A goat cannot give birth: what to do and how to solve the problem, causes and prevention

Nature provides that animals give birth on their own, but most owners do not leave their pets at this moment and try to help. After all, even a goat that has given birth many times can have problems, and the first-timer needs special care. If a goat cannot give birth on its own, what to do in this case and how to help, this question worries novice farm owners, especially if there is no doctor nearby.

Causes of the problem

Pregnancy in goats lasts 150 days, if the time of mating is known, it is easy to calculate the date of birth, given the deviations of 3-5 days in one direction and the other. Preparing a goat for childbirth begins gradually:

Reduce the nutritional value of feed so as not to overfeed the animal, and the goats were not too large.
Milk once a day.
Do not massage the udder.

2.5-2 months before giving birth, the female is stopped milking, the nutritional value of feed is increased and transferred to a separate, dry, clean and warm enclosure. The animal needs daily walks if lambing is not in winter.

There are many factors that affect the severity of labor. The first lambing is harder than the next, even if everything goes well. A goat cannot be born in the following cases:

weak generic activity;
presence of a narrow pelvis;
big kids;
wrong presentation;
The kid's legs are tangled.

Help may be needed after lambing, when the placenta is discharged, during the recovery period after childbirth.

What to do if a goat can't give birth

In case of weakness of labor activity, 1-1.5 milliliters of "Oxytocin", "Uteroton" are injected or the animal is fed with amniotic fluid, which is collected in a clean bowl at the time of rupture of the fetal bladder. If the amniotic fluid is cloudy, with an unpleasant odor, they should not be given to the goat. The injection is performed subcutaneously or intramuscularly. If the attempts are normal, but the animal cannot be delivered, assistance should be provided. First, you should gently massage the belly of the goat in the direction from the belly to the genitals. Then you should put on a rubber or oilcloth apron, wash your hands thoroughly with soap, treat them with alcohol, vodka or cologne and lubricate with petroleum jelly.

Important: it is better to prepare for childbirth in advance, purchase medicines, treatments, antibiotics.

You should feel the fetus, correct the legs if they are confused. Then throw a loop over them and gently pull at the moment of an attempt.You can pull without a loop, with your hands. All manipulations must be done carefully. After giving birth, the goat must be watered. If she does not drink herself, a rubber bulb will do. They draw water into it and pour it into the mouth from any side, where there are no teeth.

The goats that have appeared should be examined, their noses should be cleaned and the mucus wiped off with a towel if the goat does not have the strength to lick them. Then the babies are given colostrum. Kids that have not received colostrum grow weaker.

After the birth of kids, you should wait for the afterbirth. Normally, it comes out 3-4 hours after the completion of childbirth. If there is no placenta, the Oxytocin injection should be repeated. In case of incomplete discharge, the goat should be injected with an antibiotic ("Gentomycin", "Azithromycin").

Important: do not pull or cut off the part of the afterbirth.

Experienced livestock breeders advise the next day after birth to wash the uterine cavity with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or a solution of furacilin. It is better to do this with the help of an Esmarch mug (a rubber heating pad with a long tube and a tip). Within a few days after (3-7, depending on the condition) the animal is given nettle or watered with a decoction. Steamed parsley or dill seeds work great.

To give the animal strength, offer the goat some glucose or 1-2 slices of a chocolate bar. The goat should be in a separate pen, on a clean, dry litter, cats or dogs should not be allowed in the barn.

Prevention

Before lambing, the goat should be well fed, but not overfed. The menu should contain vegetables (boiled potatoes, carrots, pumpkin). Compound feed or oats must be introduced into the diet, from 100 grams the mass is gradually brought to 500-700 grams per day.

One month before the birth, they begin to give the goat vitamins ("Felucen", "Vitam"), exactly following the manufacturer's instructions. Calcium preparations, for example, gluconate, are often prescribed to swine goats. They continue to be given even after lambing.

Walking is also an important part of prevention. Walking provides the goats with the vitamin D they need. Walk only when the weather is good.

Of course, you can give birth to an animal yourself, in the absence of experience, only as a last resort, if there is no way to call a veterinarian. Good care and responsibility of the owners make it possible to help the animal even in very difficult cases.