[MellonFriend]

I thought I would as these questions before I need to know them.

What is the best sanitization routine to go through before "going in" to help reposition kids or check on what's going on in a stalled labor? I don't have water in or anywhere near my barn, so should I take a bucket of water out there to wash my hands in or should I get to a sink and wash my hands? Do I need antibacterial soap or is normal soap fine? If I'm wearing gloves should I sanitize my gloves?

 

[Moers kiko boars]

If you wash your hands before putting on sterile gloves. The lube you put over the sterile gloves should be barrier enough. But each time you go in..you should sanitize the gloves or change the gloves and lube up.

 

[ksalvagno]

There have been times I've just had to go in. No gloves, no washing up. For the most part, the uterus should clean out just fine. If you have time, certainly go ahead and wash up.

 

[Ranger1]

There have been times I've just had to go in. No gloves, no washing up. For the most part, the uterus should clean out just fine. If you have time, certainly go ahead and wash up.

Agreed. I make sure my hands have no actual dirt on them, and often just use the lube that has some sort of antiseptic in it.

 

[GoofyGoat]

I keep a small bottle of alcohol with a squirt top and Unscented baby wipes in my kit, most of the time there’s been time to grab one or the other to cleanse my hands before hand But, if I can’t I grab clean gloves and lube.

 

[Goats Rock]

Make sure the fingernails are short. You wouldn't believe the damage long nails can do to a uterus. Cut them way short- they will grow back.

 

[MellonFriend]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

The lubricant I bought is powdered J-lube. I'm a bit confused about how you are supposed to use it. It says on the package it can be stirred into water or used as powdered soap... what does that mean I should do?

 

[AndersonRanch]

There have been times I've just had to go in. No gloves, no washing up. For the most part, the uterus should clean out just fine. If you have time, certainly go ahead and wash up.

I totally agree! And to set you mind at ease there has been MANY MANY times I have just jumped in and helped without washing, and I never wear gloves or give antibiotics after assisting and I have never had a doe come down with a infection when I had to go in. Now I'm not saying go rub down with poop and go In or if you have the time to wash up dont but usually when that placenta comes out it kinda flushes things out. There has been quite a few times though that I was not thrilled about a situation, say I had to go in and out of the doe a lot, and I will put a uterine bolus in the doe.
I have no idea on the powdered lube, I have never really heard of it before but I would either mix it up ahead of time or get something that can be ready to go when you need it. Sometimes things progress quickly and when you think you have time to even go pee real fast and come across a OMG I need to help now situation lol not at all trying to tighten you it's just less stressful to have everything ready to go

 

[ksalvagno]

You would have to dissolve it. If you are using lubricant, it needs to be in gel form. I'm not a fan of the powder. It is easier just to have the gel in a squeeze tube.

 

[NigerianDwarfOwner707]

You need to get a gel lube.

Personally I recommend using sterile gloves instead of just hands.

 

[MellonFriend]

I think I'll mix some up now and see how it works. If when I do it doesn't look like it's going to work I'll get something else. It's what I have so it's what I'd like to use. I would have gotten the J-jelly, but they were out and my goat book said powdered was fine, so that's what I got.

 

[ksalvagno]

This article explains why I don't like powdered lube. https://www.agupdate.com/tristatene...cle_0116f322-3c34-11e8-93ba-ff829e82cbcb.html

 

[MellonFriend]

Wow. I was on aware of this. What kind of lube do you prefer?

 

[ksalvagno]

I used to keep this on hand when I did a lot of birthing: https://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/products/ob-lube-lubricating-jelly

But just a small tube of KY jelly is fine if you just have a few.

 

[Ranger1]

Wow. I was on aware of this. What kind of lube do you prefer?

I use Super Lube, I think from Premier 1. Or maybe it's from Valley Vet

 

[MellonFriend]

I use Super Lube, I think from Premier 1. Or maybe it's from Valley Vet

I like the look of that stuff, but yeesh, I do not like the $9 shipping that premier has.

 

[Ranger1]

$9 shipping? Is that a typo? Because that’s pretty cheap.

 

[MellonFriend]

Nope, that's not a typo. I must be a cheapskate. I really really like free shipping. I don't generally use any websites that don't have free shipping options. Premier has free shipping over $100, but I don't really need one hundred dollars of stuff from Premier right now.

 

[Damfino]

If you see a doe in labor and you have time, bring a bucket of hot water to the barn. It really comes in handy. I keep iodine in my kidding box and if I need to go in, I tip some iodine into the water until it looks like light tea (if I can see--sometimes it's pitch black out there and I just have to guess). If I have to go in and out, I scrub my hands and arms in the bucket before each time. I don't wear gloves. I have small hands so finding gloves that fit is a problem. They slide all over the place and make it hard for me to feel anything so I just scrub up in the iodine water. It's nice to have something to wash the slime off with afterwards too.

I don't know if anyone else has this issue, but lots of my gals seem attracted to the iodine water. I don't know if they're feeling iodine deficient after giving birth or what. I'll have three kinds of water out there--one plain, one with added molasses, and one with iodine and many of them go for the iodine. I used to think it was because the iodine water was warm so I made the others warm and it didn't make a difference. They still preferred the iodine water. I'm not sure if it's ok for them to drink it or not. I've generally discouraged it but I sometimes wonder if I'm doing the right thing.

 

[toth boer goats]

I try to wash up and then go in.
Sometimes I don’t, but try to be as clean as possible.

Whenever I go in, they will get a afterbirth bolus, after they drop their afterbirth or within 6 hours if they don’t drop it, so I can still work my way in there to find the uterus and insert one.

We try to be clean but even then, we still can introduce bacteria.