Howdy Pasture Patrons!
As we enter February, I’m sure those of you that raise goats are already well underway with kidding season. We did not have the best luck this past breeding season, so our kids won’t be here for another month. :( Alas, we are still prepping the same way and that’s what we’ve been doing at our farm. How do you prepare for kidding season? Let us know in the comments!
As always, I encourage you to do your own research, as these tips are all based on the things my herd and I have experienced in the past 10 years. What works best for us may not work best for you!
Alright, let’s get into it. In this blog post we will be discussing topics related to… you guessed it: kidding season. Topics included, but not limited to, pregnancy toxemia, kidding kit, cameras, and barrels/heat lamps. This will probably be the longest post of the year, but all this information is very useful. So, grab a snack and settle in.
Barn Preparation
For us, kidding season is always a perfect time to show that we need a bigger barn. It’s crazy, when I get more goats, or refuse to sell goats, our space seems to dwindle. Funny how that works. Anywho, when we’re setting up birthing pens, I always have to put my organization skills to use.
My thought process normally goes something like this “No, we can’t put her next to her, they don’t get along. She can go here, but she will eat the wall. Going to have to move the feed barrels or she will pop the lid off. Can’t give her that gate or she will bend it.” Anyone else have some super stubborn goats? Trick question, because they’re all stubborn!
So, how do we deal with this? This is when your observation skills come into play. Our herd grazes all year. Since goats are herd animals, they always have a companion. I always notice who eats together in the pasture and who lays together in the pen. Now, of course, goats can be aggressive toward one another, especially when their babies are involved, but I have noticed that in my herd, if they spend the whole year hanging out with a certain goat, they tend to not care if they share a pen with her when they are both kidding. The only thing with this is the timing. You have to make sure the goats will have their babies around the same time. I’m talking within the same week.
Once you have that part figured out, you can set up the pens however will work best for you. I love to look through Pinterest to see kidding stall setups and that always gives me some inspiration. Again, do what works best for you!
As mentioned in my last post, wire panels work best for ours because they learned (and taught their kids) how to escape the regular gates. We still like to have an easy way to enter and close the pens when possible, but lately, climbing gates has become an art of mine. Just make sure the pens are safe, comfortable, and visible to the cameras.
Then, once the gates are all in place, we like to do a layer of barn lime, layer of fine sawdust/pine shavings, then a thick layer of straw. We have found that this keeps the pens clean, dry, and warm the longest. Our does all kid in a barn that has concrete floors, so if you have dirt floors, your method of bedding may be different, and that’s fine!
I did mention cameras. Let’s discuss that. Cameras are a lifesaver. If you’re an overprotective worry worm like me, cameras will ease your mind during the night. Sometimes, they make me worry more and there aren’t many nights during kidding season where I don’t go outside to check, but cameras help it to be less frequent.
As for the brand, there are so many indoor/outdoor cameras that will connect right to your phone or other device. I don’t have a specific favorite brand. I have even heard of some people using baby monitors. Needless to say, you get what you pay for, so if you’re looking for something high quality and dependable, you might have to spend some money.
Lastly, in the barn discussion: barrels with heat lamps.
We decided that these are helpful for the babies to stay plenty warm while also giving the mamas some space away from their kids.
You don’t have to have barrels, a heat lamp hanging in the pen for the kids is just fine. We just think the barrels are nicer and less risky when it comes to the goats chewing cords or messing with the light. In this picture you can see how the pens are split, how a light is hung, and if you look really close, hiding behind the gate, you can see one of the barn cameras in the back.
We got the barrels for free and my mom and grandpa designed and cut these the way we wanted them. They have a small opening in the front for the kids and the top is completely open for the light and air flow.
The only issue we have come across is the mamas putting their heads in the opening and sometimes getting stuck, but dehorning has helped this issue. (Cardi pictured)
Pregnancy Toxemia
Before we get into this I want to remind you, I am not and never have claimed to be a veterinarian or an expert on goats. The purpose of this blog is just to share my experiences and what works for my herd. I strongly encourage you to do your own research on all the topics I discuss, but especially this one. And I cannot stress this enough: always, always, always, have at least two veterinarian contacts that you can get a hold of at any time. Alright, let’s get into it.
On our farm, there are two diseases/illnesses we never speak of: listeria and pregnancy toxemia/ketosis. We shall discuss the L word in a later post, but I will be giving info here about the forbidden pregnancy toxemia.
We have lost a couple goats to this due to our lack of knowledge at the time. This illness occurs in the last trimester of a goat’s pregnancy when they have two or more fetuses growing in their uterus. It is caused by a lack of energy or calcium due to the fetuses taking it all from their mother.
It can be detected when a goat doesn’t eat, drink, or move around much. Like any illness in a goat, when they begin to act “off” is when you should assess other symptoms. This is where the ketone strips (explained below) come into play to help you detect how severe their case of pregnancy toxemia is. Then, this needs to be treated immediately. Time is not on your side when it comes to this. Depending on the treatment, you will have to repeat every two or so hours until the goat either kids or recovers.
Treatments will depend on how severe the case is. Please do your research before treating your doe with something that would be too strong or not strong enough for her case. Popular treatments include propylene glycol, calcium drench, antacids, and molasses/corn syrup drench.
If the case is severe enough, after you consult your vet, you may have to induce labor. This is in the most severe of cases, so keeping an eye on your goats is beneficial, that way you can detect this early and avoid losing the babies through an early birth.
The best way we have found to help avoid this is adding cracked corn to their feed along with powdered probiotics. Corn helps with calcium and energy and the probiotics are just additional nutrients.
I am still researching and learning about pregnancy toxemia/ketosis so as I learn more I will share. There is so much to this specific issue and it is important to know your goats so you can tell when something is wrong with them.
Kidding Preparation
Okay, now that the barn is prepped and you’re waiting for those kids to drop, let’s make sure you have everything needed! I have attached the kidding kit checklist (bottom of post) and while most of the listed things are self explanatory, I want to discuss the things that have really made a difference for us and are most important.
Puppy pads- we use these to “catch” the kids as they come out. We place it beneath the mother as she pushes. Though we keep the pens as lean as possible during kidding season, these just help to ensure less bacteria, especially before the cord is iodine dipped.
Iodine- the umbilical cords should be dipped in iodine immediately or as soon as possible after birth to avoid bacteria getting into the kids’ system.
Electrolytes- we like the Manna Pro brand (either the goat electrolytes or Bounce Back). We put electrolytes in fresh, warm water right after the doe kids to help increase her energy and to be sure she is hydrated. You could also put molasses in warm water and it would have similar benefits.
Ketone strips- this is important for pregnancy toxemia. With this topic I strongly encourage you to do your own research because there is so much to ketosis/pregnancy toxemia and we have lost our fair share of goats because of it. But I will say the ketone strips (which you can get from your local grocery store or pharmacy) have definitely saved some of our does. It is a test strip that you have to get them to pee on (which can be difficult and time consuming) and then it will give you a color on the strip with the ketone levels in that goat’s urine. This will tell you whether they have ketosis/pregnancy toxemia or not.
This picture shows two ketone tests and also shows the scale for the severity of the case. Very easy to use and read.
Calcium drench- this is for when they test positive for ketosis or pregnancy toxemia or right before/right after they give birth if you feel like they are detrimentally low on energy. The brand “Goats Prefer” makes a nice calcium drench that is normally available at your local Tractor Supply Co. If you can’t find a calcium drench you can mix one part molasses and one part light corn syrup and drench feed that to your does. Tums or other antacids can also act as a calcium supplement. My does personally don’t like tums so I have to crush them and dissolve them in water. They don’t mind the taste of molasses but it’s so thick that it is very difficult to get them to take it from a drench. As always, do what is best for you and your herd!
Suppositories- These are so insanely important! Baby goats MUST poop within the first 24 hours. Their first poop is a dark tar-like poop that is often difficult for them to get out on their own, so you need to give them a suppository (I do it after I know they’ve had colostrum). Once you give it to them, wait to make sure they poop and if they don’t, do it again until they do.
Health tubes- these are pastes that I give to the kids and mamas a few hours after birth. I give selenium, probios, vitamin B complex, and vitamins A,D, &E. I prefer paste over shots for these, but these are completely optional.
Lubricant- this is important for those goats that you may have to help by going in. It is important to have some type of sterile lubricant to help avoid tearing the mother. When pulling, make sure you only pull when the doe pushes and in a downward motion. There are tons of helpful videos of how to do this on YouTube, but please consult a veterinarian or someone more experienced if you do not feel comfortable going in on your own. And only go in when it is absolutely necessary.
Here’s a pic of my kidding kit. Mine is pretty extra, yours can be much simpler. The plastic bag has towels in it to ensure they would stay dry.
And that is all the tips I have! As always, if you have any questions, you can comment here or contact me through our socials @pastureskiss on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you for being here and for reading this blog post, I hope this will help you for your next kidding season! Remember, it can be hectic but after it all, you get to play with baby goats! :)
Be on the lookout for March’s blog post where we will be discussing herd management!
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