Our First Kidding - Need Some Guidance PLEASE [THEY'RE HERE!!]

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Although I'm sure she LOVED the fruit salad and there's nothing wrong with giving her a special treat during an uncomfortable time with her it's not going to do a thing to speed up her imminent labor. And be sure not to over do it if she isn't getting fruit in her diet daily- the last thing you want with a doe who may have decreased feed intake because she's so close to kidding is rumen upset.

 

[RaychulRobot]

I love this thread. My girls were just bred and should be kidding in November if all went well. Nice to read what I can expect when it's my turn...


Cute goaties ya got there!!! Hang in there! Can't wait for the happy ending to this saga! and pictures of course!!!

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Although I'm sure she LOVED the fruit salad and there's nothing wrong with giving her a special treat during an uncomfortable time with her it's not going to do a thing to speed up her imminent labor. And be sure not to over do it if she isn't getting fruit in her diet daily- the last thing you want with a doe who may have decreased feed intake because she's so close to kidding is rumen upset.

I do agree with not over doing the fresh fruits... but:

Pineapple, as well as papaya and mango, contain a proteolytic enzyme called bromelain. When bromelain is consumed with meals, it assists in the digestion of proteins.
When taken on an empty stomach, bromelain acts medicinally as an anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, naturopathic medicine uses this enzyme to reduce pain and swelling.
The mechanism by which pineapple contributes to inducing labor might be the proteolytic action of bromelain. Bromelain might help to soften the connective tissue of the cervix and, thus, bring on labor.

Also, both of my does(Maude & Cali) went into labor within 24hrs of eating their salads which both contained chopped Mango & apple*

*I should have put this disclaimer in my previous reply: My herd gets free fresh produce multiple times per week, all year long, courtesy of Hannaford Supermarkets... If your herd does not get regular fresh fruits & veggies, then start off small, and make sure to top dress with a probiotic powder and some baking soda.

 

[elevan]

When going the fruit salad route for promotion of kidding the fruit needs to be mango, papaya and / or pineapple.

There is no guarantee that it will work but these fruits have "chemicals" in them that have been shown to assist in inducing labor in the human female, so it doesn't hurt to try.

Any other fruits are just that fruit...they are just gonna be a treat

 

[Cara Peachick]

This may be a little off topic, but does anyone use a laxative agent with goats to get things going in a case where early labor seems very long or just isn't coming?

I ask this because it is a folk remedy (but a researched one) to give human females castor oil (a MAJOR laxative) to get labor going. My #2 baby was "induced" naturally with castor oil - and cam eout like a freight train. All 12 pounds of her, lol.

The fruits made me think of this since fruit also has a mild laxatve effect.

Go trouble, Go!

 

[MissDanni]

We feed lots of fruit and veggies to all the animals.. even the dogs like carrots and try to steal them from the horses when they are not looking.

So Trouble did indeed love her fruit salad even though it was missing the secret ingredients. I did however come across a can a pineapple in the cupboard this morning so perhaps she can have that for her snack today. I'm up for whatever will help her get through this as she seems to be lingering on and on even though she is showing signs.

She had a relaxing afternoon yesterday, the sun came through for a while and her and Mambo (The duck who thinks hes human .. long story.) laid in the grass while I played them their favorite songs on guitar. I figured her and I could use a break from all this kidding or lack there of.

@doxiemoxie - What is this "sleep" thing you speak of?

@RaychulRobot - I'm glad this thread is giving you some insight to the insanity of your first kidding.

@All - Thanks so much for helping me through this, you guys are all amazing wonderful people and I wish I could give you all a big hug!

About the castor oil laxative; I've heard about this for humans, I remember my great grandmother talking about it for females who had gone "overdue". As for use with goats, I haven't a clue.

Mambo the duck has moved in with Trouble now, I guess for moral support through this whole thing. He put himself to bed right beside her last night. I thought it was pretty cute, actually its great because she is the only other animal that he has made up with.

So I did a quick peek in and let Mambo out and checked on Trouble. She is doing some more groaning and chewing at the same time which makes for a very odd sound.

Still no goo to be seen. I never thought I'd be so obsessed with wanting to see a gooey goat bottom!

After the birds have all eaten I'll open up her door and let her out if she wants, I have to wait till the birds are done eating though because she has found a taste for chicken food and we do not want her eating that!

Oh and this is off topic but our pot belly pig Daisy, who is some strange type because she is huge, was bred before we got her and we thought due in May is spotting now. We just figured that it didn't take and that was that. Now the guy we got her from tells us the one bred a week before her just had piglets on Friday. Oh my that's going to be a whole other drama.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

I think before I went to any great efforts to induce labor I would call a vet. Induction before the baby is properly position can cause major issues. A friend had a goat nest and pretend to contract and start labor for 3 WEEKS prior to popping out 2 healthy kids in the 30 min between checking on her when getting home from work and changing her clothes and getting the feed buckets ready.

Goats are sneaky sneaky liars.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I think before I went to any great efforts to induce labor I would call a vet. Induction before the baby is properly position can cause major issues. A friend had a goat nest and pretend to contract and start labor for 3 WEEKS prior to popping out 2 healthy kids in the 30 min between checking on her when getting home from work and changing her clothes and getting the feed buckets ready.

Goats are sneaky sneaky liars.

Sound advice indeed.

 

[Roll farms]

X 3.

No disrespect, but...if you feed your goats fruit several times a week, and they kid w/in 24 hours of eating said fruit, that doesn't make it anything more than a coincidence.

After all, I've attended (low estimate) 150 or so kiddings...and not a one of those does had fruit before kidding.
300 or so kids born and only 1 time did I have the vet out.
I could very well say that's b/c my goats *don't* get fruit.
But...My opinion doesn't make it fact.

Goats will kid 99% of the time just when they are supposed to, and usually w/ no help from us *if* they have no other issues (bred early, or bred to too large a buck, etc).

I don't know how many posts I've seen here w/ people who think their goats are due / overdue...and the goat ends up kidding 21-42 days later, obviously bred on a later heat, w/ full term kids.

I shudder to think what would happen if everyone just went out and induced their goats to kid. Humans are impatient creatures...

Mother nature generally knows what she's doing.

That's not to say goats don't have problems sometimes, and we need to intervene when necessary...but goats aren't people and trying to induce labor may not be such a good idea in some cases.

 

[MissDanni]

I'm certainly not about to do anything that would harm her. I don't imagine that fresh fruit could be bad in any way.

Like I said in the OP I really don't know for sure when she's due. All I can do is watch for the signs and keep on watching and wishing.

I am totally excited and anxious to have our first kid born here. However I would never want anything bad to happen to her or her babies.

Wow I feel like I just got a lashing from the teacher.