Dr. Vandrey called back and said he was on his way -- that this was not one of those diagnoses to make over the phone. He got here, and after getting our story straight, went out to take a look. After palpation and other external manipulation, I was given the opportunity to become way more acquainted with goat obstetrics than I really ever wanted to be. That fishing expedition yielded nothing, so Dr. Vandrey pulled out his portable ultrasound to try for another sonogram. Nothing showed up on that screen. Rather puzzled but not ready to give up, he injected Jessie with some oxytocin to stimulate contractions. While that drug was setting to work, he injected the goat with calcium to fix the trembling/shakes that had so worried us earlier. He also fed her some nutridrench-type high energy food. It smelled like cake batter and did not upset her terribly (as compared to everything else, she was totally calm for that).
After another round of oxytocin and obstetrical exploring, we decided to let Jessie go. I promised a very puzzled and slightly disappointed Dr. Vandrey that we would let him know if anything changed besides Jessie's shaking going away. If she has an unborn baby trapped inside her, it is most probably dead, and we will know in about three days when Jessie starts discharging smelly yucky... yeah. joy. In the mean time....
Jessie and baby are doing fine. The baby is a little girl, so with Goldie's little boy we have a nice pair. Both are redheads, which is pretty neat. Despite all my protestations about not naming animals until they are out of danger, the new baby's name sprouted from my head the moment I thought about it. Oops. Oh, well. I just hope that she lives up to it. So I present.... Erin.
