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Kids: Coccidia

Coccidia are a protozoan internal parasite, that most goats have, in small numbers. In adults, this is generally not a problem, but if kids get an overload of coccidia, it can cause diarrhea, intestinal scarring, and ultimately death, if not treated.  The first line of prevention for coccidia in kids is to keep their areas clean. This may seem like an unreasonable expectation--it's a barn, for all love--but what this means is essentially making sure the kids have minimal access to poop--they pick up coccidia from mouthing poop, soiled straw, etc. This can mean cleaning out the pen every day, or it can mean adding a new layer of straw once or twice a day, or even both. A good criteria (picked up from Deborah at the Thrifty Homesteader) is that you should be willing to sit down in the stall. Then, it's clean enough for kids. If you're not willing to sit down (while wearing "barn" pants. Not wearing a fancy dress, for instance) it's not clean enough for kids.  In
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Kidding: Birth Problems

I will reiterate once again: 95% of goat births proceed completely normally. And honestly, most "problems" are not super hard to resolve. But there are some issues that do require some intervention and so I'm going to talk about those today! (For the record, I have never had to deal with any of these issues, so everything I'm going to say is based on a synthesis of the experiences of others I know/have read.) 

Long labor
Does can have long early labors, and some does have bodies that, like humans, give them "practice contractions" or Braxton-Hicks before they go into true labor. So you don't especially need to worry about long early labors, particularly since it can be hard to tell if a goat is in early labor. :) 
However, the general rule of thumb for the pushing stage is that the goat should not push for more than 45 minutes to an hour before the human either calls the vet or checks what's going on inside. 

Problematic Birth Positions

-Frank breech
As I said in the previous post, most does (at least Nigerian does) can give birth to a frank breech kid without difficulty. You'll just have to make sure the head is born quickly after the hips, and sometimes breech kids also need more attention with the bulb syringe to get all the mucous out of their airways. The one issue we have had with a frank breech kid was that his hips/hocks (not entirely sure which...) got engaged with his mom's pelvis, and I just had to shift him a little to the side for him to slide right out. 
-Leg back
Most does can push out a kid with a leg back, as far as I've heard. If she's having trouble, you can apply gentle traction to the leg that's out, to help the doe while she's pushing. 
-Both legs back
From what I've heard, some does can give birth to a kid with both legs back. This is not true for every doe, though, so if your doe is having trouble, you'll need to push the kid back slightly (harder than it sounds), and then carefully bring at least one leg forward. 
-Head back
A kid cannot be delivered this way without damage to the doe and/or kid. You need to bring the head forward for the delivery to be able to progress.
-Posterior
This means that the kid is upside down, with its stomach towards the dam's spine, instead of its spine towards the dam's spine. If the kid is small, the doe might be able to deliver it. However, in most cases, the kid will need to be flipped. This can be kind of tricky, so you may need to call a vet. 
-Other
Some very, very rare possible strange presentations include top of the head first, ribs first, and back first (crosswise). Most of these do need to be rearranged, but they're so very rare that it's not worth worrying about. :)

Retained placenta
Generally, the placenta is passed within 24 hours of birth. (Ours have never taken more than an hour). If it's not, it can become problematic. Key word being "can"--some people have goats and sheep that take up to a week to release their placentas with no problems. This is probably something the vet should be called in to address. 

Weak kids
Some kids are just born a little less bouncy than others. If they're really weak when they come out and don't seem to be breathing, stimulate them by rubbing them quickly with a towel, and suction their airways.
If they're having trouble standing and nursing, it might be a selenium/vit. E problem, so it's a good idea to start with a Vitamin E gel squeezed into their mouth (this helps free up selenium), and the proceed to selenium gel if that doesn't resolve the issue.
I have also heard of people using cayenne (powder or tincture) to kickstart weak kids. 

Hypothermic kids
Kids who are hypothermic will have mouths that feel cold when you stick a finger in. They will also be lethargic, and lose the sucking reflex. 
It goes without saying that preventing hypothermia (with kid coats, heating pads, heat lamps, etc.) is best, but once you have that problem...
The first order of business is to warm the kid up--typically in a sink of warm/hot water. Make sure to help it keep its head up!
After the sink, dry it off thoroughly, and put it on a heating pad/near a heat source. Do NOT wrap it in the heating pad--this can cause overheating and seizures.
After that, try its sucking reflex by sticking a finger in its mouth. If it sucks on it, it's time for a bottle! If it doesn't start sucking, but its mouth is warmer, it may be time for tube feeding...which is definitely beyond the scope of this post. :) Look it up!

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