# Goat not passing afterbirth



## Jcran

Yesterday our 3 year old first freshener, Spanish meat goat/Angora cross, kidded. I had to help pull the first kid, a breech doe, dead on arrival despite every effort, lungs just full of fluid and no heartbeat. Second kid, a buckling was small but doing ok. Anyhow, I went in to check after pulling the second kid as well and nothing left. I gave her LA200 and 1 cc of oxytocin when the afterbirth hadn't come at 2 hours post kidding. This morning she has no temp but there is still afterbirth hanging out; its definitely not fully passed. Is there anything else I should be doing at this point, aside from monitoring her temp? She is an attentive mother and eating some hay; but not touching her grain (hasn't really gone for it for the past week). I gave her a little calcium gluconate, but only about 12cc since she fought me so hard.


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## jill.costello

She might need some GENTLE traction. My vet had me tie some "weights" to the afterbirth (we used some BIG steel washers, maybe 5?). Also, this soon after kidding, I think it's safe to administer some oxytocin. You''l have to get a proper goat-dose from your vet or a friend that has some on hand.


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## Jcran

I HAVE oxytocin and gave her 1cc yesterday as the bottle said. It also said to administer another dose at 24 hours. Does this sound right? I'd call out the vet, but am not sure they'd do anything more...I'll try the GENTLE traction( I've always been told NOT to pull), thanks for the idea.


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## nubiansinny

I would not pull.Just dragging it round would have been enough pull if it was seperated. My brain is not working right now but i seen to think that a mineral def might be at work here ...selinium? maybe.. got any bose on hand? it can't hurt.
Look up retained after birth asap.
good luck


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## fishhead

If it's dragging I've seen people recommend tying it in a knot to keep it off the ground. Keeping it off the ground should add some gentle weight at the same time.


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## Jcran

She had a bose shot two weeks ago. I'm wondering if its some sort of subclinical hypocalcemia...she's been getting local rye/clover hay; really good stuff, but in the last two days I've added a couple handfuls of alfalfa as her appetite wasn't great. She is thin, also. I wormed her with ivomec last week. Anyhow, I'm going to continue to check her temp. and watch for the placenta to pass. She is nursing her kid and drinking and eating hay...but not the grain, which has me a bit worried.


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## Ark

My first freshener Scarlett kidded a couple weeks ago, and despite trying all the stuff you have tried, she never passed the afterbirth.

She had been kicked by the horse, and kidded a couple weeks too early. The babies were dead, and her temp dropped down to 95*.

Finally, after a couple days she started having a lot of gooey nasty discharge, but just runny stuff - nothing like a whole placenta. She is still continuing to have discharge - feeling fine with no fever, and milking halfway decently considering all she has been through!

I would have hoped for at least 4 pounds a day from a first freshener, if not more. But, am only getting 40 oz a day, and climbing.


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## ozark_jewels

You are probably right on the hypocalcemia. I would be giving her calcium for sure and slowly up her alfalfa ration. At this point don't push grain on her.
Have you done a fecal to be sure Ivomec is working?
You can massage her belly by standing with her neck between your legs and you facing her tail. Reach down, link your fingers under her tummy, lift up gently and run your linked hands back toward her udder. Do this several times. Sometimes this is all it takes.
I would also probably give her another dose of Bo-Se and Oxytocin.
Does this doe have free-choice minerals available to her at all times?


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## ozark_jewels

Ark said:


> My first freshener Scarlett kidded a couple weeks ago, and despite trying all the stuff you have tried, she never passed the afterbirth.
> 
> She had been kicked by the horse, and kidded a couple weeks too early. The babies were dead, and her temp dropped down to 95*.
> 
> Finally, after a couple days she started having a lot of gooey nasty discharge, but just runny stuff - nothing like a whole placenta. She is still continuing to have discharge - feeling fine with no fever, and milking halfway decently considering all she has been through!



I'm pretty certain that your doe did pass the afterbirth and either ate it or it got lost, or a dog ate it or something. A doe that hasn't passed the afterbirth after two weeks would be a very sick doe indeed or a very dead doe.
The runny discharge you describe is most likely infection from not cleaning well/dead kids. Better give her something to clean her out if you haven't done so already or she may not breed this year.
I rarely see afterbirth here. The does usually eat it or the LGDs get it. But I am always certain they *have* passed it. Otherwise my doe would soon be extremely ill(unto death).


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## Jcran

Yep, I'm going to push the calcium today; I DID have free choice minerals but then last week when I isolated her, I didn't put fresh minerals in with her, so the ones there were a bit caked. In addition, I'm starting to wonder if I didn't create this mess by making her a bit lonely. She has horns and is new as of last summer to the herd. When I split folks up, I put her into the kidding pen by herself, and as much as she is quiet and doesn't bellow for companionship, I think she might have spent more time at the fence instead of eating. My daughter is on watch right now (I'm working in my classroom getting ready for the week) and we'll push the calcium when I get home.


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## Ark

ozark_jewels said:


> I'm pretty certain that your doe did pass the afterbirth and either ate it or it got lost, or a dog ate it or something. A doe that hasn't passed the afterbirth after two weeks would be a very sick doe indeed or a very dead doe.
> The runny discharge you describe is most likely infection from not cleaning well/dead kids. Better give her something to clean her out if you haven't done so already or she may not breed this year.
> I rarely see afterbirth here. The does usually eat it or the LGDs get it. But I am always certain they *have* passed it. Otherwise my doe would soon be extremely ill(unto death).



Well, I kept the dog out of her pen, and watched her closely and never did see a thing. I realize she may have eaten it, but I couldn't even find a slimey spot from where it had been! I let the dog in a couple times to look for it  and then put her back out. lol

I did give her some lute to clean her out. But still didnt see a thing.


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians

Also 1cc of oxytocin is way over the top, 1/4 to 1/2 cc is all that is needed. It's not retained if it's hanging out, and although disgusting and sickening smelling to us, it rarely bothers the does. Retained is when the placenta is in the uterus with the cervic closing.

Yes I would give 1/4 oxytocin to start with at 12 hours, and I would give traction to see if I can slip it out about 10 mintues after the shot, banamine can also relax the whole process and any pain she is in, to help also. An Injection of calcium or CMPK, but if she had good contractions to get the kids out, it rarely is calcium, unless she is drunken acting, won't eat her grain or milking poorly, also weak in the rear legs.

Pennicillin is actually the drug of choice for after birth antibiotics, if you feel you need to give them...tetracycline is usually used for uterine infusions along with Penn systemically given. Vicki


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## Cygnet

My vet taught me a neat trick for dealing with a hanging placenta -- he tucked the end of it into a rubber glove and then put a couple sutures through the wrist of the glove and the placenta to hold it in place. Kept it off the ground (and stopped the doe from stepping on it) and the weight of the placenta itself is enough to provide traction.


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## Jcran

Vicki,
Thanks for the advice (as always!)...she passed the rest of the afterbirth sometime today while I was working in my classroom. I need to ask the vet for a prescription of banamine to have on hand for situations like this. Poor thing, she also seems to have wrenched her knee somehow. She does not want to put too much weight on her left front leg and its either the knee or upper leg. I think she may have stood on the stanchion feeder and her leg slipped or something. If its not one thing, its another. At least her buckling is spoken for. A 4-Her showed up today and is going to trade me some carpentry skills for a market wether. This kid's dad works at the local particle board mill and he gets all the HEAVY duty sandpaper (but like THICK PLASTIC) rolls that they change out every 4 days. They have tacked these down everywhere on their goat roofs, sunning decks, ramps, etc. It amazed me how well it kept their feet naturally trimmed. So he's going to build me some walkways to help keep goaty feet dry as they move from shelters to pasture and some elevated sun decks.


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