kittenmmm's blog post - Why I Buy Jeans at the Salvation Army

I came back from my client's house last night and wolf had just finished up all the feedings. He said he was going to go back out later and check on Snoopy because she was just laying in the corner and wouldn't get up to eat. She was due any day so we both assumed it was "time". I started dinner and then decided to go out and check on her. It seemed quiet over the baby/barn monitor but you just never know.

So out I went in my $2.50 levi's from the Salvation Army, my insulated muck boots, a heavy sweatshirt and a coat. Sure enough, something was amiss... She had tried to deliver but the kid was mispresented and wasn't going to come out. Back I went into the milk house...grabbed my arm length gloves, a couple of towels...couldn't find any KY Jelly so into the house for oil, clothespins (to hold the gloves up). Grabbed a feed bag on the way through the milk house (easiest way to collect the mess and simply dispose of it).

I went back out to Snoopy, removed my coat, kneeled on the feed bag behind her, put on my gloves and "went in". Sure enough, the kid was in the wrong position. I moved it around and then had to pull it out. Poor thing never made it. Her sac had already busted so it didn't have a chance. Now for the fun part...back in to see if there are more. Yep...great...said in a very sarcastic tone. Snoopy stoically laying there, moaning once in a while because let's face it, this isn't pleasant for her.

By now Wolf's come out...he gets to dispose of the kid before she sees it. Not that she doesn't know she had one .... I decide to wait a bit to see if she'll progress on her own. Wolf's rubbing her head and sides and I'm watching her tail and the sides of her abdomen. She starts pushing again but it's stuck. I reach in again and this one is in the wrong position as well. I get the legs forward but the head keeps twisting down. I finally get the head over the legs and start pulling. Poor girl is working her butt off to get this kid out...

After what seems like forever I finally get the head and shoulders out. This is the worst part. I wait a bit to give her a little rest and start pulling again. This one had died too. If you catch a mispresentation right away you can get lucky and save them....if you miss the onset of the labor your odds of delivering live healthy kids decreases with the time lapsed. We don't really know when she started but too much time had already gone by.

I felt around again and I could only feel the afterbirth so I let her rest. She was understandably tired. Wolf got another bag and left with the second kid. By the time he got back she had her head up again and I was telling her what happened...who knows if they actually understand us but they do go through a mourning period after something like that. I've actually lost a doe who wouldn't come out of it...she just refused to eat or drink and spent her entire time where the incident happened...occasionally she would cry out for her kids..it's sad.

I put a towel over her to help her retain some heat and let her be for a while. I stood up...my jeans were covered...in mud, blood and some other nasty stuff we won't get into (which is why I refuse to pay top dollar for jeans). Of course you really don't worry about that when you're in the middle of a delivery. My back and neck were aching, still are, from all the pulling. I can imagine how she feels.

Wolf went out to check her later and give her some antibiotics. She was still there but looking a little more alert. I e-mailed my vet and told him what happened and he gave me some medication advice so we'll be giving her antibiotics for a few days and some BoSe...it's vitamin B and selenium and helps boost them up. Once she's back on her feet she'll be wormed and hopefully she'll be ok. I'll have to milk her out so she doesn't get mastitis.

It's been a rough year kid wise but it's probably a blessing in disguise. It's real lean for cash so extra feed and meds would really strap me. Sometimes we don't understand why things happen the way they do but God always has his plan. Maybe it would be much worse if all my does had kidded out as normal. A couple of kids would be nice so here's hoping the next doe does ok. She would be devastated if she lost hers. Last year she kidded out during a cold snap and her kid froze...she spent a couple of days crying for her lost one and then she adopted her sister's kids.

Well, it's morning again and I have meds to administer so I'm off...