Bonnie was happily munching away when she just let out a yell.  It hurt, but it didn’t stop her trying to eat.  By now, the kid was showing feet.

I saw a foot and a nose, so I put the camera down and helped get both feet out.  Well, within minutes of being shut in the kid arrived.  Don’t think poorly of Bonnie, but she really was clueless that she had given birth.  She’s a first time mom.  Once I got her to quit eating hay long enough to look, she immediately started cleaning up her kid.

I must say, this kid has a very big mouth!

It took some explaining for Bonnie to understand the whole nursing thing.  New moms tend to get freaked out when those kids try to nurse, so it’s a good thing those kids seem to know what they are doing.

She’s got the hang of it, and Bonnie is a great mom!  This little beauty seems to have inherited her maa’s moon spots. 🙂

After these two got settled in, we went back out to the barnyard.  Helen was standing and her tail was up.  I knew I had to work in the morning, and my mom had just told me she had to work also. 😦  I decided to try and lock her in.  I say try because Helen is a brat.  I bribed her with corn.  No deal.  I bribed her mom to come into the building and almost got Helen, but she just wouldn’t do it.

Helen and Minnie

Finally, I gave up.  By this time I was ready to give Bonnie a bit of grain after all of her hard work.  When I got my pitcher of corn to carry across the barnyard, I was immediately attacked by about thirty goats in the barnyard.  That means I could get close and grab Helen’s horn.  I had Helen in one hand and a pitcher of corn in the other. Unfortunately, my arm had gotten hooked under Minnie’s horns.  I hollered at my mom and she took the corn, so I could free myself drag Helen into the same building as Bonnie (but a different pen).

By this time it was getting late, so I checked her at 10 and then 11.  I went to bed but set my alarm to get up, and I checked her at 12 and 2 and 3 and 5 and 6 and 6:15.  Then I had to leave for work.  Frantically, I got in touch with my son, so he came out and checked her.  By that time, she had some fluids showing, and it wasn’t long before she had her babies. It was about twelve hours after she first started showing contractions.

She has a beautiful little girl.

There is also a handsome little guy.

Unfortunately, Helen is not really an experienced mom, and her little girl was not very assertive.  My son left after the babies arrived, and my mom came out on her lunch to make sure they had nursed.  Only the boy had nursed, and Miss Bratty Helen wouldn’t let my mom help her girl to nurse.

The poor little girl had nothing to eat for 6 1/2 hours after birth when I got home.  I immediately warmed up some colostrum from the freezer, and her skinny little body filled out a bit.  I had to tie Helen to help the girl nurse.

After all those hours of only taking care of the boy, Helen is really confused now.  I’m sure I’ll have to keep tying her and helping her little girl.  Hopefully, she’ll accept her and the baby will get on to nursing now that she’s got some in her.

Her boy is one round little guy!  He’s got the nursing down.

Two births~two totally different stories.

Linking to Camera Critters.

Kid Positions for Birth

We’ve started kidding, and I had to help Lily’s first baby get here.  In the last seven years of kidding, I’ve learned a lot.  While I am always happy to share what I’ve learned, I’m not a vet.  Please consult a vet if you have concerns with your animal.  Also, I am not an artist.  That’s my mother.  I did try to do drawings that would at least give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

I.  The Ideal Position.

With the technical stuff out of the way, here is the ideal for kid positioning for birth.  Front feet are first, the legs are stretched completely out in a diver’s position, and the head is forward.  In this position, it is likely the goat will not need help.  Of course, if the kid is too big, it might be necessary to help.  There was also one year that I swear Millie’s kid had a lead butt because it was like trying to pull him up from a cliff.

II. Back Feet First.

It’s also pretty normal for a kid to come out with back feet first, especially if there is more than one.  Often the goat will be able to deliver a kid without problems.

III. Normal Twin Position

The position below is considered normal for twins.  Some say this is the most often presentation for twins, but I’ve not had that experience.   Maddie’s first babies were in this position, but she tried having them both at the same time.  That was a vet assisted birth.  It wasn’t pretty, and the first baby was born dead.  Amazingly, he did finally start breathing and survived.

IV. Two at the Same Time

This is how I have experienced most of my twins being born.  Both are with front feet first.  Often, the goat will have them with no problems.  Sometimes, however, both kids will try to come at the same time.  If their individual bags are intact, you can gently push one back while the doe is between contractions.  This should allow the other to continue moving forward.  This will also work if one bag is broken and the other is not.  If both bags are open it’s really difficult to tell what leg goes with what head.  Again, you can try to move them back.  I did that when Betty Lou had Helen and Mikey.  I still couldn’t tell what leg went to which kid, but by the time the vet arrived, Mikey had been born.  Just moving them back allowed her to start again with moving just one forward.  Helen had to be the easiest pull the vet had ever done, but I wasn’t sure if they could untangle themselves.

V.  Head Back

This is the only position that I’ve not been successful at correcting.  I had called the vet because I couldn’t even tell how the baby was positioned.  I couldn’t move the kid back because there were two more in there pushing forward.  One of the other kids had finally moved over the top, and I got him out.  I finally found feet and thought I felt a tail~if only they had braille labels on them.  I pulled and finally got the baby out, but it was a huge wattle I felt.  If you pull a kid with the head back, it’s likely to break the neck.  The poor baby didn’t make it, but the other two kids and mom did live.  This is a position I hope I never have to deal with again.

VI.  Leg Bent Back.

If your goat doesn’t seem to be making progress, it’s not uncommon for the kid to have one or both feet back.  If the leg is bent, you should be able to work gently to get it straightened out.

VII.  Elbows Bent.

The position below is very close to the ideal position, but the legs are not fully stretched forward.  It might be necessary to pull the feet forward to let the baby continue moving forward.  This is why I had to help Lily’s first baby on Monday.

VIII.  Other Weird Things

The goat’s uterus has two horns which provides two semi-separate places for kids, one on each side.  Sometimes when a baby is moving forward, they might lose track of direction and try to turn to the other horn of the uterus.  When you feel inside, you  might feel the side of the kid.  Luckily, when Lily’s first twins were born, the vet made it on time and he got the wonderful task of getting Rickie headed in the right direction.  I’m glad because I couldn’t tell which way was up and which was down.

I did have to help Stormy’s birth.  When I felt her, she seemed to be without a head.  She had her head twisted around into the other horn of the uterus.  As soon as I could get her head back on track, she came the rest of the way without problems.

If a goat doesn’t seem to have enough room for the baby’s head, you can use your finger to gently help stretch the cervix.  If you pull on the kids’ feet, remember to pull down rather than straight out.  Work with the shape of the doe’s body rather than against it.

pulling Harley

I always wash and trim my nails first.  I try to wear gloves.  Any time you are reaching into the goat, you are increasing the risk of infection.  This particular kid is the third I pulled out of Stormy when I was only expecting her to have one kid.  I had already gotten rid of my gloves and run out of clean towels.

Usually an hour or so after having the last kid, the doe will pass the placenta.  This might be a long slow process.  If she eats the placenta, that’s perfectly normal, even though it’s gross.  It helps her replace a lot of the iron she’s lost in the birth process.  It’s almost unheard of for a goat to prolapse because their cervix closes very quickly after giving birth.

About a week after giving birth, its normal for them to have some bloody discharge.  Don’t panic when that happens.

If in doubt, call the vet.  It’s better to call too soon and not need them than to delay calling and have it be too late.

Linking to Farmgirl Friday.