A goat birth story- or two

   The day started out fairly low-key. It was Sunday; Jeff went to work and the kids and I had decided to stay home from church since Kailyn wasn’t home. I was catching up on cleaning up around the house; my main goal for the day was to clear the area we had chosen to start building the chicken coop. Since Kailyn, our goat herder, was spending the weekend at a friend’s house, Lacey insisted on feeding the goats in her stead. 

The wind was picking up with wind gusts nearing 40mph, so I was making sure our outdoor rug was held in place with heavy blocks. I was just about to go back inside when I heard the feed bucket hit the ground and saw Lacey running to the house. 

11:05 “Mom! Mom! Come here! Quick!” she called. I asked her what was wrong and she said she thought Mae was giving birth, that she thinks there was a head out. I ran over to check it out, and sure enough, there was! This was not a good thing, though. Goats are born in a “diving” posture- front hooves first. The danger of the baby coming head-first is a dislocated or broken shoulder. I was not aware of this fact at the time, but the baby looked dead. Its head was cold and it’s tongue was sticking out. It was fairly dry and dirty. I had no idea how long he had been in that position. I immediately found my phone and began calling people. I first called Jennifer, who sold me the goat. No answer. Then I called Kathryn, who does the testing and raises goats and chickens. No answer. Then, I thought of Paola, my homeopathic study group leader, who happens to have livestock. She answered!! That’s when I learned it was really bad to have a baby in this position. (Upon researching this more fully, it seems there can be head-first births that go well. This baby was there over 40 minutes with no change, so intervention was warranted.)

Lacey was distressed. I was distressed. She was so brave and stayed with me to manage the phone. At this point, I’m getting texts and phone calls from Kathryn and Paola. I am told I either need to push the head back in, or reach in for the forelegs. Obviously, I start pushing the head back. But it doesn’t work. The baby begins to show signs of life and I can’t stand putting that much pressure on its head. It’s a goat- they head butt early on, but I was panicking a little. I finally had to do the inevitable. I reached in. I prayed and prayed out loud as I did this. I could find one hoof, but there was no way I could get ahold of it. I finally decided to grab the baby by the shoulders and pull there with the next contraction. It worked!!! Baby #1 was born with his left hoof at his shoulder, and his right hoof laying on his belly all the way down to his back legs. I cleared the mucous from his mouth and had Lacey go get a bucket of hot water and Maddox get a towel. As I was instructed, I rubbed him down hard with the dry towel. His breathing was labored. The first thing I gave was Aconite. Aconite helps in a shocking situation. I gave mom and baby Aconite. I also gave Arnica Montana 200 to address the swelling, alternating every 10 minutes. Lacey called Kailyn to let her know what was happening. My mom went to get fresh straw for us to give them a softer, cleaner space.

12:25 In very short order, kid #2 was born and was walking around bright-eyed and curious after just a few short minutes. This is when I realized kid #1 was in danger. Most striking was the  difference in appearance. Kid #1 was extremely swollen from the neck up. His eyes were swollen shut and he was pretty limp and laid there for some time. He was too weak to stand, so I gave him Cuprum Metallicum 30, often given when there is distress such as a seizure. I also began rolling his shoulder blades and massaging his spine, checking (in my very limited ability) for dislocation or subluxations.

   

12:35 At this point we changed to Carbo Veg 30, which is given to newborns in distress. His gums were blue and he was breathing with quick shallow breaths, so the medicine seemed a better fit for him. I alternated Carbo Veg and Arnica every 10 minutes. We also tried to help him get milk from his mama.

1:04 His eyes began to open. The swelling was less and I could see his little eyes! I continued alternating remedies and massaging.

1:27 He could finally stand. He had to be raised into this position, but could hold himself up with shaky legs. 

  
  

1:46 Our dam got weak and sleepy. She rested her head against the wall. It had been over an hour since the second kid was born and we were not seeing any afterbirth. I began giving her Caulophyllum to help her contractions progress. She perked up in about 5 minutes, got up and drank immediately. Then, she ate some hay. I continued giving alternating remedies to the baby every 20 minutes or so. By 3:00 he could finally get up on his own. At this point we replaced the hay with straw in the goat house. I also had to continue giving the dam Caulo P every 30 minutes or so, as well as one dose of Nat Sulph. In hindsight, I should have given more often, but I was exhausted. I hadn’t eaten all day, so I had to leave her to have some “breakfast” at 3pm. Becky had brought Kailyn home and they stayed for about an hour. She talked me into eating something and Kailyn and Hannah took over watching the goats for me. The afterbirth finally came close to 4pm. The first boy was doing remarkably well, curious and playing like his twin, just a bit weaker.

We came to check on them around 9pm and the baby was less swollen. I gave more Arnica and Carbo Veg. 

       Monday morning he looked just about like the other goat, but still weak. I gave Arnica but forgot Carbo Veg. We also gave them both a bath. Goats aren't real crazy about baths.

   

By Tuesday he was fully relieved of his swelling, but still wobbly, so I dosed Arnica and Carbo Veg twice. By the second dose, he was finally jumping around playing with his brother and following his mama around. The screaming goat below is baby #2, who screamed while being held the first day. They both like being held now.

          
             kid #1 named Djali

     

                kid #2 named Samuel

As for me- I took aconite that first night. I probably should have done it sooner. I was so stressed that I forgot about all prior commitments I had made that day. Kailyn was supposed to babysit. Thankfully, it was for Jennifer, who was aware of our situation, so she offered to have her husband come pick Kailyn up. I also had plans for dinner with Jeannette, another friend who happened to text a reminder to me that day. The following day I think I was still in a state of shock- I still watched the baby goat closely and dosed him as needed. On Tuesday, while talking about the situation with the kids, tears just flowed from my eyes as I spoke, but it was more of a relief kind of tears. At that point I was finally at peace with the whole thing. I don’t think I could ever work in a hospital!

Yesterday, while at our two family co-op I got a call that our second goat was in labor. We rushed home just after the birth of the one baby goat. Polly was a little young for her first kidding, but she did well and is a good mama, even if she was dumb enough to have her baby in the dirt and try to keep him out in the open all night. Her baby was a bit bigger than expected- I think I fed too much grain throughout her pregnancy, but she came through alright. Now we have 3 baby boy goats to sell!

   Polly and Midnight