This past week was one where we seemed to face one challenge after another. Stella our three year old went into labor in the early morning of Tuesday and I spent from 3 AM to 4 AM out in the barn watching her. She progressed very slowly and around 9:30 PM she started pushing, but not very aggressively. One push here, another here, and as an hour passed I stared to get more concerned. I called my wonderful friend Melissia from Chubb E Acres goats via facetime and she agreed I needed to go in and check her.
So I gloved and lubricated up, and went it. The first thing I felt was her cervix, which was not fully dilated. Once I was able slowly dilate her, and as soon as I got past the cervix I found little hocks! The best I can guess is that because of his dystocia he was not pressing enough on her cervix to open it up completely. Thankfully, I was able to reposition the baby, pull both of his legs up and out and we had a happy healthy baby. As soon as I had his head, nose and mouth cleaned, I went in to check for another one, the second baby also needed some help coming out. He was one foot forward, and nose, so I grabbed the hoof and head and pulled him out. The third one was presented correctly and came very quickly after the second. Thankfully, we ended up with three healthy buck kids and a momma that got up immediately to start cleaning and feeding her babies. We were in the nick of time to save the babies, because they were all stressed with meconium in their sacks. Stella was able to pass the placenta within an hour of delivery and by 1:30 AM I was showered and in bed! I assumed this meant everything was good!
The next day Stella was not interested in grain, which is not super concerning to me, as her mother has refused grain for a day or so after kidding and she was eating hay. So I gave her some probiotics and trusted that everything would be ok. Well, as the days progressed, she did not get better and by Saturday she had spiked a fever of 105.9 and had not eaten any grain since Thursday, so to say I was concerned is an understatement! So I took it upon myself to do everything I knew to do for her, I gave her antibiotics, banamine, CMPK, probiotics, and 2 tablespoons of molasses water. By Monday morning she was still not eating, so I called for an emergency appointment at our vet. We took her and her kids in and the vet was able to look at her. The vet agreed that she had developed a type of Metritis (uternine infection) and that she also could possibly have milk fever. They treated her with Exceed, and sub Q Calcium. The vet was very impressed with all of the treatments I had given her and didn't think she was acting at all abnormal. This is why it is so important to keep a close eye on your goats and be their biggest advocates! By Monday night her fever had broke, and she was back to eating like herself Tuesday! I am hopeful this path will continue for her, but for now we are incredibly happy that all of the bucklings are eating and growing like three little weeds and that Stella is finally on the mend herself!
This is just another reason why it is so important to keep a good supply of first aid materials on hand for your goats. You being an active, present and knowledgeable goat owner can be the biggest difference between a positive outcome and a negative one. I hope everyone's kidding season is going well, take care and Happy Goating!
