My favorite doe had her kids today. She was in labor for at least a couple hours. Finally I decided to help; the kid was in a normal position, but turned a little sideways, and it felt kind of large for the size of the doe. I pulled on it for a good long time, and couldn't seem to get it much past the knees. The head seemed a little large. I pulled a little harder, and heard a POP! Then I thought OH NO, I have just killed my doe. She is going to bleed to death, I've busted something in there! I wanted to cry. Sprite just looked at me like she was fine. Then I thought, OH Yuck, I've pulled he kid's head off, and had a sudden urge to just run away from the whole mess. But I thought-OK, I'll push everything back in and see if I can pull it out another way. I started to try to push the feet and what I could reach of the head back in, and Sprite started to push, so I pulled, and out came a beautiful doe!! Solid black! The first doe she has ever had here! It was fine, there was nothing at all wrong with her. :) No sooner was this one born tha two rear feet presented and out came another doe! That one was smaller and gave us no trouble. ( Why do the big ones usually come first?) To top it all off, these kids are the result of a very special A.I. breeding, I am so pleased, they are the first doelings I've ever had from A.I. :)

I have a question now- WHAT was that POP?? The head popping through the pelvic girdle? It sounded kind of loud, like I'd dislocated something. It was a very unpleasant sensation..

Once the kids were born, I could see that even the first one was not all that big, just normal sized. I am thinking to either feed her less when pregnant, or else retire her from kidding. But when she is so easy to A.I., and has such a great pedigree, that's easier said than done. Three more does to go between now and this weekend. They are all regarding the new kids enviously... :)

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 28, 2002

Answers

Hi Rebekah, Congrats on the twin doelings....they sound really special...I am thinking that the pop you heard was the pelvic ligaments spreading. I had a similar experience with a doe this year and it just about scared me to death too...but Emily was fine and had twins a doe and a buck. She was sore for a few days and didn't really want to jump up on the milkstand for a couple of days but she was fine. Good luck with the rest of your kidding this season, Jan Nordberg Coeur dAlene Idaho.

-- Jan Nordberg (oim@icehouse.net), February 28, 2002.

Congrats!!! I had triplets today!..well, Slinky did;).

No idea about the pop....there is so much I don't know if I want to learn. There was a much longer time between deliveries today than there has been previously. It was worrisome, but all worked out okay.

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), February 28, 2002.

Yeah Rebekah! I'm glad the babies came out ok....sounds weird, I wonder what it was?

I hope my buckling makes an apperance soon! Any ideas on what does are going to be sold yet?

Can you tell I can't wait? LOL

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 28, 2002.

How exciting for you! We have a really bad snizzle weekend coming (snow, drizzling rain) and of course 3 does due for our start. I know that when my daughter and I were pulling out to very large 12 pound LaMancha bucks out of an older doe, I pulled and a loud audible pop came as the head came down out of the pelvic area, his head was a little bit up so I had my trusty shoe lace around his head like a halter, pulling down while my daughter pulled legs out, they were so big that we even pulled to get the belly through, just like a sausage! If you didn't dislocate his leg, than I would bet it was the head. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 01, 2002.

I had this happen, two years ago, while a very experienced goat person was assisting me. She explained something to me that I had'nt learned in any goat birthing literature. When helping a kid out of the mom, always guide/pull the kid in a down motion, like towards the ground. Rather than in a straight out position that seemed more normal to ME. She says this keeps the ligaments and muscles in a more natural pattern, thus eliminating the popping and soreness of the doe. Hope this helps. Sissy

-- Sissy Barth (iblong2Him@ilovejesus.net), March 01, 2002.

Thank you everyone! I checked the legs- one foreleg is a little knuckled under, but that is common here and should straighten out soon.Other that that she seems fine, it doesn't look like the leg os broken or dislocated. I think Jan may be right about the ligaments spreading, because after that the kid came out pretty easily. I was pulling down and out, but there just was not any progress being made until that pop. At any rate, they all seem fine now. :-)

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 01, 2002.

I had a POP this year in a first freshner two yr. old. The first baby was huge and her ligaments both popped. She went running around her pen frantic, with her kid part way out untill I could restrain her. Thats when I herd it pop. Now she is still sore and swollen where the ligaments attach to her topline. Vet says that in most cases the 'bump' will go away in a couple of weeks. (I thought that her spine was broken) Hope it's gone before showing time. I have never had this happen before and I was glad that it didn't happen when I was assisting a doe! That would have scared me off from 'helping' again. :)

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), March 01, 2002.

This post was so funny and I know it wasn't meant to be, but I can just imagine how you felt when you thought you had pulled the baby's head off. Sorry, I'm still laughing and typing through the tears. This is my first year with goats and I don't have a doe old enough to breed yet. After reading some of these post on countryside and dairy goat I don't know if I ever will. It sounds too scary to me. Not like the cats and dogs having their babies. I know I'm going to have the picture of that poor little kid with her head being pulled off in my head for the rest of my goating life. My oldest doe is a year old. Should I breed her this fall or wait another year? I will probably need a massive dose of Librium to get through a birthing. Thanks for all the educational information you ladies give, especially Vicky.

-- Sheila in NC (nannie@intrstar.net), March 01, 2002.