The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: goosepimple on May 27, 2013, 12:16:18 pm
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Have looked at past posts but not sure so help please:
Birth of female pygmy goat kid yesterday morning around 4am. Mum first timer and me a first timer with goat kids so a bit anxious about her moving away every time kid went near her back end, so colostrum fed near the 6hr mark (she took about equivalent of a teaspoon). Eventually mum gets the hang of it by the end of the day and all has been well with both. Today kid has thick yellow hardish poo (like sticky cornflakes colour) but seems to be well otherwise and is sucking from mum nicely.
Is this something I should worry about? Many thanks.
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Congratulations! (Pygmy goats, who else is going soft ;))
Nothing unusual going on there. The turning round thing is quite normal too and tends to stop when the humans go away, I've found with my more nervous sheep anyway.
The sticky yellow rock poo is only really a problem if is sticks across anus and prevents any more coming out :o
Baby wet wipes seem to be one of the best ways to remove it, if the doe doesn't do it first.
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I have no idea about goats but the sticky stuff sounds the same as my lambs were getting. I understand its caused by the colostrum, looks a bit like toffee, but it definitely doesn't smell like it ;D . There is quite a lot on this in the sheep section.
Some seem to manage ok and it drops off but I washed mine off and everything was ok after that.
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Thanks Jaykay, it looked to be ok but someone else said she hadn't seen that before so just thought I'd ask. Wish when people were writing books on the subject they would have a novice by their side :D
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thanks bionic, our posts clashed there. Yes human babies have this for the first few days too as I remember. Many thanks. Will post a pic shortly
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forgot to ask - how long does the sticky rock poo go on for - couple of days, a week?
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forgot to ask - how long does the sticky rock poo go on for - couple of days, a week?
With goats you are unlikely to see it anymore, mum will lick it off. A few days only, especially if the kid is going outside with mum shortly and will be nibbling on grass soon.
Congrats on your first goat kid!
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I had to give some of the kids a good wash (in arms, holding over bucket with warm water in, splashing and melting it off!) as it goes rock hard fairly fast and can stop them pooing - not good! You can feel if it is solidifying - time to act.
Oh - and enjoy the ear-splitting screams too!
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I agree about the importance of cleaning it off before it sets solid. I spent a memorable hour with a kid and a bucket of warm water and a selection of squares of towelling repeatedly soaking and softening a chunk that had sealed him up. It takes forever but it will dissolve enough to gently remove eventually. Do not pull it away or you risk tearing the delicate skin. After that I wiped him with baby wipes every time I went to the goathouse. A complete change from the previous year when that mum licked her kid clean so much she made it bleed.
In both cases a slick of Sudocrem helped.
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We will, of course, be requiring photos ;D
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We will, of course, be requiring photos ;D
And I am going to visit, got the pink booties ready :excited:
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Yes, it's like Evo-stick isn't it, or maybe it's what they use in the middle of Jaffa Cakes :-J - mum doesn't like the taste of it anyway - she tries to lick it off and then does that quivering of the upper lip thing - yuk.
Have been chipping it off carefully with wet tissues, she forgave me when I posted her in my zippy fleece for a toasty cuddle before bedtime. :D
Will post pics tomorrow. Meanwhile Jaykay can post pics of her new arrivals ????
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We will, of course, be requiring photos ;D
Of Countrywoman washing a kid's bum? :thinking: :-J
Congratulations, Goosepimple.
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Nah, don't need to see that :D
I've put pics of the two boys I've adopted on the original 'need to find a home' thread.
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Of Countrywoman washing a kid's bum? :thinking: :-J
I do hope not! Not a pretty sight for a whole host of reasons...
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:roflanim:
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Yes, it's like Evo-stick isn't it, or maybe it's what they use in the middle of Jaffa Cakes :-J -
urgh, never going to eat those again...lol