Most of the time when our goats have kidded, the kids have all been healthy. We had never lost any kids when they were very young until this time. So far, six of our goats have kidded and half of them have lost at least one kid.
Star had three and lost one at birth, Pecan had four and lost one at two weeks, and Nutmeg had six and lost four at birth and one the next day. With Star, she was in temporary housing and not stalled, so numerous preventable things could have happened.
With Pecan, she wasn't making much milk at all, something we didn't realize until it was too late. So, we think her kid (noticeably smaller than the rest) may have died of starvation.
In this blog I will share some of the most common things that go wrong after kidding and how to deal with and prevent them. Keep in mind when treating a kid that you should avoid taking it out of the doe's stall to reduce the risk of her abandoning it.
Preventing Problems
One of the best ways to avoid problems making sure your does are healthy. So, feed them the recommended amounts of grain, giving more if they seem thin (their spines, hips and ribs will feel sharp).
Make sure they have access to plenty of fresh clean water, and they have access to plenty of hay at all times (preferably alfalfa). You should also provide them with minerals and salt separately so they aren't limited in their mineral consumption by the amount of salt they can have and vice versa.
Another thing that will help prevent problems is checking on your does every two hours even through the night once they are within about two days of kidding. We haven't done this before because we had never lost any kids.
Now that we have, we are checking on them. Some people are of the opinion that if a doe or kid can't survive without human intervention that they shouldn't be helped as that is more natural, nobody helps them in the wild.
That is up to you to decide whether or not, and how much, to help, but do keep in mind that these are domesticated goats, so there are many other things are being done that wouldn't happen in the wild either.
You can also help things go more smoothly in the event that there is a problem by having everything you might need gathered beforehand. Below is a list of things you should have on hand:
Molasses
Baby goat bottle
Old towels
Hair dryer
Heat lamp
Colostrum (replacer, or frozen)
Milking bucket and fine sieve (in case you need to milk the mother)
Kid Won't Feed Itself
One of the most important things to remember is that a kid absolutely must have colostrum within the first hours of its life, or it will not survive. So, time is of the essence when dealing with a kid that won't or can't feed itself.
Normally a kid will begin to nurse within minutes of them all being born and being licked off by their mother. Ther are several reasons why a kid might not do this, the main ones are
Hypothermia
Weakness that prevents the kid from standing
Underdevelopment
Cold will be pretty easy to diagnose, the kid will probably be shivering, lethargic unable to eat or hold its head up, and may even feel cold to the touch. It is important to get the kid's body temperature up as soon as possible so it can eat.
There are several ways to do this, if the kid is still wet, the best method is to put it in a bucket of very warm water (being very careful to hold its head up) until it perks up. Once you take the kid out of the water be sure to dry it off quickly and thoroughly, with a hair dryer, if possible. If the kid is already dry you can wrap its body in a large plastic bag and then put it in a bucket of warm water.
If for some reason you can't use warm water, you can also use a hair dryer (keep petting the kid's fur in reverse as you blow, both to warm it faster and to be sure you aren't burning it). A heat lamp can be used but it won't warm the kid as fast, it's better for maintaining body temperature than raising it.
If you have to use a heat lamp, put it over the kid and adjust it so that its as warm as possible on the kid without burning it, put your hand on the kid to check if the lamp is too low. You should also not leave the heat lamp unattended when it is that low unless it's premier1supplies.com's heat lamp, with the heat lamp guard to prevent the doe from getting too close or smashing it.
You can also bring the kid into the house as a last resort. If you are in a situation where you don't have access to any form of artificial heat, dry the kid off as quickly as possible and put it inside your jacket, you may be able to get it warmed up enough this way, although it will probably take a bit longer.
Regardless of which method you use, never feed a kid that is too cold to hold its head up. When in this condition, the kid is unable to absorb nutrients.
Once the kid is warmed up, which should be obvious, put it under its mother, you may need to help it get its first few drinks, but it should soon be feeding eagerly.
If the weather is below 40 degrees, or 60 if they aren't well protected from the wind, you should provide a heat lamp to the kids for a few days just to be sure they can keep warm until they have had a chance to get a little stronger.
If the kid still won't feed, you can try to force feed it with a bottle, the way to do this is to first milk about two ounces for a miniature or four for a full size goat kid of the mother's colostrum into a goat bottle, then (having a second person can be helpful here) gently pry the kids mouth open, put the bottle in, and tip her head up, you may have to hold her mouth around the bottle if she's really protesting.
If she won't suck on her own, don't squeeze the bottle, just let it drip into her mouth, she will probably start swallowing as it goes to her throat. Likely once she tastes it, she will start sucking on her own. Be warned though that in our experience, once you have bottle fed a newborn she won't want to feed from her mother, and the mother may reject her.
So, it is worth it to try and get her to feed from her mother first. If all else fails you may have to tube feed the kid, that is, literally put a little tube down her throat and put the colostrum directly into her stomach. We have never had to do this, but it may be your only option.
Weakness can be caused by a rough birth or a slight deformity such as contracted tendon that prevent it from standing right away. You may need to hold this kid up to feed until it can stand on its own. You can also try rubbing some colostrum, molasses, or even coffee on its tongue and gums to give it enough energy to stand.
Something we haven't used yet but plan to get, is Premier's Baby lamb strength (which can be used for goats too). It is an apple flavored energy and vitamin supplement that contains vitamins A, D3, and E. It can save weak kids, and can also be given to the doe, both when she is very close to kidding and if she isn't doing well afterwards.
The last reason the kid might not feed well is that it could be slightly underdeveloped and lack a strong sucking response. The solution is the same for trying to get a kid to feed after being warmed.
The Doe Can't Feed Her Kid(s)
The main reasons why a doe wouldn't be able to feed her kids would be
delivering before her colostrum comes in (this happens occasionally)
having too many kids to feed
having such a difficult delivery that she is too weak or sick to feed them
If a doe delivers before her colostrum comes in, or before her full production kicks in, you will be able to tell because the kids will seem obviously frustrated when they try to nurse, "whining" while the repeatedly suck for a short time and then let go. Her udder will also probably look fairly empty.
If the doe has no colostrum at all (try to milk some out to check), you will need to feed the kids yourself until she can. If you have another doe that kidded at the same time you can milk her and give it to the other kids.
Otherwise, you can use frozen colostrum (warm it first), or a kid colostrum formula (NOT one for cows or sheep). If she has some, but it doesn't seem like enough, what you should do depends on several things.
If the doe only has one or two kids and they are seeming like they can't get enough, watch them for a little while, if they settle down after a bit and seem strong and healthy, they should be okay.
Keep a close eye on them though, and if you think you need to give them extra, you should try to do so, however, only give them half the normal amount half as often, as you don't want them to be full and not keep trying to get it from their mother.
If the doe has more than two kids try to make sure they all get at least a little bit of the mother's colostrum within the first hours after they are born, as that is the best for them. After you have made sure they have all gotten some you can bottle feed them more.
Give them the full amount, but only half as often. If the doe has more than two kids and still doesn't have much milk after a couple days, you will probably need to bottle feed some.
If the doe is laying down and won't feed her kids, or seems very weak or sick, the first thing to do is to make sure she is actually done kidding, the way to do this is to wrap your arms around her stomach and lift up, if she's not done kidding her stomach will feel hard and lumpy.
If that is the case just leave her alone, it is normal for her to wait to feed her kids until they are all born. If she is done, try giving her some molasses mixed into a half gallon (a gallon for full sized breeds) of warm water. If she drinks it all and wants more, give her more.
You can also give the doe her usual amount of grain. If she won't take anything, give her a few minutes to rest and provide a heat lamp if she is shivering and it's cold. If still isn't doing good after 30-45 minutes call a vet, milk her if you can, and bottle feed the kids.
If this is your first time having goats kid, you are likely going to be overly worried about everything, that's normal, and you will get better with experience, but it may help to remember that most of the time everything goes fine, and if you don't think you can handle something on your own, you can always call the vet.
It will also be very helpful when you are just starting out to have someone who is experienced with raising goats that you can ask questions if you are unsure about something, as sometimes things that seem like a big deal to a beginner are really not.
Well, hopefully you found this blog helpful, if anyone has any questions, comments or suggestions we would love to hear them!
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