As kidding season approaches, there is excitement and anxiety around bringing new life to our herds. Ensuring the well-being of both the expecting does and their sweet kids is paramount. Explore our essential tips and insights to support goat moms and kids during this crucial time.
Prepare a Safe Birthing Environment
Provide a Private Birthing Area
If space allows, it’s always good to give your does a nice private area to kid in. A lot of people use kennel panels to create temporary kidding stalls within their barn, garage, basement, or wherever they have available room. These provide safe spaces for does to kid in without other goats interfering in their labor or potentially harassing their newborn kids.
Keep your Kidding Area Clean
Keeping your kidding area clean and dry is incredibly important. This will help newborn kids from getting navel infections from soiled bedding and respiratory infections from too much ammonium and moisture.
Keep your Kidding Supplies Stocked
Make sure your kidding supplies are well stocked and ready to roll. Having everything you need on hand at a critical moment can make all of the difference. For a complete list of kidding supplies we recommend, please check out The Complete Kidding Kit.
Know when your Doe is going into Labor
Watch for the Mucus Plug
As your doe approaches her due date, you’ll want to be on the lookout for signs that she’s going into labor. Your doe can lose her mucus plug two weeks before labor, or two hours – it varies widely. The mucus plug is usually very thick and white and different from the mucus you’ll see streaming from a doe in active labor.
Monitor your Doe’s Udder
Watching your doe’s udder can also help you determine when labor is near. Most will show a change in capacity, filling noticeably before kidding. Their udder will begin to fill throughout the month leading up to kidding, but usually, right before labor, you’ll see a “bloom” where the udder fills even more dramatically. The skin will often get very tight and almost appear shiny.
Watch for Contractions
Contractions are a clear sign your doe will be in labor within the next few hours. Contractions can look very different for every doe. Usually, you’ll see a pause in breathing, chewing and other actions. Sometimes their body will stretch out. Sometimes they’ll make a little noise. Sometimes they’ll space out and their muscles will contract. Be on the lookout. As labor gets closer, a lot of does will paw at the ground and lay down and get back up constantly. Your doe will be very clearly uncomfortable.
Watch for Active Labor
Once they’re ready to give birth, most does will lay down and start kicking out their back legs as they start with initial pushes. When you see your doe begin to give hard, active pushes, start watching for the fluid bubble that indicates a kid is coming. If you don’t see evidence a kid is progressing after 30 minutes of active pushing, you’ll want to go into the birth canal with a clean and careful hand to check the position of the kid and make sure it’s not in distress. If you feel that the kid is stuck and you can’t get it free, contact your vet or an experienced goat mentor.
Ensure Proper Nutrition and Hydration for Your Pregnant Does
In the time leading up to labor, you need to ensure your doe is receiving extra nutrition and hydration to see them through labor and caring for kids.
Offer Electrolytes for …..
Offer your does electrolytes to support hydration. Make sure to give them their water warm to make it more enticing. If your goats don’t care for the electrolytes you’re offering, you can add some unsulphured molasses to their water to make it more appealing. Molasses also offer a good source of additional vitamin C.
Provide Calcium for …
It’s very important to make sure your doe has access to the right amount of calcium in order to avoid conditions such as ketosis as their milk comes in. As their milk comes in, their body’s demand for calcium increases which can take a big toll on their nutritional balance and potentially make your doe very ill. Some people opt to give their does additional calcium to their does in the days leading up to labor to avoid issues. You can offer Tums for an oral boost, or a more concentrated supplement such as CMPK. Milk Money herbal goat treats also offer an all natural oral supplementation to support increased milk production. Injectable calcium supplementation may also be needed.
Give Vitamin C for …
Vitamin C helps keep your goats healthy by supporting their immune system. The physical stress of pregnancy and labor weakens your doe’s immune system leaving them open to illness and parasite loads. Giving them additional vitamin C in the form of evergreens,
To keep things simple and easy for goat owners we’ve created the BiteMe! Baby Mama Treat, an herbal blend that supports circulation, offers added vitamin C and more, while pregnant, and until their kids are established, in order to support their extra nutritional needs.
Doe Postpartum Care
Make Sure your Doe Passes her Placenta
Make sure you witness your doe pass her placenta. We allow our does to eat their placentas if they seem so inclined, but don’t allow them to stay on the ground for too long. We usually give them about an hour to eat what they want before removing what’s left. If you do choose to let your doe have access to eat their placenta, keep a close eye on them, as sometimes does can choke if they try to eat too much of it. If they don’t show any interest in eating it, we remove it from the pen.
Offer Does Additional Hydration and Nutrition
Be sure to continue to offer a good amount of additional hydration and nutrition in the period following kidding as well. A doe’s body loses a lot of blood and other fluids while trying to produce enough milk to feed her kids. This takes a big toll on their body and is a prime time for a parasite bloom or other illnesses to happen. We also offer additional Squirmy Wormy treats after kidding in order to prevent any parasite overload in compromised does.
Monitor Baby Goats
Directly after kidding, ensure babies are dry and nursing well from mom. Newborn kids will only latch on for a few seconds at a time, so don’t be concerned if they don’t eat more than a few sips at a time. Ensure mom is cleaning her babies, letting them nurse and seem attentive to the new kids. We dip umbilical cords in iodine to prevent navel ill and help them dry up.
Aftercare for New Moms and Kids
Stay attentive to your doe and her new kids for at least the first few days to make sure everyone is well-established and eating well. You can read more about aftercare for your does here, and aftercare for new kids here.
Support Your Doe’s Milk Production
BiteMe! Goat Treats has developed Milk Money bites to support milk production in goat does. This will help them bring in enough milk to feed their new babies and have enough, eventually, for the dairy needs of your family if you intend to use their milk.
Kidding season is a stressful, yet magical time filled with cute baby goats. By taking a proactive and attentive approach, we can ensure the well-being of our does and make sure mom and kids are thriving. Whether you’re a seasoned goat keeper or a novice, these tips will guide you in supporting goat moms during the journey of kidding season.
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