# How many of you help clean babies when assisting delivery?



## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

One of my neighbors came over and helped with my last kidding. It was a hard birth and I had to go in and pull the babies. She is a FF and has done well since but was seemed to be in shock a little right after birth. I mostly cleaned the babies and suctioned their noses and then put them in front of Mom while they were still wet. She smelled them but it took a little bit before she started licking them and cleaning them completely. My neighbor critized me for cleaning them and not letting her and that they don't form a bond. I told her I have never had a problem before and since mine always have multiples of twins or triplets that I find they are so busy giving birth that it is hard for them to clean all the babies and give birth. My other two girls helped me clean their babies til they were ready to push again. This one was a mix of her being a FF, and a hard birth. What are your opinions on this. I guess I keep rehashing all this in my head and feel I am right.


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## Utterly Blessed Farm (Dec 21, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Shame on your neighbor ~ why does everyone have to be so judgemental?! :chin:

I think you did absolutely the right thing. The doe will form the same bond with you being there helping a little. It is not like you did everything or even separated her from them. However, I totally understand completely pulling the babies from moms too.

Each doe is completely different as to how much or how little it bonds with its kids. We have one that is super protective and gets antsy if we are even remotely near her kids. We have another that doesn't care if you take the kids completely away from her.

Don't second guess yourself, you did fine. :thumb:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

What I do most the time if i'm assisting with the birth...once the kid is out, I have a towel, clear the nose and mouth and allow the mother to do the rest...usually. There are times when i've needed to help clean the kids...maybe the doe was tired or not cleaning them fast enough or there was a weak kid that wasn't getting attention...but most the time, as long as I get the airway cleared, I let them be. I think it's good to let the does follow their instincts during a kidding...I don't like to help more then the doe needs. I do kind of think, if a doe has always had her kids cleaned for her...lets say one day there is not a person there to clean the kids...is she going to know exactly what to do...or is the kid going to suffocate in the sack because the mother didn't clean it quickly herself?...I don't know...I feel like cleaning the kids fully for the doe might be desenstizing the doe to the kidding process a bit. :shrug:

Now, everyone does things differently, and I don't disagree with someone who cleans the kid fully during birth. Each kidding can be different and different aproaches will be needed depending on the circumstances...but this is just how I do things and it does work very well. I also very rarely have issues with the doe's mothering instincts not kicking in, abandonment, etc.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Cleaning the airways is always one of my first concerns. These were still wet and she did fine once she seem to snap out of what had just happened. She let them nurse and licked them but there was alot of hesitation at first. She is doing great now almost too protective. Last night we let them out for the first time with the herd and supervised. She just kept crying during it. I kept going up to her and reassuring her that they were okay. She was picked on by the others girls before birthing so I think being back out with the herd made her nervous. They all did just fine together.


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## mmiller (Apr 3, 2012)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I've only had 2 does give birth so far. One I was checking and checking her an came out to find she had already had one with another on the way so I stayed for that one. I was late for work so when she had gotten the last one out she wasn't fast enough for me so I ripped the sack away from the nose and was off for work. The other one we came home a her little one running around the pen. She was penned by herself waiting for CL results to come in. He had already sucked so there was nothing to do but wait. She came back not having CL. I agree with everyone else each birth is different sometimes they need help.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

So sorry your friend was being that way, there is nothing wrong with helping mom clean the babies.

We ALWAYS clean the face and nose.

If it's cold out, YES I help clean the babies, they need to get dry quickly IMO so they don't get so cold that it's hard to get them warm again.

If it's warm out then all we do is clean the face and nose, and we might move the baby out of any 'puddles' <as I call them LOL>.

If I think my doe needs help cleaning her babies, I won't hesitate to help. We've never had a bonding problem because we helped with the birth. Sometimes I think getting involved even helps stimulate the mama!


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

We clean the face and clear the air ways, then we hand the kid to mom to clean..... if she is having another one we take the kid and dry it up some while she delivers the next one....... we make sure all the kids are clean/dry before we leave them.....


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I pretty much do what everyone else does; break sac if needed, clean nose & make sure they are breathing.
If any towels used have been washed with scent free detergent.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Since my does kid in February... I let mom get their faces after I've suctioned airways then I thoroughly dry them to prevent chilling.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I wipe any excess goop off their face just with my hand and leave them be. I only clean them if they are weak and not being stimulated, then a good rub with a towel or a handful of hay. I am snatching kids this year though so will aim to take em before mamma licks them. Licking the birth fluids is an important part of establishing the bond


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

My goats are all great mamas no matter how much/little I help during delivery. This year I have had everything from going to the barn to find clean kids up and nursing to pulling from a very tired mom. With ChaCha there was one towel used for triplets. With Star and Halo's five I think every towel in the house got used.
Just depends but I have seen no harm come from it.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Like liz, we usually have kids born in cold weather and I do not have the luxury of a heat lamp so I plan on being there to dry those babies as quickly as possible. Mom's have never had any trouble bonding with their semi dry kids and still lick, lick, lick their babies. I really don't see any reason that you couldn't towel dry those babies. They are still plenty damp enough to smell like they should.


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## .:Linz:. (Aug 25, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

We cleaned faces and airways and let Eclair do most of the rest - however it was a chilly, rainy, drafty day so we did help her with towels, especially on Charlotte as she seemed so much smaller and weaker and it took awhile to get her warm. Coincidentally, she loves to hang out with us more than Maddie does, though Maddie is still plenty friendly, Charlotte is friendlier. But Eclair seems to love them both the same.  I think that being present for the birth and assisting with cleaning helps the kids bond with you as well, especially if you are dam raising.

I think you did the right thing as well!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*



peggy said:


> Like liz, we usually have kids born in cold weather and I do not have the luxury of a heat lamp so I plan on being there to dry those babies as quickly as possible. Mom's have never had any trouble bonding with their semi dry kids and still lick, lick, lick their babies. I really don't see any reason that you couldn't towel dry those babies. They are still plenty damp enough to smell like they should.


All of my does have always been very attentive and I've never had any problems at all with them not bonding and I choose to not use a heat lamp, I figure that once I have a kid dry and it's eaten then they should be hardy enough to be able to regulate their temps, I will use a sweater at night the first day or 2 if the temps are in the single digits but other than that...a hardy healthy kid will handle the cold well if dried quickly.....I also dry off mama's backside, belly and anywhere else that may have gotten wet with birth fluids to prevent her from chilling.
If your does are good mama's theres no reason why you shouldn't want to help her clean babies....and if she's a litter producer, you stepping in saves kids as she's definately busy delivering the next and next and possibly the next :wink:


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## rosti (Feb 1, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*



KW Farms said:


> What I do most the time if i'm assisting with the birth...once the kid is out, I have a towel, clear the nose and mouth and allow the mother to do the rest...usually. There are times when i've needed to help clean the kids...maybe the doe was tired or not cleaning them fast enough or there was a weak kid that wasn't getting attention...but most the time, as long as I get the airway cleared, I let them be. I think it's good to let the does follow their instincts during a kidding...I don't like to help more then the doe needs. I do kind of think, if a doe has always had her kids cleaned for her...lets say one day there is not a person there to clean the kids...is she going to know exactly what to do...or is the kid going to suffocate in the sack because the mother didn't clean it quickly herself?...I don't know...I feel like cleaning the kids fully for the doe might be desenstizing the doe to the kidding process a bit. :shrug:
> 
> Now, everyone does things differently, and I don't disagree with someone who cleans the kid fully during birth. Each kidding can be different and different aproaches will be needed depending on the circumstances...but this is just how I do things and it does work very well. I also very rarely have issues with the doe's mothering instincts not kicking in, abandonment, etc.


Ditto Kylee.


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## Goober (Aug 21, 2009)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I always help clean when I am there especially faces. After watching a couple of mine this year I do not think your intervention had anything to do with her lack of interest. 1. FF, she was looking at the baby, and sniffing it, finally she decided to try tasting it, then she went at it. 2. Second birth, I suspect that maybe her kids had been pulled previously as bottle babies. Didn't have any interest in the babies at first, only ended up licking on them a little, but she ended up a good mother, just didn't do much cleaning. Her first one was a bit difficult, she had one leg folded up, so I had to help. So, I don't think you did anything wrong, and I don't think your intervention did anything undesirable.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Thank you all! This was only my third kidding and then having to pull these made me very nervous, then having her tell me that they didn't bond because I cleaned them didn't help. Like I said all my other girls did fine and would clean right along with me til they were pushing again. I am usually then moving babies out of the way so they don't get stepped on and waiting for the next to be delivered to help clean it. I am expecting triplets in a couple of weeks from another doe and will be there doing as I always have.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

:thumbup: :hug:


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## Utterly Blessed Farm (Dec 21, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I just want to say that I am always impressed with the knowledge that Kylee of KW Farms brings to this forum. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. :hi5: :hug:

PS There are a lot of others too with wonderful insights and I'm very grateful to have found this forum. Thanks everyone!!! :grouphug:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

:thumbup: :hug: :stars:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*



Utterly Blessed Farm said:


> I just want to say that I am always impressed with the knowledge that Kylee of KW Farms brings to this forum. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. :hi5: :hug:
> 
> PS There are a lot of others too with wonderful insights and I'm very grateful to have found this forum. Thanks everyone!!! :grouphug:


Aww...thank you...that means a lot. :hug: :wink:


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## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

When my doe had her kids, she seemed more interested in licking up "puddles" after the kids were out, so I cleaned out the kids' noses and mouths, wiped their faces, and cleaned off their bodies a bit. After about a minute, I gave the kids to the doe and she licked the babies off. I don't think it damaged their mommy-baby bond at all.


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## Jessaba (May 13, 2010)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

Once kid is out I clear face, nose, etc and let mom lick the rest unless there is a problem. We have never had any problem except the one time my doe delivered early and my LGD licked the kid clean and the mom walked away. Ever since then if they are a month away from kidding they go in the barn/fence area where dogs can see them, but not get near them. This way that doesn't happen again!


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

:ROFL: That must have been amusing, Jess. I can just imagine the doe..."well, I don't want that one...it's got dog spit all over it!"

I attend every birth (at least that's the plan), and I don't hesitate to "help" my does. I have many sets of trips or quads and I'm sure we'd loose more kids if I didn't help. Bambi needed help with her first kid this year and then the other 3 came so fast that she would never have been able to clean them fast enough.


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I help them clean them. Especially if it is cold or if it is twins.
I make sure nose and face is clean and then let mama lick them off for a while(vital part of bonding). If it is twins (at least for my doe) they work on their next kid and do less cleaning. I clean them while she is working on number 2 and set the kid aside in a warm place (heat lamp) to help it dry off while we are all busy with the second kid. Then both kids are taught to nurse (some already know how and some it is a fight to get them to nurse).
If a doe is doing a good job cleaning her kids (both of mine did) then they clean kids off. I just get the big goobers off and wipe them with some paper towels so they arent so wet. Moms do most of the cleaning. I do the cleaning up of the mess mostly (uhg).


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## coltrule (Mar 24, 2011)

*Re: How many of you help clean babies when assisting deliver*

I always clean mount and face,and make sure its breathing good,and clear it all out. Then let mom finish.


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