# retained placenta



## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

well I was hoping to wake this am to find momma finished passing it but she didnt,, still hanging there... What can I give her? IN my 6 plus years of raising goats thisis my first time dealing w/ this.. I have read a lot of different advise but thought I would come here.... Momma is doing fine no fever,, eating everything in sight... Can I give her lute? I have Lute but will have to run and buy oxytocin if you all suggest that which isnt a biggie.

what shouldi give her and how much?

can I but oxytocin at tractor supply?


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 14, 2011)

I can tell you oxytocin is a Rx.

Don't know about the Lutalyse, we don't use it.


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

ya i am getting ready to head to vet to pick some up...


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## Emmetts Dairy (Mar 14, 2011)

mistee said:
			
		

> ya i am getting ready to head to vet to pick some up...


Good idea...thats what I would do too!!!


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

i got some oxy and pen g,, wish us luck... of course aftr i got back from vet i remembered i had both already in fridge,,sigh.... it has been a rough 2 weeks and i thinkmy brain went on vaca.


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## Emmetts Dairy (Mar 14, 2011)

mistee said:
			
		

> i got some oxy and pen g,, wish us luck... of course aftr i got back from vet i remembered i had both already in fridge,,sigh.... it has been a rough 2 weeks and i thinkmy brain went on vaca.


Is'ant that always the way!!!  Uggh!!

Well I hope it works out for her anyway!! Im sure she'd like that out of her too!!


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## rebelINny (Mar 14, 2011)

I know you already got the oxytocin but you can use lute for retained placenta as well. We used it this year for a retained placenta and it was out in 12 hours with only 1 ml of it. There weren't any problems using it.


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

thanks... so far it is still there:/she was pushing a bit but nothing was happening...


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

sigh,,, she still hasnt passed it and we are about 24 hours since babies were born. She has had 2 shots of oxy and 1 of pen g so far..


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## mossyStone (Mar 14, 2011)

have you tried  rub her udder with warm cloths and or soathing oils to try and simulate her into pushing i know somethimes this works....


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

i tried the rubbing but not the oils.. She also has 4 babies bumping her and nursing so would think that would help,,lol... I will just feel better when it is out...  I dont think there was another baby in there,, she had 5 as is,,lol.. I did check after the 5th just hope I didnt miss... She is eating and taking care of her babies fine.


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## ksalvagno (Mar 14, 2011)

My vet said after 24 hours the oxytocin doesn't work anymore. It also doesn't make them have strong contractions (also according to my vet). You need lutalyse or estrumate.


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## mistee (Mar 14, 2011)

well it is still hanging.. i guess i will call vet tomorrow to see if I can give Lute.


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## PattySh (Mar 14, 2011)

I'm  going thru this now.  My doe was almost 2 days with membranes hanging after set of twins. Oxy only works for the 12 hours or until the cervix closes. My vet recommended getting the doe on antibiotics and keeping her on them til the placenta passes. My vet didn't want to use Lute and said nature will take it's course just prevent infection.


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## mistee (Mar 15, 2011)

grrrrr,, she still hasnt passed it 

She is acting perfectly normal , no fever,,, eating great,, taking care of her babies and wants out of the stall...

would it do her good to get out of the stall and move around some? Or will it expose her to more and cause infection?

I am giving her penecillan 2xs a day.... Should I call the vet again? The vet said yesterday that if the oxy didnt work then the pen would eventually...  Since momma is fine should I just wait it out longer b4 pestering the vet again?

thanks


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## ksalvagno (Mar 15, 2011)

I would get some lutalyse or Estrumate and give her one shot.

My vet had me give my female one shot of Estrumate (I have it on hand). Then he said to wait 2 weeks. If it didn't pass, to give her a second shot of Estrumate. Well, I took her in for an ultrasound at 2 weeks and she was clean. I had also found part of a placenta on the ground.


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## PattySh (Mar 15, 2011)

My vet said if my doe was straining or pushing  or acting at all "off" to call right away. I'm sure your vet won't mind if you check in. I'd leave her in a clean area.


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## mistee (Mar 15, 2011)

she tries off and on to push it out other then she is acting fine..

how much lute should I give?


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## ksalvagno (Mar 15, 2011)

You'll probably have to get a dosage from your vet. I gave my ND .25cc of Estrumate. Don't know what the dosage is for Lutalyse.


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## mistee (Mar 16, 2011)

well placenta is still hanging there but it does look like more has come out so fingers crossed we are getting there,,,,, slowly..... She has no fever,, eating great and even jumped the smaller fence to get out this morning when she saw me coming w/ the peng shot,,lol.  hope is comes out SOON!!!!
I did find one of her quads dead this morning  Looks like she layed on him... My husband checked on them before work at 6 and they were all fine but by 8 he was gone. so sad!


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## PattySh (Mar 16, 2011)

So sorry to hear you lost one of the quads. My doe seems fine after her retained placenta, I hope your doe does the same. Hers came out a bit at a time,  still not sure if she expelled it all or not but she is acting fine. I used baling twine to tie it up after it  got below her hocks thinking the extra weight wouldn't hurt either and didn't want her to rip it out standing on it.


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## Caprice_Acres (Mar 16, 2011)

Definetely lute her now. If the vet won't cooperate, find a different vet. The afterbirth should be ideally out within hours - no more than 12 in my opinion. She's not dialated anymore so she will have to re-dialate to continue to move it. Lute will do all of this, where oxytosin just stimulates contractions.  If she cannot move the placenta past her non-dialated cervix, she will have weak contractions. Keep her on antibiotics, as it's likely beginning to rot away inside her. Keep her on them for several days past the passing of the afterbirth, as well.  

If you do not know or don't already supplement, check your local selenium and copper levels.  Low copper and selenium levels cause retained placentas/afterbirth, and would be my #1 suspicion in this case. BoSe (NOT MuSe) is given pre breeding and pre kidding, at a minimum.  I give it every 4 months along with copper boluses.


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## mistee (Mar 16, 2011)

well it finally passed this evening and I guess she ate it cause it wasnt in her stall... She does seem much happier,,,lol. I hope everything came out!  I will keep her on the pen g for a few more days..

thanks everyone!


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## PattySh (Mar 16, 2011)

Glad it all worked out well!


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## cmjust0 (Mar 17, 2011)

FWIW...I had occasion to talk to a vet about this.  The vet said that, with ruminants, taking *days* to pass a placenta isn't that uncommon and not that big a deal -- provided she remains healty in the meantime.

It was also mentioned that oxytocin isn't that useful at a day (whether that's too early or too soon, I don't remember) and that prostaglandins (aka, Lutalyse) usually does the trick.  

Specifically, what he said is that Lute will cause contractions and "shrink the uterus," which usually works to expel the placenta..

He advised shots of tetracycline, saying that was probably the best antibiotic choice (after uterine bolus/infusion, of course)..  I was also told not to freak out if this particular goat went several more days with a 'rope' hanging out of her.  Said to just keep her on the oxytet and keep an eye on her..

Perhaps most interesting was his advice to give her Lute *daily* until she expels it, as Lute apparently doesn't hang around in their system long, and that repeated doses won't really hurt anything.  I'd always been super careful and cautious about giving Lute, but apparently it's pretty...meh.

I know we're all resolved on this post, but someone will come back to it one day and I just wanted to commit this to the intarwebs.


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## mistee (Mar 17, 2011)

thanks for the info CM..... I was worried about her but she was always healthy and eating fine...  lets hope all the other girls pass theirs right away,,lol


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## helmstead (Mar 17, 2011)

cmjust0 said:
			
		

> FWIW...I had occasion to talk to a vet about this.  The vet said that, with ruminants, taking *days* to pass a placenta isn't that uncommon and not that big a deal -- provided she remains healty in the meantime.
> 
> It was also mentioned that oxytocin isn't that useful at a day (whether that's too early or too soon, I don't remember) and that prostaglandins (aka, Lutalyse) usually does the trick.
> 
> ...




Lute is also great for helping to clear out uterine infections...of course with aforementioned tetracycline...


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## cmjust0 (Mar 18, 2011)

Just to add...  The reason that doe retained her placenta (which dropped, finally, about 36hrs out) was because she had also retained a mummified kid..  The lute got everything out.

If you've never seen a mummified kid...try not to.  Ever.


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## aggieterpkatie (Mar 18, 2011)

It's my understanding (and a pretty common one- not just mine ) that lute doesn't cause contractions, lute just keeps the cervix dilated so the oxytocin can cause contractions to expel it.  Oxy also shrinks the uterus, which is why frequent milking (if bottle feeding the kids) helps the doe clean, as well as shrink the uterus.


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## mistee (Mar 18, 2011)

I was worried she had another in there but she did have 5 babies,, not sure there was room for another.... After the 5th was born I did feel around in her but didnt feel another, but that doesnt mean there wasnt..... She seem all right but is laying down a lot. she is an older doe so she just might not feel the need to be running around,,, she normally didnt anyway... She is eating fine though and taking care of her 3 remaining kids... This is her last year kidding.. I am just a worry wart!

I have seen partially formed babies that died inside but never mummified,,, gick!


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