Birthing problem 30+ hours and counting

Winter births suck. I had a few escapee does who got pregnant for the first time. One of them went into labor yesterday afternoon. Her vagina is swollen beyond what I had ever seen before. This is my seventh birth. I did some searching online and found nothing that would really help me. She's been sitting inside a doghouse in the pen for the past 12 hours, barely moving. I spent a few hours watching her, because I want to be ready when she finally kids out. Every time I talk in the pen, she moves slightly to expose herself to me. I think she's trying to tell me that she needs help, I just don't know what to do. Please help.

Edit: On the morning of the 5th, I noticed her acting weird. By that evening, her backside was swollen and a string of goop came out of her. It's been more than 30 hours and she she hasn't changed. She'll adjust herself and occasionally stand up, but I haven't seen her since yesterday morning. Her vagina is still as swollen as ever.

My girls are penned in a small room in the barn. The pen has drafts and broken windows and there's nothing that I can do about that. The wind chill is -35 here. I think the goat is in survival mode and won't kid out until it's warmer and safe, so I'm considering bringing her into the house to until she kids out. My housemates think I worry too much and are against bringing the goat to the basement. How long can the kids stay inside the womb safely? If the kids die before, during or after birth...that would suck, but losing the nameless, young, whitish goat would be a tragedy.

You need to feel inside to see if the kid is presenting properly. If it isn't then labour may not progress properly and you could lose them. If you don't have experience of doing this then you need to get someone out who does as that is a long time to be in the early stages of labour.

What news, Ica? Let us know, even if it is tragic.

Thekla

She made it to the vet today. The vet, Dianne, saw right away that hooves where sticking out of the goat's backside. She couldn't pull the kid out, but she tried like hell. Her bare hand was inside that goat within 3 minutes of entering the office. It was too tight of a fit and she had to perform a cesarean. I held down the goat's head and front arms, so I got to see and smell everything. She was very calm and cooperative. The kid was dead and bloated. It had been dead for a few days and it's hair was falling out in clumps. This made a mess inside the goat. I did my best to comfort her during the surgery. I kept one of my gloves near her nose because she knows the glove, she doesn't know me. She got an antibiotic shots and 3 extra shots. If she doesn't get infection and survives until Monday, she'll get more shots.
About 3 weeks ago, another goat gave birth. Only 1 survived and he's a sweet little boy. I've been watching these two goats sleep together and comfort each other since the one went into labor on Tuesday, so it was only natural that I pick the little guy out to keep her company.
I have to think of a name for this goat who became such a big deal this week.

Thanks for the update, and best wishes for the recovery of the doe. I'd name the goat "Big Deal", but that's just me. Maybe you want to name something that does not remind you of this sad episode.

Thekla

Sorry to hear that.

I think you maybe need to get some experience dealing with difficult kiddings so that you can avoid something like this happening again. See if your vet offers any training. If there aren't many goat keepers around experience with lambing can be useful - though there are some differences it can help your confidence in feeling what is going on inside. I don't mean to be rude but you really shouldn't have left it so long to get her to a vet as that is a real welfare issue.

Personally, any early stage labour that goes on for more than 24 hours I check inside to see what is happening. That way I can check presentation and dilation. I am then in a position to know whether to wait it out or if a vet is needed I can call them out before things get to a critical stage.

There is a useful resource here http://kinne.net/ob1.htm that shows how to deal with some of the common issues that can present during kidding.

I'm still in my first year of taking care of animals. I was homeless and traveling, but I wound up on a farm in MN and somehow the animals became my responsibility. I didn't want this. I'm not qualified to take care of goats. I can feed them, but when they are ill, then I can't do anything. I've read about goats and birthing and witnessed 5 flawless birthing mothers to 9 beautiful kids, but this wasn't flawless and I've been way over my head for a long time. The farm owner has had goats for 25 years and he wouldn't help me when I needed him. I had to beg him on Tuesday to go outside and look at her. He left the state on Wednesday and finally decided to call a vet on Friday. Calling the vet on Tuesday was my suggestion, but that was ignored. I love these animals, but I can't keep them from dying when they are sick.

She started moaning around 5am. She died before 6am, about 12 minutes ago.

I'm so sorry she has died. It sounds like a really awful situation for you being made responsible for someone else's animals. I hope you can sort out a better situation soon. Sending virtual hugs.

This is a great website with many health and management articles on goats. If you sign up for the forum you can ask questions and get answers and suggestions quickly.

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/articlesMain.html

Sorry about the goat, poor thing. (Edited to remove breeding question) Oops, I see they were escapees..

The males escaped. I went on vacation with my boyfriend and we had his former housemate watch the farm for a week. This person has a lot of health issues, so his responsibilities tend to lapse. At some point while I was away, the girls' pen door wasn't closed properly and either the girls got out or the boys got in. This was about a week after 5 does gave birth and were penned separately, so only a few does were left. The herd was confused. Two does got pregnant. It wasn't ideal, but shit happens. It's unfortunate, but the situation can't be helped at this point.