# Another baby after afterbirth?



## Amiekers

My Alpine doe delivered a healthy bouncing baby girl about 3 hours ago. She passed the placenta, I got her and the babies temps, and everything seemed ok. Now, at about 5 pm, she is pawing the ground again, grinding her teeth, laying down, and making the sweet little goat sounds, too, (at first I thought her new little girl) but she's also chewing herself above her udder. Oh, and when she's laying down she tries to nurse herself???? There's a long string of yellow clear goo coming out, which I had with my other two goats and I figured was normal, but her vagina is all swollen again and it looks like she's pushing? Is it possible to have another baby after the placenta has been expelled? I bumped her and didn't feel another one. I'm trying to attach some before and after pictures. She was large enough that I was for sure there were two!


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## kccjer

It IS possible. I might be tempted to reach in and see if there is another in there....


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## Amiekers

Thanks! I'll go check right now, any idea why she would be trying to nurse herself? And shee seems to like to lick her little girl and doesn't like her very far away, but isn't letting her nurse a whole bunch. Maybe a few seconds and then the next few the baby comes up for more, she'll push her away or step over her, but turn right around and lick her some more. I milked her a little bit and there were no clumps or blood in the milk, so I don't think she has mastitis, also no fever and her udder isn't hot or super swollen. Is she rejecting this kid? Or if there is another baby in there, could she just be trying to get some room so she can have the other one?


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## ThreeHavens

Sometimes they "nurse" themselves to unplug their udder so babies can nurse easier. 

I would also check, it is possible, but it's also possible she is responding ton contractions pushing the afterbirth out. Be very careful not to tear the afterbirth. Can you bounce her and check for kids?


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## kccjer

That is pretty normal behaviour. They don't generally let the kids nurse for more than a few seconds at a time. I don't believe she's trying to self-nurse....I think she's nipping at her belly. That's part of the reason I think there's another in there. She's acting like she's in labor again.


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## sweetgoats

I would go in and check. Sound just like my doe years ago. I figured she was fine and we had a wedding to go to so we left. The next morning mom was down. I went in and I pulled another baby ALIVE. It was 12 hours later she passed the placenta as wel. The baby was dead but as I threw it down because it was dead and black. I jump started her heart. Mom would not take her she smelled awful. I still have her. We named her Hope. We hoped she would make it. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Goat Forum mobile app


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## Amiekers

She's up and grazing again, I checked and didn't feel anything but did feel alot of goop still in there! I didn't go too far in though. She already passed the afterbirth in one piece. it only had one umbilical cord attached to it so I'm starting to think that one is all she had in her. I didn't pull it or anything else out, it came out I think in about an hour or two after she had the little girl. Momma isn't anemic, I checked her eye membranes and they look nice and pink. Could it be milk fever? I was contemplating giving her a calcium drench. I also have BO/SE and I was looking for my Nutri-drench, although hell if I can find it now lol (roommates)! As of two minutes ago she was up and walking around, still chewing her belly a little, but grazing and talking to her baby. Her temp is still normal, 101.3. I did give her some warm molasses water and a bit of a selenium and vitami E gel after the birth. About 1 1/2 cc. She was acting normal after she expelled the afterbirth, but we are in a selenium deficient area so I figured a little bit wouldn't hurt her. Could that have made her act weird?


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## Amiekers

And she still looks pregnant btw! But I bumped a few times and nothing, her bellies not hard and no lumps. No more discharge after that long string of goop. And she's not laying down anymore, it looks like she's up for good. She's yawning a lot, but it's hard work to push out a baby lol No more teeth grinding while I was out there, she's still pawing the ground a bit but not as much as before


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## kccjer

Well....maybe she just wanted to make you crazy? I dunno. Congrats on the baby!

Carmen, Oleo Acres LLC, NW Ks


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## Amiekers

I guess lol still nothing and she's been acting normal for a few hours now. Definitely threw me for a loop! I have so far been there and assisted for.....5 births and have never had one of the goats do anything like this! Thanks you everyone for helping to brainstorm and offering advice, it is much appreciated!


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## ThreeHavens

I did have a doe who had a stillborn kid tangled in her afterbirth after a difficult kidding. She acted very off. She was grinding her teeth, star-gazing, shaking, and would only "come out of it" to feed her kids or accept our offers of raisins. I would keep a close eye, but if she is comfortable she is probably okay.


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## lottsagoats

I had a doe deliver quads this year. Premies. The first 2 came back to back, tiny and weak. I took them in the house to raise. She passed the afterbirth, all accounted for. 

5 hours later she was still acting like your doe was, finally she laid down and started pushing. Nothing came out so I went in. Kid presenting sideways. I fought to get it turned, as it was dead and had been for at least a day, it was stiff. I finally got the poor little doe kid out. Very dead, blue and cold. 

I checked for more kids and could not feel a thing. I finished chores and went back inside to try to help the 2 premies. I kept going to the barn to check on her and the other does and kids. 

4 hours later, I find this doe with a swollen head sticking out her back end. Had to fight to get it out. Dead, had been dead for several days as the skin was ripping and sloughing off. Another doeling. Not sure where she was hiding it, except it was probably tangled in all the tissue in her uterus when I went feeling for more. 

She passed another round of afterbirth, which looked really abnormal. I think that she must have fallen on the ice or something and the placenta on these 2 kids pulled away from the uterine wall, killing them. This, in turn, caused them all to be born, live and dead alike, at day 137.

I've never seen anything like this in 30+ years of goat midwifery. Seems to be some strange things happening lately and I blame the GMO grains.


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## Amiekers

Yikes. Weird stuff for sure. So far she's still looking good. No more pawing the ground or pulling her hair out. She stopped grinding her teeth and her temp is normal. The little girl is doing great, kickin and jumping all over the place lol She likes to run backwards for some reason! My first thought was brain damage but apart from that she acts fine. And my momma goat delivered her within an hour of her entering labor so I don't think there was any cause for brain damage. She is still a little wobbly on her feet but is just such a good little goat! I have to milk the mom out a little because she is producing WAY too much milk for just one kid. One side of her udder was getting huge and a little hard so I milked her for a bit and froze the milk to save for next year. Is it common for goats too much milk for the number of kids of they have


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