The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Anke on March 08, 2011, 08:30:34 pm

Title: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: Anke on March 08, 2011, 08:30:34 pm
My BT type nanny today delivered a set of twins, all over and done with within half an hour! Two girls, which is just brilliant. I was hoping for at least one, two is just such a bonus (and she also had twin girls last year!). My girls have been arguing over names all afternoon...

Will try and get up some pictures, but usually fail in that department....
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: coco on March 08, 2011, 08:50:30 pm
good news, well done nanny,   :wave:     
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: faith0504 on March 08, 2011, 08:52:24 pm
oh bless cant wait to see pictures  :wave:
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: Brucklay on March 08, 2011, 08:54:36 pm
Fantastic, really good news, my pygmy's are due (and looking like they will) start sonn so now on the last nigh check's just in case - keeping fingers crossed. Can't wait to see pictures.
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: ballingall on March 08, 2011, 10:19:42 pm
Wow, Anke, well done. Your BT must be inclined towards poducing girls!


We also had our first kiddings today. Splash, AN 1st kidder showed signs at the late check last night, so Alex checked her at 1am and 2am. She had properly started at 2am, so he got me and mum up, and she produced the first kid (with a little assistance of pulling the legs) at 2:23am! Cannot be doing with middle of the night kiddings. That first kid was a boy, very nicely marked, all spotty. Then she had a girl afterwards, which is nice because this is my OH's first ever kids of his own, however the girl is a much plainer colour although a nice kid.

Then this afternoon, Lantana my mum's BT 1st kidder started. And she didn't get anywhere, so mum had to investigate, and she found that she just hadn't slackened properly- her pelvis was still really tight. There were two feet coming and a head, but mum couldn't get anything shifted. So she called the vet, who came around 4pm. The poor vet couldn't get anything going either, until eventually she felt another head! As the other head was smaller, she pushed everything back, and managed to get out the smaller kid first- a female. And she couldn't get the other out. She went out to her car to get the cutting equipment to cut the kid up to get it out, and decided to have one last go. On this last go, she did get the kid out, but she effectively did so by putting her finger through his jaw, and being able to get a better grip. It was a boy, and of course after that, had to be put straight down. Lantana has been handled a lot, and so isn't the best, but she seems not too bad considering. She has had calcium, antibiotics and is eating and drinking, so fingers crossed she gets over it.

Will try and put up some pics if poss- but we are all shattered after being up most of last night.

Beth
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: wytsend on March 09, 2011, 08:15:16 am
Why didn't the vet do a caesarean immediately.?

My vet always does that in preference to mauling a goat in labour and killing a kid.  Traumatic shock can be dangerous in goats as I am sure you know.

Goat recover from the operation so quickly and don't normally have problems with subsequent kiddings.
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: Rosemary on March 09, 2011, 08:23:44 am
Why did the kid have to be put down?
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: little blue on March 09, 2011, 09:34:59 pm
just shows how different kiddings can.
congratulations and commiserations then .....
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: ballingall on March 10, 2011, 12:05:26 am
wystend, a caesarean was considered and discussed by the vet and my mother (a vet herself). We have had caesarean's done before, however we have never found them to be very successful for the goat. It does mean you save the kids, but, it is something which is very difficult for a goat to recover from. I think I have only known one goat which had a caesarean that managed to kid again. In this case, we wanted to do the best for the mother, as she was our priority not the kids. As it happens, it worked out fine, as we got a healthy female kid, the mother is recovering fine, and we only lost the male.

Rosemary, the male had to be put down as the vet had created a hole in his jaw by pushing her fingers through. She did say we could try and save him, but thought it would be very unlikely that i) he would make it, and ii) that he would have a good quality of life with his mouth that damaged. Obviously at the time we didn't know it was a male kid either- it could have just as easily been a female.


Beth
Title: Re: First kidding of the season over!
Post by: Anke on March 10, 2011, 09:19:08 am
Oh, Beth, that's not quite the start to the kidding seaon you wanted .... but still, an AN female and another one hopefully on the mend. I think ceasarian is the last resort especially with young goats. With lambs it seems much more accpeted, and so many more ewes/lambs are sacrificed, depending what's worth more to the farmer.

Hope the nanny recovers quickly and milks well.

My GG nanny has started eating properly again, due in a weeks time, so hopefully we will get there without further hick-ups. Will muck out her pen tomorrow, first time since mid-october... but OH is here to help....