# Time lapse between births?



## GeorgiaGirl

If a doe has more than one baby in her, will they all be born quickly or very close in time with each other? One of my does just had a doeling and it appears she is finished but she still looks big to me. The baby is a fairly good size. I was just wondering how long could it take between births.


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## Minelson

Mine still looked preggos after she had her twins. If you are in doubt, you can try bouncing her http://fiascofarm.com/goats/bouncing.html
Is this her first time having a baby?
Congrats! And grab your camera


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## GeorgiaGirl

Yes, this is her first time. And I've tried the "bouncing" business. I don't think I know what I'm doing!


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## Minelson

How long has it been. How is she acting? What is the status with the afterbirth?  If it's a big baby...First Freshner...and she is acting like she is done then I would think she is done


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## madness

I plan on 'bouncing' as many does as possible this year so that I can start to learn what it feels like. The one multiple birth I've been there for I didn't even get a chance to do since hers were so close together though!

We did have a FF go about 4 or 5 hours between kids this year, but it was a premature labor and #3 was stillborn (#2 is doing great!). So I don't know if that is an ok time frame or not - there was something wrong with the kid anyway so it wasn't a viable fetus.


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## LomahAcres

Sometimes kids come out one right after another and sometimes they take longer, I think an hour between would be the longest normally. I wait 30-40 minutes without pushing between kids before going in and getting it out - or at least making sure it's in the correct position. I had a doe kid just last week with twins and waited 40 minutes, she wasn't pushing at all but I knew there was another kid, I went in and found just the head, no legs, so brought them up and was ready to go. But the doe just wouldn't push. I waited another 10 minutes and still nothing. So, I had my helper 'bounce/belly rub' her and slowly brought out the kid this way. Also works good for stubborn after birth. 

For me it just took one time to feel a kid in the belly to know what to look for when bouncing. It's when you have time after time of empty belly bouncing you don't know what you're looking for, but when you feel it it's hard to mistake after. Empty bellys feel like jelly, a kid feels like a large rock in the jelly.


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## Goat Servant

Our girls usually finish kidding within 15 or 20 minutes. Had one this year take a whole two hours between the first one and the other two. Ding Dong (not her real name) is pretty laid back.


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## Wags

Just had a doe give birth to triplets - 9 minutes from the time she laid down until the last one was out. I was taking pictures the whole time, so have times stamps from start to finish.


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## Ping

Honestly, why guess? Just scrub up and gently go in and check. You're not going to hurt her by doing a quick sweep of both horns of the uterus, but it will hurt her to have a baby stuck in there.


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## madness

Ping said:


> Honestly, why guess? Just scrub up and gently go in and check. You're not going to hurt her by doing a quick sweep of both horns of the uterus, but it will hurt her to have a baby stuck in there.


Really? For each birth, you go in and check? Do you give antibiotics afterward as well? I just haven't heard of this as anyone's standard practice.


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## Ping

Actually I haven't been breeding goats long enough to claim this as my own advice, but it is the advice I follow from top breeders who have been doing this for eons and are very successful. Bouncing is just guessing really. No, I don't use antibiotics after each birth. The uterus is going to clean itself by passing the placenta and the lochia in the next few weeks. I wear short nitrile gloves since the hands are the hardest to get clean. I scrub my arms. I do a quick sweep of the uterus, both horns, feeling for anything sharp and bony to indicate another kid. I do an antibiotic flush of the uterus if I had to assist quite a bit with the birth and was in and out a lot. I would also if there was a dead kid, which I haven't had to deal with that yet, thank goodness. Some people I know put a goldenseal bolus in the uterus as a precaution if they go in. 

The advice I follow is don't let a goat push more than 15-20 minutes without progress before going in and checking for presentation. This only takes a few fingers or the hand just barely in. If you wait, you get all the kids in the birth canal crammed behind the malpresented kid, and you have a trainwreck that is quite possibly going to be fatal for the doe or the kids. If presentation is fine then let the doe do her thing. Wait 10 minutes or so and check for the next one. Letting a doe labor for hours just wears the doe out, is unnecessary, and is very likely a sign of a bigger metabolic issue such as not enough calcium to help with muscle tone and contraction. It means you'll need to give calcium, fluids, and possibly oxytocin to tone the uterus so she can push the next one out and then pass afterbirth and clean fully afterward.
It's just not worth the risk in my opinion when going in is so simple and is not going to hurt anything. 

Just my two cents.


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## GeorgiaGirl

OK. I'm back from the barn. No more babies. She just had one single doeling. AND she has done dropped her afterbirth. I was very glad about that. She is also be a very good mommy


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## Bearfootfarm

Most of the time my sheep will deliver the second in less than 30 minutes, but I had one go 4 hours between births once.

She didnt show any signs of having another. It was just there when I checked on her later


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## Minelson

GeorgiaGirl said:


> OK. I'm back from the barn. No more babies. She just had one single doeling. AND she has done dropped her afterbirth. I was very glad about that. She is also be a very good mommy


Thats great! I sure hope you are posting a picture of the big girl  !!


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## LomahAcres

Ping said:


> Actually I haven't been breeding goats long enough to claim this as my own advice, but it is the advice I follow from top breeders who have been doing this for eons and are very successful. Bouncing is just guessing really. No, I don't use antibiotics after each birth. The uterus is going to clean itself by passing the placenta and the lochia in the next few weeks. I wear short nitrile gloves since the hands are the hardest to get clean. I scrub my arms. I do a quick sweep of the uterus, both horns, feeling for anything sharp and bony to indicate another kid. I do an antibiotic flush of the uterus if I had to assist quite a bit with the birth and was in and out a lot. I would also if there was a dead kid, which I haven't had to deal with that yet, thank goodness. Some people I know put a goldenseal bolus in the uterus as a precaution if they go in.
> 
> The advice I follow is don't let a goat push more than 15-20 minutes without progress before going in and checking for presentation. This only takes a few fingers or the hand just barely in. If you wait, you get all the kids in the birth canal crammed behind the malpresented kid, and you have a trainwreck that is quite possibly going to be fatal for the doe or the kids. If presentation is fine then let the doe do her thing. Wait 10 minutes or so and check for the next one. Letting a doe labor for hours just wears the doe out, is unnecessary, and is very likely a sign of a bigger metabolic issue such as not enough calcium to help with muscle tone and contraction. It means you'll need to give calcium, fluids, and possibly oxytocin to tone the uterus so she can push the next one out and then pass afterbirth and clean fully afterward.
> It's just not worth the risk in my opinion when going in is so simple and is not going to hurt anything.
> 
> Just my two cents.


I agree, so many people just don't want to go in, but it's a lot easier to fix sooner then later. Not only is the kid stuck - but your doe wears out faster which means fewer weaker contractions to help get those baby out. I don't wait at all if a doe is pushing. As soon as she starts into labor - I let her get 2-3 strong pushes together - and I go in and make sure the kid is in the right position. I do not give antibiotics or flushes, unless there is a problem passing the afterbirth. I don't wear gloves either, I use a hand sanitizer and LOTS of lube.


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