# Help - retained kid??



## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

My doe Trouble (why did I name her that ugh) kidded tonight. About 3 hours ago. She didn't pass a placenta, and still hasn't. I was positive she had two kids in her, so an hour after her first kid, with no progress, I reached in to check and didn't feel any other kids. She still looked bigger than I expected for having just kidded though, so I figured she needed some 'privacy'. 

I came in to feed the family, got my own kids off to bed, then just now went back out to check her. Still nothing. Plenty of discharge. No sign of having passed a placenta. There is no blood, just the stringy discharge and perhaps a little string of caul.

Something still doesn't feel 'right' to me, so I very, very gently bounced her tummy.

I swear to god it feels like a tiny, bony head and shoulder landing in my palm when I do.

Should I lube back up and try to feel again? Just wait until morning? I don't think the kid is alive, if there is one in there. It was a very limp feel when I bumped. 

Trying not to freak out, but this situation is a first for me. 

I don't have a vet nearby, and payday is Friday, even if there was one. I do not have pitocin on hand. 

I'll take a breech or a head bent back any day of the week over what I'm dealing with right here. lol


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Go back in now. Trust your gut. If you're wrong, oh well. Better to check now.


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## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

Alright. :\ I'm grabbing supplies.This is what I get for naming her Trouble. Sigh. 

I'll update as soon as I'm back in.


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## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

There WAS a second kid! And he was STUCK STUCK STUCK. Breech, with his hocks UP. And he was way down there. I got him, though. Holy frijoles, batman, that was not easy. Giving her a shot of penicillin, just in case. Bumped her again after, and I feel nothing else. 

And the best part is... he's alive. Once I dry him off, I'll post pics.


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## billiejw89 (May 7, 2014)

Good job! Congrats!


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## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

I can't believe he's alive after being in there so much longer than the first. I'm tempted to name him Encore. lol


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Congratulations! Always trust your instincts!


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## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

Thank you. I shouldn't have even second guessed myself after I bumped her. This was my first unsupervised "trouble" birth. I've done dozens before under the watchful eyes of more seasoned farmers, but man, doing it alone for the first time shakes things up!

I was so convinced he was dead. He was so floppy when I bumped, and in the womb when I was twisting him around to free up a leg. If I'd known he was alive I would have been much more gentle with him. Boy is his hip sore! He was so stuck. I'll be so glad if I never have to do that again. lol

His mother hates him, though. I don't blame her, after all of that. She keeps trying to crush him. I gave up for tonight and brought him in, fed him some colostrum I milked out, and if he's going to be a bottle baby then so be it. It's a far sight better than being stillborn!

Here's Sprout, the first kid:

.


And Spud, the troublesome twin:

.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Cute! Glad it went well.


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

So cute! Good job getting him out alive! I know the feeling of dread to have to be so invasive but trust your gut when things are 'off'. Sometimes you're rewarded amazingly!


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## Niginewbie (Oct 28, 2013)

Wow! Great job. Both kids are adorable.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Congrats, good work.


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## ZipperDoo (Apr 18, 2010)

This morning's update:

Mama has passed the afterbirth after this morning's feed/milking.(I let the kids eat until they're full, then milk out the rest. Having colostrum on hand in the freezer is as good as having miracles in your cupboard)

She is acting well enough to fight me about it, so that's a great sign.

She let both kids nurse this morning, though she still knocks Spud away. She isn't trying to crush him today at least.

Both babies are doing well! I haven't gotten a weight on Sprout yet, but Spud clocks in at 7lbs 3oz. He is feeding readily from either a bottle or his mum, so I think for all the trouble he gave us getting him out, he's going to be easy to rear, whether his mom takes him back or not. 

AND... I may have already found them homes as pack goats, once they're old enough, disbudded, banded, and vaccinated. 

What a whirlwind event. lol


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

So scary!! Well done, you! Glad everything turned out OK :fireworks:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good to hear all is OK.


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