goat in labor how long does it last

[Pearce Pastures]

Thank you for sharing that. And Annabelle is a beautiful girl and so lucky to have you.

 

[Mamaboid]

First thing

The worst and hardest part of having animals of any kind is the unexpected problems that can come up, and the hard decisions that sometimes have to be made. It is very hard to be practical when a member of your family is suffering, but it has to be done. I applaud your wisdom and strength at knowing when to say when. I really hope she does well from now on, and you need to know you did all you could and be at peace with that no matter what the outcome.

 

[mama24]

I'm so sorry. I'm so glad she's doing so much better and is going to make it! I prepared myself for the worst when I found out both of my yearling does were pregnant this year. I knew there was a pretty good chance things wouldn't go so well for my petite doe who was under a year old when she kidded, but thankfully she kidded in a few hours one afternoon while we were out and was just fine. There's no way we could afford vet care for any of our farm animals. Our dog and cat, who are really part of the family? Yes, we would find a way, even if we had to ask for donations from family. But not the outside animals. We got them for food purposes, and cannot afford to spend any more money on them except for their food and whatever else we can do for ourselves as far as medical care goes. My friend that I got my girls from told me I could call him to help out if I thought one of my girls was in trouble while kidding, but if that didn't work out, I have a gun. That's just life on the farm. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I grew up in a farming community and saw a lot of the reality as a child. I thought it was good for me, and wanted my children to experience the same. It's hard when you lose one, especially if you have to be the one to put them down. But I have done it in the past and will do it again, if necessary. I'm glad you had the resources this time to help Annabell, and I hope you never have to make such a hard decision ever again! And thank you for posting about the reality of what decision you maybe should have made in hindsight. I agree that no one ever seems to talk about that on these hobby farming sites. The fact is, MOST farmers put an animal down if they get too sick or hurt for the farmer to fix. A vet is only called if the animal is an extremely valuable (usually for breeding) animal, like a prize bull who got tangled in some fencing or a horse with colic. Chickens, sheep, pigs, and goats, etc, aren't usually worth enough money to justify a vet call. If you can afford it, and consider these inexpensive animals pets, then by all means, call the vet. But most of us just aren't in that position, even if we wish we were. In an ideal world, we would be, but most of us just aren't. Doesn't mean we love our animals any less than people who do call the vet for c-sections or whatever.

 

[redtailgal]

Awww, hun.

We all get emotional and made those emotional decisions sometimes. I sort of bites to have to realize that our emotional decisions were terribly unpractical.

Your advice is very sensible.

My mastiff had a nasty uterine infection last year. The vets ESTIMATE was 1200$ for her treatment. I initially decided to put her down, but quickly changed my mind and had her treated. I justified it with several factors.......she is a rare breed AND of a rare italian bloodline, she is an excellent farm dog, and she is my biggest baby. Would I spend that on a goat? No. Not even Socrates.

We all have a line, and the line may be different for different animals, but in the heat of the moment, our emotions sometime get the best of us.

I admire your practicality and your honesty. Hang in there.

 

[SDBoerGoats]

I've had to face that situation a couple of times, yes I love my goats dearly. I have them for a business. But when it comes down to it, the ones that needed a vet to try and save them, went to the vet. In hind site, it was too late in both cases, and because I didn't know better at the time. We had a beautiful fullblood Boer doe. Grand champion at the fair last year. Bred her to our fullblood buck. She was carrying triplets, I didn't know that. With their combined pedigrees, the babies were outstanding. Popper started laying off by herself alot, I thought she was getting close to kidding. I noticed she was losing weight, and not eating as much. I DID question that, but my business partner, who said he knew a lot more about goats than I, said she was being a drama Queen. Long story short, she was getting toxemia. Did all the research, took her to the vet, had blood work done. She was getting worse and worse, even with treatment, I knew she was getting too weak to deliver. I voiced as much to the vet, asked about a C section. He said she probably wouldn't make it through the surgery. I said yes, but if you save the fullblood triplets, that's better than losing them all. He said, let's wait til Monday. IV fluids, all kinds of meds at home. She went into labor Sunday morning, she couldn't deliver the babies, we saved the first gorgeous buckling, lost the other 2, and her. The 3 babies alone were worth what the surgery alone would cost, but it didn't work out that way.
It was a costly and painful lesson to learn. I would have paid for the C section to save those babies.

You might have been going with your heart, I know I always am. I have an account with my vet so I say yes, I would take my goats to the vet. If I didn't, and had to pay cash, there's times I might not be able to, if it's like the situation with Popper that would cost a lot of money.

It's so hard, to say, just let them go, and put them down. Or to let them suffer, I can't do that. When I get my animals, I KNOW things can happen, my horse got a cheat grass in her salivary gland when she was 25 years old. She is my cutting horse, taught me how to cut cattle, won me tons of buckles, gave me many talented foals. To get her thru that 6 month treatment, cost me $3000, and most of the treatment I did at home, with IV bags. She's 30 now! And still alive. She's won more for me than that in her lifetime, so yeah, without hestitation, she got treatment. But $3000???? That's a lot of money to put in a horse that will never be ridden again, but she is more than just a horse to me. She truly is my best friend. I know many ranchers would have just put her down.

So I don't know what the answer is, you do the best you can, with what you have to work with. Others might not do the same.

 

[cindyg]

The part I have trouble with, and I've had so many pets over the years, mostly cats but now have goats and dogs, is knowing where the line is, sure you can say, ok, this amount of $ and no more, but what if just another round of antibiotics, or one more surgery would be the one? We just recently had a nice young dog put down, because our vet said, "we can't fix her heart" so at least we knew there was no more to be done, and even then we were at the $1,000 mark for tests and stuff. My SIL once said about their old car, if only there was a light on the dash that would come on and say, ok, you've reached the limit, from here on in, any more investment is just going down the drain, it would be a lot easier. You do what you can, and then don't beat yourself up about it I guess. Hard choices are part of life, right? Good luck with her, hope she pulls through for you.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Annabell is doing good. She still doesn't have much of an appetite, but she does eat a little. She really wants to go back with the herd. Being herd Queen and then being absent has turned my herd upside down. I let Annabell out for a while on Saturday, supervised, and all she was concerned with was being boss. She even escaped and I had to separate her and Millie. So I have Millie and Skye up for sale if anyone is interested. It will also help pay the vet bill. I need to cut my numbers and regroup. I will be happy with Annabell as a pet and to milk Cerina and Jenny, I have found I like the bigger goats better as my hands are not well equipped for milking small teats and more than 2 goats at a time.

I've had to put building my milker on hold until I can get the vet bill paid off.

Just wanted to check in with you guys. I love this picture of Millie, I was in the milk room with Annabell and the posturing is absolutely hilarious. Really what are you going to do? Head butt each other til someone passes out?

I put feed out there for the babies, but as soon as the girls are done milking, they go hoover the rest. I need a creep feeder as my other solution isn't working because Dawson needs to be separated from Annabell. Dawson can still fit through the pop door to the creep feeder. The creep feeder is in with Annabell and of course my other pen has my Great Pyrenees puppy, who loves to chase goat babies and chickens. Ugh, could it be more complicated?

 

[redtailgal]

Thank you so much for the update on Annabelle! I've been wondering how she was doing......Great news! and I'd bet her appetite will return albeit slowly.

 

[terrilhb]

I am so happy she is doing better. I too have been wondering how she was doing. I so love good news.

 

[that's*satyrical]

So glad she is doing well