danger to a new born kid?

[babsbag]

The only change I really notice is the doe will "talk" to her belly and often stand apart from the herd. Most of my goats aren't bottle kids so not super attached to me, it might be different with Newton.

@Goat Whisperer You have super friendly goats, do you notice changes in behavior?

 

[newton the goat]

The only change I really notice is the doe will "talk" to her belly and often stand apart from the herd. Most of my goats aren't bottle kids so not super attached to me, it might be different with Newton.

@Goat Whisperer You have super friendly goats, do you notice changes in behavior?

I haven't noticed her "talking" to her belly but she's making a lot less noise than usual.. which is weird for her and she is avoiding our buck like the plague (though I would to if he kept following me) she is usually hanging around their shed instead of exploring like usual. We have a shallow wooded area where they both usually graze happily ( less snow and a few patches of grass left) but she doesn't go far anymore and tends to hide inside.

 

[Latestarter]

Sometimes a doe getting ready to kid will put off hormones that can make a buck think she's in season and try to mate her. Obviously this isn't good for the doe or the kid... As was mentioned before you really should separate them but in a manner where they can still see and talk to each other. This may be part of the reason she's staying clear of the buck. Being close to kidding, some goats will stay close to shelter, others will try to find a "safe place" away from the barn. Some will start nesting - trying to build a nest, others don't, generally they become uncomfortable and may be constantly getting up and down, pawing, holding their tail up or to the side. Generally speaking, when she starts acting "not normal" she's either got something wrong or getting close.

The best way to check to see if she's close to kidding is to check her ligaments. There are two ligaments, sorta like pencils, that run down either side of her hind quarters beside/right above her tail. As she gets closer to kidding, these will stretch and become almost impossible to find. When the "ligs are gone" generally you're within 24 hours of having babies. Some swear it will be within 24 hours, others swear they have goats who have no ligs for days... go figure. Either way, you're close. http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/...n-your-goat-is-in-labor-or-getting-close.html

 

[newton the goat]

Sometimes a doe getting ready to kid will put off hormones that can make a buck think she's in season and try to mate her. Obviously this isn't good for the doe or the kid... As was mentioned before you really should separate them but in a manner where they can still see and talk to each other. This may be part of the reason she's staying clear of the buck. Being close to kidding, some goats will stay close to shelter, others will try to find a "safe place" away from the barn. Some will start nesting - trying to build a nest, others don't, generally they become uncomfortable and may be constantly getting up and down, pawing, holding their tail up or to the side. Generally speaking, when she starts acting "not normal" she's either got something wrong or getting close.

The best way to check to see if she's close to kidding is to check her ligaments. There are two ligaments, sorta like pencils, that run down either side of her hind quarters beside/right above her tail. As she gets closer to kidding, these will stretch and become almost impossible to find. When the "ligs are gone" generally you're within 24 hours of having babies. Some swear it will be within 24 hours, others swear they have goats who have no ligs for days... go figure. Either way, you're close. http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/...n-your-goat-is-in-labor-or-getting-close.html

I will have to do my best with separating our buck from her... problem is we didn't have enough time before the ground froze to put up another fenced in area like we had planned so unless we whether the poor guy it will be extremely difficult

 

[Latestarter]

Other indications are vaginal swelling &/or discharge. Before kidding they will lose their mucous plug. This could happen 6 weeks before or a week before. Right before the kid comes out they usually present a "bubble" of fluid (I guess like when a woman's water bursts) after that pops, you should start seeing the kid present, front hooves with nose right above them. Kinda like diving out of momma. There should be contractions and labor. Once that starts, you should be seeing the first kid born within 15-30 minutes. Longer than that may indicate a problem... breach, coming out backwards, two tangled up trying to come together, head bent back, all those possibilities.

For fencing you could use pallets stood up, stacked end to end with rear bracing to build a holding pen/dry lot for him. Sorry about frozen ground... I'm in TX and dealing with 17 degrees right now... a might chilly for down here.

 

[Latestarter]

As Babs had said, another good indication of near kidding is udder development. Sometimes almost as good as ligs. The problem is some does will start to develop an udder a week or more before kidding, others udder up overnight, and some don't get their udder till after delivery. You won't really know since this is her first kidding with you. After you've seen what she does the first time, it should be close to that the 2nd time, but not always.

 

[Latestarter]

Something else to consider is that the doe is gonna make a bit of a mess on her backside delivering. You may want to "trim her up" a bit, not shaved as it's pretty cold up there too, but just so you don't have as big of a mess to deal with. You might also consider trimming her teats and around them so if you decide to milk you don't have as much hair in the milk. That might be easier to do after she bags up.

 

[newton the goat]

Other indications are vaginal swelling &/or discharge. Before kidding they will lose their mucous plug. This could happen 6 weeks before or a week before. Right before the kid comes out they usually present a "bubble" of fluid (I guess like when a woman's water bursts) after that pops, you should start seeing the kid present, front hooves with nose right above them. Kinda like diving out of momma. There should be contractions and labor. Once that starts, you should be seeing the first kid born within 15-30 minutes. Longer than that may indicate a problem... breach, coming out backwards, two tangled up trying to come together, head bent back, all those possibilities.

For fencing you could use pallets stood up, stacked end to end with rear bracing to build a holding pen/dry lot for him. Sorry about frozen ground... I'm in TX and dealing with 17 degrees right now... a might chilly for down here.

I will attempt to head over to a place where we can get free pallets this weekend.... I don't want her more stressed out than she needs to be

 

[newton the goat]

Something else to consider is that the doe is gonna make a bit of a mess on her backside delivering. You may want to "trim her up" a bit, not shaved as it's pretty cold up there too, but just so you don't have as big of a mess to deal with. You might also consider trimming her teats and around them so if you decide to milk you don't have as much hair in the milk. That might be easier to do after she bags up.

Lol if you want to try and do that go ahead lol ... my girl does not like people touching around her backside unless it's a nice but scratch above her tail... she can kick which I haven't heard of as a usual behavior in most times lol.. sometimes I swear she's part mule... can be very stubborn if you catch her on a bad day lol... I will try to trim that area but will likely get a solid headbutt to what ever part of me she can access first

 

[Latestarter]

If you're able to nail/bolt the pallet ends to each other top and bottom, that should keep them standing and it will take some effort for your goat to push them over. You could also build a round ring out of pallets then put a strap or long wire around the ring and tighten it to keep them from being displaced. Like a twist tie around a bread bag when you close it.

You want to really make a point of getting comfortable with her allowing you to touch her all over. It will become important for many reasons aside from trimming her backside. When she's kidding, if you're there with her, you'll get her fluids on you and the kid's as well. at that point she'll probably bond with you as well as the kid(s) as you'll smell just like them. You'll also want to handle the kids and get them used to your smell so they aren't afraid of you. As a vet once said, as soon as the kid is born you want to put your fingers everyplace you can touch and inside every orifice so that kid expects that to be normal. There are threads on here where folks go into great detail as to what they had to do to be able to train their goat for milking... like tying feet down so they can't/learn to not kick.