Answering A Question

I got a email asking if I could explain what happened with the baby goat and how we knew before she was all the way out that she was dead. We saw one hoof and waited a minute or two to see if the other was going to come out. When it didn't William went to help. Baby goats normally come out front two feet first then the head. When he checked Blackie he felt the other foot bent behind the head with the cord pinched in the bend of the leg. This cut off oxygen to the baby goat causing it to have the reaction to start breathing. By trying to breathe it inhaled the fluids and drown. It took several minutes for William to get the head through the cervix after he had gotten the other leg straightened out. This was several minutes that the baby goat wasn't getting any oxygen. We knew she was gone but we couldn't give up without giving the baby goat every chance possible. We worked on her for over 15 minutes without getting any response. It happens and you feel like you failed even though you know you did every single thing possible. It was a normal pregnancy and normal labor. The problem occurred because the baby goat was so big and because going down the birth canal its leg bent back catching the cord and pinching it. A lot of goat owners say goats have been having babies for hundreds of years and don't need them around to help. Well my answer to that is yes, they did but the fatality rate was much higher. If you are going to have goats I think you should take the responsibility and make sure you keep them healthy and happy as possible. I make sure they get all their vaccines and worming on schedule. Until this years mishap I make sure I know the breeding and due dates on all our animals. We make sure to have everything we need to medicate, treat, help deliver, etc for all our animals. My goal now is to save up for a portable ultrasound machine for goats. That will help us know for sure they are pregnant after a breeding and how many. It will also let us see the positons, etc when labor begins and maybe keep cord problems from happening but it won't prevent things like last night from happening at all. Things happen in animal births that we just can't forsee or prevent. If you have done everything you could possibly do, then understand you are going to have that guilt. You are going to second guess everything you did. You are going to feel terrible but like I said before. You are going to find that strength, that courage, that faith, and that love for your animals to go forward. You will find when you have that wonderful birth of your next baby goat or goats a wonderful sense of contentment. A feeling of pride. A sense of love of having chosen farmlife. You will know that it was worth it. Every little thing that had gone wrong before was worth the experience and the learning to be able to be right where you are, helping a miracle happen. Helping your goat deliver its baby and holding your breath as it takes its first one. Don't give up or don't be afraid to have more goats. Bad things happen but the good ones far out weigh those. I hope I answered your questions and explained what happened. If you have more just let me know