Poor little Peach! No wonder she was so quiet and exhausted. I thought I saw slight contractions around....up.....8-ish? And a real one around 8:30. By 9 I ran up to the house and posted an urgent question on byh, asking anyone with experience to call me, and posted my phone number (eek! Gotta go take that down!) I asked that someone who'd had their hand inside several goats to please call me, as I felt I needed to go in.
I went back to the barn and watched a few totally fruitless contractions and lots of groaning and whimpering from Peach. Or was it me..... So I washed up, lubed up, and held Peach around her chest with one hand while I went in with the other.
I didn't like what I felt. I couldn't figure out what I was feeling. It felt like a curved spine and I couldn't find head or legs. I started to think it was deformed, that a grotesque monster kid was going to be delivered by a vet if I could find one. I felt sick. Why to I torture myself with the worst case scenario??? Sheesh!
I got a call from Kate (Helmstead on byh), who was on her way home from a school event when her husband saw my urgent post and phone number, so he told her and she called.....thank goodness! She talked me through what I was feeling and guided me into finding the hind feet and bringing the first one out breech. Once I got both of those legs pointed in the right direction, Peach squirted the doeling right out.
I went back in and got the second one, a buckling, figured out with more guidance from Kate. I described what I could identify and what I couldn't, and she talked me through exploring for this part and that part, knowing the likely position of the kid from my description. I got the kid out, and had to stimulate contractions by rubbing back and forth up high just inside Peach, and helped pull the second kid out.
Then Kate reminded me to check again, and to my shock, there was a third kid. Remember, Peach is a first freshener! The third kid, a large buckling, needed turning, too. He was delivered upside down, in spite of my efforts to turn him, Peach couldn't wait. So I helped with some firm pressure, and she did some yelling, poor thing. Kate said it was the most difficult and painful position.
I went in one more time and was quite relieved to find her empty! We used up a couple rolls of paper towels and a bucket full of clean rags and towels to get all those kids dry. Filled a muck bucket with bedding, too! I can't believe how much stuff....and kids....she had in her. Poor, poor Peach! She'll be getting the princess treatment for a while.
I milked Peach (she was a peach, too!) several times until everyone had at least 4 oz of first colostrum, and each kid attempted nursing with some success. They are now separated. I had to put the twins in with the triplets (good thing they are smallish and quiet!) so Peach could have the other stall. She is there to pass the placenta. I just boiled some water to flush her and it is cooling, and she will go on antibiotics first thing tomorrow morning, as soon as the vet's office opens. I did a LOT of messing around in her, far more than with Mya. Mya was EASY compared to this.
I will be making myself a nice glass of sangria once I get Peach flushed and milked one more time and all the kids fed one more time before I can go to bed. WHEW!!!!
It is almost 2:30 AM now and I am pooped! I have my sangria, I need to get clean jammies on, (I'm damp and smell like a newborn goat that is still wet....not terrible, but not the way I want to crawl into my bed! ) and get some sleep.
I got the boys to drink a couple more ounces, but the doeling would have none of it. She got plenty earlier, a 4 oz bottle as well as several chances at her mother's teat. She was vigorous and alert (more than I was) so I will not worry. I will not worry. I will not worry. I will not worry...... *takes a slug of sangria*
Peach passed the placenta and I flushed her uterus with a quart of boiled and cooled-to-body-temp water. I gave her some of my supplements (B-complex, OPC-3 and ORAC for inflammation) and she took half. I left the other half in a feed pan next to her water bucket. She ate a few mouthfuls of hay. She is exhausted and seems confused, but content to be alone and secure in her deep straw bed. She is no longer grinding her teeth, thank goodness. She was doing this now and then when she was resting with me, her head on my legs, after all the excitement was over. I massaged her and told her how wonderful she was today, and she relaxed and stopped grinding.
Gotta set my alarm...gotta milk three does and feed five kids first thing! And get my dad to bring me to the vet's office to get some antibiotics to get Peach on them asap. I didn't with Mya, as she was so simple. I was fishing around in Peach for a long, long time, and pushing kids back and turning them and re-arranging limbs. I feel like antibiotics are the safe choice in this case. Wish I had some painkillers for her. I'm going to pick up some children's advil tomorrow, too, so I'll have it.
Wow!! Great job! What a way to spend the evening. My hats off to you my friend, for being able to do it, and save all of them AND Peach!!! Cute little ones by the way. I am with you on the antibiotics...just to be on the safe side. Congrats again on a job well done!!!!!
If you are going to the vet, also get some 500 ml bottles of saline solution. Then you can add 2-3cc of Betadine for flushing out a uterus. You can buy the tubing to add to the bottle at PBS or probably Jeffers or something. If you need a link to what I'm talking about, I will have to look later. But that is what I use to flush a female and the cost is low but does the job wonderfully.