??Is my goat going into labor??

[Chickerdoodle13]

uh propylene glycol is what is in antifreeze right?

Ethylene glycol is typically the toxic substance that cause acute renal failure. However, in large doses, propylene glycol can also cause kidney damage. Please, please, please do not give antifreeze to your goats.

In this case, a vet is definitely warranted. The head pressing and vaginal discharge would be red flags to me, but no one on the Internet can diagnose for you. There is a simple test that can confirm or rule out ketosis though and a vet would have access to these tools...especially a cow vet. Most large animal vets (horse and cow vets) will also treat goats. Call around and ask. Some small animal vets will even treat smaller goats. Regardless, if you are going to continue breeding, you will definitely need a vet on hand and some goat knowledgable friends to help you out in situations like this.

 

[enola]

 

 


What does propylene glycol do? Their are no vets in my area that would come to the farm and their are no goat farmers nearby that could help so I'll probable have to treat her myself.

Thanks again for your help!!

Propylene glycol is a simple sugar.  It is used for treating ketosis is cattle, sheep, and goats.

uh propylene glycol is what is in antifreeze right?

Have you given this goat anything to try to help her problem?

Is she still down? Or has she gotten up and started moving around normally?

More importantly, is she eating and drinking normally?

Do you realize that she and the kid(s) are in danger of dying????

 

[Bigwig]

Sorry for the delayed response! A vet came by yesterday and gave her a labor inducing drug and some dextrose along with some vitamins. Today she is eating much better and should kid tomorrow evening. My other doe is about to kid as well so I’ll probably be (very!!) busy for the next couple of days, but I’ll post more info soon!

Thanks for all your help!!

 

[cassie]

The dextrose is very helpful. If I were you, I would continue with giving her molasses so she doesn't relapse. Watch the progress of the labor very carefully. She might be able to push the kids out just fine, but then again, she might not. Please keep us posted.

 

[enola]

What did the vet give her that would cause her to kid three days later??

 

[cassie]

Ethylene glycol is typically the toxic substance that cause acute renal failure. However, in large doses, propylene glycol can also cause kidney damage. Please, please, please do not give antifreeze to your goats.

In this case, a vet is definitely warranted. The head pressing and vaginal discharge would be red flags to me, but no one on the Internet can diagnose for you. There is a simple test that can confirm or rule out ketosis though and a vet would have access to these tools...especially a cow vet. Most large animal vets (horse and cow vets) will also treat goats. Call around and ask. Some small animal vets will even treat smaller goats. Regardless, if you are going to continue breeding, you will definitely need a vet on hand and some goat knowledgable friends to help you out in situations like this.

You can get ketostyx (sp) at the drug store and they are a good thing to keep on hand. They are used by diabetics to monitor the level of sugar in their urine. I assume they are still available. It has been years since I last bought any. They are little strips of chemically treated paper and you dip them in the urine. The color will tell how severe the ketosis is or if the doe has ketosis at all. Propylene glycol is the treatment of choice for ketosis. The only real cure for ketosis is the delivery of the kids, but the propylene glycol can help keep the doe alive until that happens. Too high a dosage of propylene glycol may cause kidney damage, but so do the high levels of ketones generated by the pregnancy toxemia (ketosis) itself. The vet can tell you what the proper dosage of propylene glycol is. To treat the ketosis, the vet will usually administer something to induce labor, IV dextrose, maybe some CalDex, and often some thiamine. The head pushing is a sign of thiamine deficiency. Like the dextrose, CalDex provides needed sugar and the calcium helps stimulate the contraction of the smooth muscles. The rumen and the the uterus are both smooth muscles. In other words, the CalDex helps with both digestion and delivery. As you no doubt know, the services of a good vet is invaluable in the treatment of ketosis as well as a lot of other things. I don't know what I would have done without mine.

 

[Bigwig]

What did the vet give her that would cause her to kid three days later??

Dexamethasone.

 

[cassie]

Dexamethasone is the name of the drug I couldn't remember. Our vet used to have us give it and lutalyse together to induce labor. The combination works better and is more reliable than either drug alone, but one or the other should do it.How is your goat doing? Any progress?

 

[Bigwig]

Dexamethasone is the name of the drug I couldn't remember. Our vet used to have us give it and lutalyse together to induce labor. The combination works better and is more reliable than either drug alone, but one or the other should do it.How is your goat doing? Any progress?

I am just heading down to the barn to assist her deliver a breeched kid (what next I wonder?). Wish me luck!

 

[cassie]

I really like a breech delivery. It isn't difficult to get the feet up even if the kid is coming hocks first. The delivery I learned to hate is a small doe trying to deliver a large kid with only the head and no feet presenting.