| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sacredwolf |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 1:14:41 PM
I just received a really bad surprise. MY son was out exploring our frozen pastures when he discovered his goat (Princess) cleaning. He came running into the house in a panic because of the blood and wanting to run out and find the babies. He ran out the door as fast as he ran in and my husband and i bundled up as fast as we could and ran out the door. Princess was are first goat to be due but she should not have came due for another month. She must have had her babies last night, three good sized babies (two nannies, one buck)all dead. To top it all off we have another one of our girls (brownie) is really close to giving birth, once again a month early. I have never had goats give birth is early. Can the babies even survive if they come this early? I have brownie in a stall so that she will stay warmer, have warmer water, and I can watch her easier. I have the heated pad ready and the lamps,towels, ect... I feel so bad when I lose babies, thought I would share experiences of the day with other people who understand. Thanks, farmgirls
Kristy |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| oldfashioned girl |
Posted - Jan 04 2010 : 6:29:35 PM
Kristy, I don't have any animals yet, but if you ask Grace she will tell you how much they mean to me! I am so very sorry to hear about your loss! I will be praying that all goes well with Brownie!
Monica
farmgirls rule!
www.justducky48.etsy.com
www.justducky48.blogspot.com
www.duckystreasurechest.etsy.com |
| sacredwolf |
Posted - Jan 04 2010 : 6:04:22 PM
Tracie, The hooves were strange looking, very small and pale white. Just figured that they had not formed properly yet. They were also what I would consider the smaller side of normal sized. They would have been good sized babies if carried to full term (would assume). My nannie were not hand bred but they were bred by a billy that was only on the place for two months, so the earliest due date would be Feb.3rd (assuming he bred a nannie on his first day in with the girls.) Thank you so much for the help.
Brownie is doing good, no babies yet and the rest of the herd are all ok also. I think that she is trying to hold off for awhile witch is great. I am getting worried though because the high for Thursday is supposed to be -30. I am really hoping that the extreme cold does not bring Brownie or anyone else into labor. Thanks Farmgirls for all of your care and sharing your experiences. |
| shepherdgirl |
Posted - Jan 04 2010 : 12:40:42 PM
My heart goes out to you Kristy. I had a TERRIBLE season last year-- 12 newborns lost, and one 2 wk old (my FAVORITE kid) died in an accident. Over 30 kids made it and are doing well, but the hurt of losing babies is never lessened no matter HOW MANY times you face it!
I've definitely had premature kids and lambs. My MOST FAVORITE little Nigerian doe had her first (and apparently LAST) kids a month early several years ago. In her case it was due to the heat. (she was due in August). She's never had kids since, though I keep hoping that one of these years she might surprise me! I also have a ewe that is NOTORIOUS for dilivering pre-term lambs (and is officially retired from breeding). It took me awhile to figure out who the culprit was since I ALSO discovered that another of my ewes was barren-- even though she DID have twins once! I did not know which ewe was having which problem until I actually SAW the premature lamb being delivered a few weeks before her due date.
Those babies didn't stand a chance. A PREMATURE baby is VERY obvious. The ones I have seen are perfectly formed, a little small (or sometimes VERY SMALL! depending on WHEN the babies are "born"), and had little to no hair or wool. The babies just had FUZZ, and all of them had strange looking hooves. Very soft and white-- even on the black ones. I guess the "outer shell" (or Horn) had not formed yet and that's what made them look odd.
From your description of the kids, it does't sound like they were premature. My guess is they were victims of extreme weather, or possibly a first time mother? You don't say if she'd had kids before. I lost a set of Quads last January to the weather. It was just too darn cold.
You also didn't say whether the does were "hand bred," or if the buck was running lose. THAT makes a BIG difference in delivery dates as well. There really is no guessing there. I've given up guessing dates myself. My does RARELY give birth when I expect them to. I think it's a game with them and they enjoy MAKING ME CRAZY!!!! I hope all goes well with your other does and that you have no more loses. Good luck to you. Farmgirl sister hugs-- Tracy
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
| maggie14 |
Posted - Jan 04 2010 : 12:03:15 PM
Kristy, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. It is always hard when you lose an animal.
Hugs,
channah
If you can dream it, and if you are willing to put forth the work and effort, you can have anything you envision. |
| southerncrossgirl |
Posted - Jan 04 2010 : 07:51:25 AM
Kristy, I am so sorry for your loss. I never get used to losing animals. I hope your other doe will have better luck.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
| lilwing |
Posted - Jan 03 2010 : 5:40:40 PM
I am so sorry to hear this.. When we had goats, mine gave birth to two and we lost one of them ... it was very sad... (fortunately, the one was okay) but it was difficult... I hope your others will be okay! Will be praying!
~~~~
Proud Farmgirl #775
http://maggielousdaughter.blogspot.com
(in construction!)
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| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 03 2010 : 5:37:23 PM
Kristy:
I am so sorry for your loss.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| sacredwolf |
Posted - Jan 03 2010 : 07:42:19 AM
Thanks so much Farmgilrs!!! Brownie seems to be holding her own, no babies yet, which is great. Seems weird to say that since next month I will be waiting anxiously and hoping for the babies to get here soon. I will keep you all posted and when I get healthy full term babies, next month, I will hopefully be able to post pictures.
Thanks so Much,
Kristy |
| Mother Hen |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 11:04:16 PM
Kristy, I know exactly how you feel. We've had that issue before also. Now, we don't even look at the calendar we watch the bag on the expectant nanny and when she starts to bag up, we bring her inside. We don't use warming pads only clean hay for the babies to lay on and a heat lamp 500watt down close to them, depending on their height. We also have learned to ..make sure they get the colostrum.. we've had some die a few days later because we thought they got it, but never did and just got weaker and weaker.
We have boer goats and personally I think they are fickle (at least ours have been). Sometimes they are a good mother, then sometimes they aren't. We've been through 5 years of kidding, and usually right on the coldest night of the winter. We've been kept awake by kids (who have to be bottle fed) that we have to keep in our bedroom with us (in an empty bovine mineral tub) so they will stay warm and our dog won't get in the tub with them. Oh Farm Life....there's nothing like it.
If I had any advise to give, it would be to check them often the colder the weather gets and keep watch on those bags.
I wish you the best of luck and hope you have lots of healthy kids.
God Bless,
Cindy
FARMGIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING!!!
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalms 34:1 |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 7:42:21 PM
Oh Kristy - My heart just breaks to read your entry - give my hugs to you and your son - I know how hard that is to be the one to find something like that, but it does happen.. My thought is also if there was just not enough room for that mother to carry that many. Sometimes they come early because the mother just can not do multiples. The best thing to do for the other girl is keep her quite, warm and limit her movements - just like with humans if they are carrying many babies then you should not let them out without someone with them and just for brief periods. Also, the kids may be big but their might also be some type of birth defect going on with the billy - too bad you do not have him because if it is a problem with him you have passed that on to another farm. I never sell a breeding male until his offspring has reached a year old - that way I know for sure he is not a problem.. I wish you much luck with the other mother and please keep us informed - we all learn from the experiences of others.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| sherrye |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 6:13:09 PM
oh i am so sorry for you. what a hard thing for your son too. in can tell by your concern what good care you take of your animals.i hope brownie is ok. please keep us posted. i l,ove my goat ginger so much. she has company right now. i am caring for a pygmy and baby born last month. the folks that i got the goat for had no really warm place for a baby. she was born when it was -5. when they go home in spring i will get a friend for ginger girl. she is a lover. lamanche goats seem so sweet. course all goats can be sweet. hope your night is calm and you can get some sleep. happy days sherrye |
| sacredwolf |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 3:39:36 PM
Thanks so much Teresa. My first thoughts were that my due dates were wrong but I have checked and checked and they have to be right because we bought the billy and sold him after the job was done. So the first goats can be due no sooner then the first week in Feb. Not sure what happened but highs here have been around 7 F. It could have been a predator also just not sure.
Kris thanks so much. Yes, I have the heat lamps ready and Brownie is in a draft free environment. I do not have kid blankets but I have heating pads that they can lay on. If the heat lamps and heating pads are not enough they will come inside but we will tr everything else before we get to that. Princess and Brownie are Boar as well as most of my herd are but I also have a Nubian and Sananne (not sure if I spelled that right)they are my milking girls and I also have four little pygmies.
All of the other goats seemed to be proceeding normally so I am hoping by keep Brownie in a warmer, safer environment that the process will slow down and babies will hold off for at least a few(hopefully three)weeks yet. After that they can all start dropping! |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 3:24:07 PM
How sad. I am so sorry. I hope Princess is ok now. Poor thing. It sounds like you'll be ready for the next ones if they come soon. Do you have heat lamps and kid blankets? And lots of straw or shavings. Just make sure they're away from drafts and get them all dried off as soon as possible. I always try to help the mothers with the drying off if it's too chilly. Mine don't kid til spring. I don't like having kids in cold weather. That's always such a sad thing to lose those cute little kids. What kind of goats are they?
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Jan 02 2010 : 1:50:34 PM
Kristy, I am so sorry that you lost kids, thats a huge emotional and financial blow. Are you positive on the due dates, with the kids being "big", normal sized? If they truely are a month early, that would be very premature, and without immediate human intervention, loss of life is about 100%, even so they would have a real tuff time, their lungs would not be fully developed yet. I am wondering if something got into your pasture and ran them so much, it caused them to go into premature labor, or is there a possibility that they got hold of something toxic and ate it? There is also the possibility that it was just too cold.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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