# Newborn kid care and pregnant doe care



## greenacres (Feb 21, 2003)

At the request of a member of this forum I am posting a thread for newborn kid care and pregnant doe care. Any tips you have on these subjects please post them here. Is there anything special you do at kidding time? Do you treat or feed your pregnant does any different then your other goats? What supplies and medicines to you keep on hand for kidding time? Anything you would like to add...


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## canadianmandy (Nov 11, 2005)

Last year my mom rescued a 4 day old doeling. she was blind. walked backwards for one day that quit walking.. she had naval Ill and she was riddled with pneumonia

The pneomonia and the walking problems were all side effects of the naval ill. 

This all could have been prevented if the Umbilical Cordwas properly cleamed with 7% Iodine. 


Here is a list of things we gather together when our sheep and goats are due to birth. Feel free to add to this. 

Towels

frozen colostrum

60 cc syringe w/feeding tube - first feeding of kids that are slow to suck

Syringes & needles - general medication

Oxytocin - obtain from your Veterinarian, critical when nannys won&#8217;t let milk down, or won&#8217;t clean

suction bulb to take fluid out of the kids lungs 

there is more.... my minds in a jam. I will try to post them later.


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

You can no longer buy 7 percent Iodine here. Due to some connection with the drug trade it has been taken off the market. 
So the rest of us have to suffer because of druggies! I am forced to use people Iodine. Maybe a black market of Iodine will pop up..lol


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

you still can buy iodine from your vet


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## Tamar (Feb 23, 2005)

Our Nubian/Alpine had triplets four weeks ago. They are doing awesome, practicing cartwheels off my back while I milk out "Emah" their mom.

Emah came to us with one teat shriveled with lumps on it. We were told she had a very bad case of mastitis and that the teat would work again once the kids were born. That didn't happen, but because she became so engorged with milk and the kids were trying to nurse that side...she became frustrated (I guess) and wouldn't permit any drinking off of her at all. One of the kids still sneaks in a few swallows from the right side now and again, but when she latches on the wrong side..she needs to be quick to dart away from Emah's hoof. 

I followed the steps above for proper newborn care then :

What I did, was start them on four times a day. The doeling would only take 4-6 ounces per feed, while the bucklings both gulped down 12 ounces four times a day. 
I slowly increased...then as their 3 week old birthday arrived, I switched to three feeds a day. They seem to be all happy with 20 ounces 3x per day for the bucklings, and the doeling seems to prefer 16..while today she did take 18 at her last feed. 

I milk out Emah..she gives between 24-34 ounces each milking from her one teat. I am supplement the remainder with other fresh goat milk. Taking turns who gets from Mom and who gets the supplement each feed. ( I don't have to do that..I just got into the habit of doing it)
They are all nibbing extra now...they forage with their mom and love to also eat a tiny handful each of goat pellets. (forget the name right now)

If this happens to you..feel free to drop me a PM and I would be glad to be an encouragement to you, as I sure needed it that first week! 
Blessings,
Tamar


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

How long should you bottle feed? thanks JIL


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## vicb66 (Oct 20, 2007)

I was lucky enough to get an alpine buckling that had been fed from a bucket as soon as he was born. I fed him that way for 10 weeks.Supplementing his food with pasture, grain, hay and water. Now he'd rather eat "grown up food".He's such a good little guy. Plus he's HUGE! 55 lbs at 10 weeks.


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## Rainbeau777 (May 21, 2003)

I need to sell a goat here in SW Ohio. She is full blooded registered Nubian. I have the registration papers. She has Old Glory, Sum-lot, and Spitlers Pride in her. I have 3 does and need to sell one because I am a nurse who lives alone and works 12 hr shifts. She is vaccinated and healthy. Anyone interested? email me at [email protected]. I am asking $125 for her. She is a beautiful tri-colored doe Yearling. I have a pic. please email me at [email protected]


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## vicb66 (Oct 20, 2007)

I've just purchased three nice well cared for 7 month old Alpines.They are about 20 days bred.I feed good quality alfalfa hay.I'm wondering what else I should be feeding the girls.I heard that I should limit their protein intake.Any suggestions?


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## Goat Servant (Oct 26, 2007)

Canadianmandy, could you please give instructions for the oxytocin? There is a window where it can be given if needed. Thank you!


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## HazyDay (Feb 20, 2007)

Always keep extra bottles and nipples on hand ever if you don't plan to bottle feed! 

Here is my way. (Everyone can be different but this worked for all my kids!)
Always have hay out from birth and I add water when I start weaning.
First 24 hours- Feed Colostrum every 4 hours. 
25 hours to 1 month- 2 cups 4 times a day. (8 or 16 oz can't remember.) 
1 month till 2 months- Feed 16oz 2 times aday with hay and start feeding a good amount of grain for each kid.
2 months- start weaning. I start by taking 2 oz of milk from the bottle and adding water to the top. Do this for 1 week then add another 2 oz of water, till you are just feeding warm water. 
By 3 months they should be weaned and then start to lead train.


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## Zookeeper (Sep 7, 2006)

Hi,

We have 2 milk goats who are due to kid in about 2-3 weeks. These are our first milk goats...we have a milk cow but she came to us already in milk...

The breeder we bought them from says she takes the kids from the mother immediately after birth...are we going to need buy colostrum to feed them if we do this? And what would be the reason for removing the kids right away? What are other ways of doing it? And once we start milking the does, does the milk come in right away or do you have to work at it for a while (like people  )? 

TIA...I am trying to be prepared but DH just bought these about a week ago!


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Two big reasons for removing newborns are curbing disease transmission (CAE, etc. see the CAE sticky thread in this goat forum), and helping a weak doe (hypocalcemia, ketosis, etc.). Do you know the testing status of your goats and the herd from which they came?

Yes, if you remove them from mama, they will need colostrum from another source OR you could heat-treat the milk and give it to them but my personal opinion is that it is not nearly as good for the babies AND if you don't do it right, you aren't doing much to help disease prevention (if anything).

Other things you need to have on-hand for kidding: does anyone use clips on the umbilical cords instead of dental floss? Anyone use nothing at all?


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## HazyDay (Feb 20, 2007)

You don't want to use store bagged colostrum, as all it is well junk! Find a local dairy farmer who will sell you some cow colostrum.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

Zookeeper said:


> Hi,
> 
> We have 2 milk goats who are due to kid in about 2-3 weeks. These are our first milk goats...we have a milk cow but she came to us already in milk...
> 
> ...


I would ask the previous owner why they take the kids away at birth.

I do not do this, I raise the kids on their dams. In order to get milk, I will seperate the kids from their dams at night and milk them in the mornings before letting the kids loose for the day. The milk should come in right away. I usually need to milk out a newly freshened doe because they will have too much milk for the wee ones for the first few days.
Good luck!


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## Zookeeper (Sep 7, 2006)

Others here were saying they feed colostrum (not from the mother) and that had me thinking other people were taking the kids at birth also.

I thought the breeder we got ours from did it because it became difficult to take the kids once they got a little older, like if you wanted to separate them from the mother every night, etc. Is that ever a problem for you? I will have to call her again and ask more questions. I think I would prefer to keep all of them together as much as possible.

I know the small dairy we got ours from fully tests and vets all her goats and she is very maticulous about everything she does...you should see the documentation she provided with their registration papers (records of *everything* she's done for them), plus I know the vet she uses. There should be no reason in terms of disease to separate them.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

Zookeeper said:


> I thought the breeder we got ours from did it because it became difficult to take the kids once they got a little older, like if you wanted to separate them from the mother every night, etc. Is that ever a problem for you? I will have to call her again and ask more questions. I think I would prefer to keep all of them together as much as possible.


You get a million goat raisers together, and you will get a million different ways to raise goats. You need to assess your goals and set-up.

For me, my goal is to provide my own homestead milk supply. I also try to accomplish that with a minimal amount of labor. I do not want to deal with feeding baby goats with a bottle. I much prefer to let their mom's raise them. The kids grow well and produce either a nice carcass or a nice doeling. I am happy with either! By the time my first doe freshens for the season, I am desperate for milk, and will start to seperate kids from mom's at about one week of age. By doing this on a regular basis, I train the kids to head for the pen every night. Maybe your breeder had problems if the kids were not trained to leave their mom's every night?

I do try to keep all my goats together as much as possible. Right now we do not have a buck, we generally do. But due to the drought and low hay yield, we cut back on herd size this winter. But when we get a buck, as long as he behaves and no doe is in danger of coming into heat, even he will be with the herd.


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## Zookeeper (Sep 7, 2006)

That is exactly why we have goats. We only have 2 does which we bought for the milk supply for our family. We would plan to keep any doe offspring for future milk supply and eat or sell the bucks. We can have the breeder we purchased these does from help us when we want them bred back, so we don't need to keep a buck here for that.

I do not plan to amass a "herd"...just the couple at at time to milk plus the up-an-comings.

I am thrilled to know that all I have to do (basically) is train the kids to go somewhere else once a day...I was really dreading all the bottle feedings and thought that was just how it was done  Thank you so much for that tidbit!


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## EasyDay (Aug 28, 2004)

hoofinitnorth said:


> Other things you need to have on-hand for kidding: does anyone use clips on the umbilical cords instead of dental floss? Anyone use nothing at all?


I use nothing at all.... but keep it iodined up pretty well.

One other thing I do is keep some warm molasses water handy for momma. That's the only time my goats will drink it is right after birthing.

I think Suzie is gonna have her kid(s) real soon. She gets real lovey-dovey before actual labor starts, and I was just sitting in the grass by her a few minutes ago and she laid her head on my lap a just stared up at me.

I thought she and Sally both had a couple weeks to go yet!


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## farmgirls (Jan 2, 2008)

> I would ask the previous owner why they take the kids away at birth.


They probably did this because of CAE prevention. If you do CAE prevention, you must take them away from their dams without even being licked or nursed. The colostrum MUST be heat treated and the milk pasturized.


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## Mrs.T (Feb 12, 2008)

We raise meat goats, but the basics, I believe, are the same when you're kidding.

Our goats seem to kid during the coldest nights, so shelter is important, but when a kid chills down too much before we get to it, it ends up in the house in front of the heater so we can get it warmed up, and have a strong bawl, as well as standing fairly steady. 

We keep a good supply of absorbent paper towels for quickly drying the babies with a stimulating, but gentle rub, starting with the head and neck area. Also we use an old blow dryer to quickly warm them and help in the drying process. We also always try to get some of it's own mother's colostrum into them, so the moms will reclaim them a little easier. 

The first day colostrum is strongest, and if we have a nanny that's got a good supply, we try to freeze some to have on hand for emergencies. 

I hope someone will find this helpful even in your dairy goats.


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## dunroven (Dec 6, 2004)

What about any shots for newborns? What do you use and how much? I was told 1/2 mL of BoSe and 2 mL of CD/T


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## boymomx6 (Apr 12, 2008)

Help, help, help..... We just "got into" the goat business because of depoloyment of army couple. We have never had goats and we are reading, reading, reading. We would like any and all help we can get. We have a beautiful fenced in yard and are giving them lots of water, some feed, and hay. We are worried about the impending births. I have gotten my birthing kit (exactly from a book) ready and am going out to buy the bottles and first milk this morning. I have no idea what I am doing and hope I haven't gotten myself into trouble here. I love them already though. One is a Nigerian Dwarf, one is a boer, and the third is a Nubian. I don't plan on milking them at this point because I need to just get my head on straight. I haven't slept a wink because I keep getting up to check on them. They are so wonderful. I have great books and have just yesterday, found a mentor. Let me know any advice you can think of. Thanks and glad to have found you. Stacey


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## sadie6447 (Feb 6, 2008)

I am overthinking myself and I cant remember If I am suppose to deworm before or after kidding?? I have some does that are due in 3-4 wks that need it if it is safe.


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## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

This seems to be the thread to put this. So a bit of backstory.

A week or two before Christmas my darling family, knowing how much I wanted some, bought me this perfectly lovely trio of Nigerian Dwarf goats....two does that were 4 months old, and a pretty, 2 year old buck. (This is what we were told)

Cute, friendly little things, except for the buck (We're still working on him) They all came to us de-horned, fat and happy. 

Well, two months later, they are growing horns....including the buck, who looks as if he has been the victim of a couple of bad de-horning jobs. We decided that we would just let them grow, as we don't want to put them through any more pain and trauma.

We have had issues with fencing, when they showed they could jump on to, and just stand there, on top of our 5 ft. fence. Oh, what a learning experience our little darlings have been.

Now, we have been watching carefully, especially with the fence-capades, for any sign of our little girls going into heat.

Then today, my lovely Dh, while we were feeding them, asks, "Does she have swollen teats?" I look, and both of my girls have had the teaty-fairy come to visit! They have actual TEATS...not a couple of bumps attached to their pudgy bellies like when I first got them!

Over the last few months, they HAVE grown taller, leaned out some, ect. So they got thinner over the winter rather than fatter...which was why I started graining them about mid-January. They have gotten hip hollows like dairy goats are supposed to have.

But everything I could find about it has said that teats mean impending kids in the next month or so. They never seemed to go into heat!

According to the info I have found, teats happen about 15 weeks into pregnancy...and that would mean that if they are preggers, they would have bred sometime around the first of January...at about 5 months old.

They are now about 9 months old....and their vulvas have swollen a bit, but no redness or mucus...we thought that maybe they were about to come into season.

So...should I consider them to be growing up and bring the buck to bear upon them...or should I start thinking about a kidding stall and collecting a birthing kit? Nigerians, from what I have read, will often kid either in Spring OR in Fall...so we rather thought that we might have Fall kids...but if these are actual signs...

Any info, pretty please?


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## DairyGoatSlave (Dec 27, 2008)

Here is a Kidding Slide show I created from one of my does kidding, hope it helps!!!


click on it to get it to go


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## Ted and Becca (Jan 3, 2010)

I have diagnosed my pregnant doe with pneumonia. All of our goats were purchased within a week of eachother (a 9 month old doeling, a pregnant doe, and two six month old billies). The doeling was coughing when she arrived here. We medicated for lung worms immediately which did no good. We talked to a vet who recommended pencillin for the doeling. This fixed the coughing problem in about five days, and we continued the penicillin for an additional five days as recommended by the vet. Then on December 20 the doeling started coughing again. Called the vet and did another round of penicillin. She recovered just fine and is doing well. Yesterday we noticed the pregnant doe is coughing. We suspect of course immediately that it's pneumonia, since we've already been there twice with the doeling. 

My questions are: 

Is the bacterial culprit in pneumonia is contagious?

What antibiotic is appropriate to use with a pregnant doe due March 21st?

What are the chances that she has contracted lung worm, having had no contact with any unmedicated goat since coming to our farm?

Should I just go ahead and start an antibiotic, assuming that it's pneumonia?

I ask because Christmas for four kids (humans) and a huge extended family, as well as the health (or lack thereof) of the economy doesn't put us in a position for several vet visits right now. 

I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

Becca
Tanchanda Organic Farm
Camden, TN


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Becca...you should move this down to the question area...nobody will notice it up here on this sticky
Just copy and paste...


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

As stated above, everyone who raises goats develop their own style of doing so. I am no exception. I have raised Nubian dairy goats since 1996 and have learned much in the process.

It is important to stay with whatever structure you decide on. I give my goats grain each morning with good orchard grass during bad-weather days. I keep fresh water hanging on walls all the time with "free-choice" baking soda and "free-choice" minerals. (I like the "Golden Blend Goat Minerals" Hoegger Supply Company offers.)

When the does kid, they have already been prepared with Bo-Se, Tetanus & well-trimmed hooves. When the kids are born, the dam gets an extra bit of grain (hand full) with a pan of "warm" water. The kids get their navels dipped in 7% Iodine and are given 2 shots in muscle (1/4 cc Bo-Se; 1/4 cc Nexel). I make sure the bedding is cleaned well and each doe has her own place to bond with her new borns. After making sure my hands are sterilized, I milk her just enough to clear her nipples and leave a smell of milk for the kids. I leave the kids on the dam as long as they want. (After the kids are about 8 weeks old, I milk the does once a day. This gives my family milk and encourages the kids to eat more hay. By this time, the kids are also eating some of their dams' grain.) 

My family, also, uses the kids not sold as meat. Thus, when the bucks are 3-4 weeks old, I castrate them unless they are spoken for. All does and kids run together until the kids are about 8 months old, at which time I separate them, placing the kids that were not sold in a "holding pen" where I start a feeding regime to get them ready for slaughtering. (Same feeding regime herd always gets: grain in mornings with free-choice quality hay. After kids show signs of gaining weight, I start giving them grain in the evenings as well so they will be ready for slaughtering. When an animal is gaining weight at slaughtering time, the meat is tender.)


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Why do you give your infants naxcel at birth?

I keep a paper updated on my forum dairygoatinfo.com in goatkeeping 101 it is entitled From Birth to kidding, it's written for those on CAE prevention who bottle from birth. Vicki


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I give the kids naxcel at birth because I don't use any type of clips on their navels, which means sometimes they are a little long. (I discovered awhile back the does would pull the navel clips off; so I simply dip the kids' navels in the Iodine and give their system a little boost in case that navel cord gets infected.)


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## FrogTacos (Oct 25, 2011)

Zookeeper said:


> Hi,
> 
> We have 2 milk goats who are due to kid in about 2-3 weeks. These are our first milk goats...we have a milk cow but she came to us already in milk...
> 
> ...


Unless you are pulling them for disease prevention (as mentioned already) I personally would leave the babies with the mommas for the first 24 hours so they can drink her colostrum.


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