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Imagine being pregnant with your first child or your partner is. You are worried about the labor and everything is a sign that labor is imminent. That twinge in the back? Must be labor. If you have ever been in labor, and now you are watching for your goat to be in labor, it is completely different. Welcome to the “other side” were you are now a spectator and hopefully not a participant. The unbelievable experience of watching your first goat kidding is amazing, terrifying and one of the coolest experiences.
Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!
My First Goat Kidding
We started baby watch with Champ on March 21st. I started my checks earlier because I had no idea what I was doing or looking for. Checking ligaments became a multiple times a day thing. Taking a peak to see if any discharge was showing up. I called the vet who explained all the different things that need to happen in the weeks leading up to birthing, including not eating. Two weeks of stressing about my best girl and she was finally in labor!
I texted our breeder because she’s been waiting just as much as I have and got together all my stuff. Now, I’m pretty extra when it comes to my babies. They get everything I can possibly give them when they are in situations like this. I grabbed molasses water to help with her energy levels. She had fresh grain and alfalfa pellets, and hay. I also had tons of towels, puppy pads and other stuff just in case.
The Kidding
The first baby’s front and back leg came out. I had to attempt to reposition and by the time she came out she was stillborn. The second baby was Stella, and she came out perfect. I had to help just a little bit and then dry her off. The third baby was one hoof, then the 2nd but the head was back. I fought for 20 minutes trying to reposition this baby to get her out and just couldn’t.
I tried resuscitating the first and third babies but they were too far gone. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done as a homesteader. As much as I wanted those babies to live, it was probably better for Champ that they didn’t. We would have had to pull at least one to raise as a bottle baby and she would never had produced enough milk for them.
In the end, we had three gorgeous doelings but Stella was the only one to live. We think that when our other goat Bella, rammed and then rolled Champ it moved the babies and started her labor early. But we will never know.
Stella is great and has been gaining weight like a champ. Champ has also been gaining a ton of weight which is fantastic because we were really worried about her. Her milk has come in and she really is a good momma.
So What Did I Learn About Goat Kidding?
- More towels are always better. Seriously, I used 10 towels for three babies…..
- Puppy pads are great if they doe actually stays on them.
- Get a pull chain. My fingers are too big for both my fingers and the baby’s head to come through the birth canal.
- Don’t panic. It will ultimately be okay, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
- Watch ALL the difficult kidding videos. It could save your doe and kids life.
- Not all labors go the same. The vet said she would stop eating and she ate between pushing.
- Discharge may not start until just before labor and not 12-24hrs in advanced. Try like two hours.
But I wouldn’t change a bit of it. I love my goats and Champ and Stella are the best girls!
Future Goat Kidding
I could go in depth about the various times that my girls have gone into labor. If you are interested in how to tell if your goat is in labor, I have a post here that could help. I could tell you all the things I think you need when during your goat kidding. But the reality is that it’s not going to help a lot when your in the trenches. The biggest take away is to stay calm and be ready to intervene. That’s how I have gotten through the years of goats being born on the farm.
But I’ve also got some tips to help you BEFORE your doe kids. I call them safe breeding techniques.
Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!
Safe Breeding Techniques
One of the things I come back to, year after year, is that livestock (for the most part) don’t need help laboring IF you practice safe breeding techniques. Things like matching your buck to doe and not breeding young does. These are very important and while normally it’s okay, sometimes it’s not.
For example, breeding a full size Nubian buck to a small Nigerian doe is going to cause a problem. This is going to cause the kid/s to be WAY too big for the doe to successfully push out. Can they do it? Sure, it happens. But the risk isn’t worth the reward.
Another example is not breeding too young does. This comes down to a lot of factors and your own philosophies. I do not intentionally breed does that are younger than 1 year old or below 80% of their full weight/size. I say intentionally because fence breeding can and does happen. When it does, you need to either be ready to terminate the pregnancy or prepare for a c section.
We have been very lucky that our bucks are happy to not go after our does even in the height of rut as long as we keep everyone fed and entertained. We’ve had a couple fence breedings though so it’s not foolproof. Thankfully, it was due to a horny nanny goat and not because of a jumped fence.
Our herd health bundle helps you keep track of your herd’s health. Includes the goat assessment, herd check sheets AND Herd Health Tracker!
Practicing Safe Breeding Techniques PRIOR
When you are starting to purchase your herd, make sure that you are paying attention to what you are buying. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again and again, livestock are not pets. While most of us have a soft spot for our animals (no matter if they are hooved, clawed, feathered or furred), when you are purchasing livestock, don’t just purchase to purchase.
This means that if you are breeding for milk, you purchase strong milk lines. If you are breeding for meat, you purchase strong meat lines. Don’t just purchase goats and expect them to be great milkers or for meat.
Purchasing goats from auction can almost guarantee that those goats are, at best not what you are looking for and at worse not healthy (there are exceptions to the rule). Your heart got in the way of your head and now you have a goat that can’t live without constant care. That’s what we had with Champ.
My best piece of advise for new goat owners is to set out your goals for those goats and only get goats that fit within those goals. I’m not saying don’t save that goat, I’m saying if your goal is to have milk, don’t purchase goats that can’t meet your needs.
For example, we are currently working on building our own homesteading lines. The goal is goats that are hardy and can produce milk, meat, and money. That means that we are purchasing does that have the ability to produce a gallon of milk a day. A buck that can produce stout kids that can will get at least 75# of meat at one year.
Our herd health bundle helps you keep track of your herd’s health. Includes the goat assessment, herd check sheets AND Herd Health Tracker!
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