Apr 9, 2009

Goats and prolapses!


My only experience with goats, before this last weekend, was tying them. I didn't care much for them and they sure didn't like me throwing them, then tying their legs!
Sunday, as we were eating breakfast, DS's girlfriend called. One of her little goats had two babies, both were born dead, and she was having something strange happening. After DS relayed the info to us, DH and I both said, "Sounds like she's prolapsing." Now DH and I have done more than our share of bovine prolapses but with a goat - this was new territory.
DS went over to see what he could do, DH and I researched "goat prolapses" on the internet. Not much information for that. I did find it very uncommon except in Nigerian's - Starlet was a Nigerian. We tried to find sleeves, gloves, lace thread, etc - no luck. DH bought garbag bags. We had no lidocaine or peniclllin but we did try to put it back in. No luck! Poor little goat, she was so good - hardly fought us at all. !
We tried the vet - no one available until about 3 hours later. "It will be $160 just because it's an emergency plus whatever we do to her." DS's girlfriend was home alone, so she called her mom who really didn't want to pay hundreds and then have the little thing die.
So, we cleaned her, put her in a crate with clean straw and water and the next morning she was taken to the vet. They sewed her up, sent her home two days later - and the next day she died, bled to death. We think (and we are not expert on goats), we think she tore and hemorraged! How sad is that!
The bright side to this story is a different goat had 4 kids, all are doing well - the little brown girl on top is weak and getting bottle fed - but so far, so good! Another has since freshened and had 3!

These little creatures are as cute as a button, the pictures are just minutes after they were born!
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4 comments:

LeAnna said...

How CUTE is that??????

Paula said...

Oh, Sad and Sweet all at the same time. Isn't that just life.

Anonymous said...

Aww! Baby goats are so cute!

Ranch wife said...

I have never had one do that...but I have never had Nigerians....

Glad the babies are doing well. A bottle fed goat is....well yall will find out. They think you are their mama and become very very attached.

~M~

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