Frustratedearthmother's 2025 Kidding Thread

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

No clue when or how our mini nubian got pregnant by our Nigerian dwarf! Had them both since last April, she (Vermillion) was 1 and Cash (The goat in Blaaaaack) was two months. I have pretty much doubled her feed and she gets a whole bunch of Berru alfalfa horse treats and they have full access to a goat block for mineral. I still feel like she's too skinny, but um this is 100% my first rodeo, and hers too! We just came out of the winter from hell, (hubby had two dental emergencies and broke his foot and our dog broke her leg fighting with our corgi ) so now I'm scrambling to find a livestock vet since I do trimming and CDT vaxxing n deworming myself etc. So now we get to get to play, how far along is she?! The close up pix of her udders and tail and Lady bits were today, the others were only two days ago. Is she eating enough? how far along does she look? When should I seperate her? Where Would it be better to move him instead and just give him the little shelter? (He decided to take over our duck house.... it's his now) so any help figuring out how much longer we have is appreciated!

 

[Baymule]

Goodness, you did have a hard winter!
You have asked the right person here. She’ll be back and can answer your questions.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sorry you had a rough winter!

This is a very comprehensive guide of things to watch for and can answer a lot of questions. Pay particular attention to the "Doe Code."

Goat Kidding

How to Help a Goat Kid

www.thegoatchick.com

She's got pretty good udder development. Watch for it to get much firmer and tighter. Also check her ligaments as they will progressively soften as she gets closer to delivery. Your buck may give you clues too. If he starts to get very interested in her rear end - move him out. He will be a pest and she doesn't need to deal with that.

I don't think she looks terribly thin, but it's hard to tell from pics. If her spine is prominent, she might need more groceries. But from what I can tell in the pic she doesn't look bad. You don't want to overfeed her as it tends to produce larger babies and no first freshener needs that. But, since dad is a dwarf and she's half-dwarf I don't predict you'll have a problem with huge babies.

She'll definitely need more groceries when she's lactating. Takes a lot of calories to make all that milk. Being of Nubian descent she'll probably produce a lot of milk and she'll need some high-quality groceries. Do you feed hay?

Not sure what kind of goat block you're using. My experience with them is that the goats like them, but they are generally not adequate for overall minerals. For one thing - they don't offer enough copper. Your doe has some rust color on her hind legs and that has been implicated as a sign of copper deficiency. Don't panic but consider offering a loose mineral that contains more copper.

Can't give you a due date, but just a general guess is that she may kid within the next month or the next week. Sorry! Learn to feel those ligaments.

Good luck!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Got caught in the barn this morning by a rainstorm. Took the opportunity to try to remind the babes that there is free choice feed waiting for them in the creep area. They've been a bit slow to figure it out - but today they had a light bulb moment. These 4 get it - only 8 more to convince, lol.

Love the colors!

 

[fuzzi]

Got caught in the barn this morning by a rainstorm. Took the opportunity to try to remind the babes that there is free choice feed waiting for them in the creep area. They've been a bit slow to figure it out - but today they had a light bulb moment. These 4 get it - only 8 more to convince, lol.

Love the colors!

View attachment 115678

Inkblots!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Inkblots!

Truth!

 

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

LOOK WHOS HERE! AND A WEEK N A HALF OLD ALREADY! (That ultrasound turned into a well check really quickly!) Mom's not having the nursing too much anymore, so now I get to hold her leg twice a day and let them eat. She had an issue with one udder since the babies favored one and she wouldn't let them touch the other. Vet said milk her out, babies won't touch the bottle and female is sneaky about nursing and mom still hate anyone touching the one side. Machine came in to make it faster, so less stressful because it's WAY faster. Babies still nurse post milking and get nice full bellies. but female has been trying alfalfa hay "dust" and leaves which I try not to let her do since she isn't three weeks, but good amount of urine and yellow poo means good intake I guess and everyone seems ok except me having to hold moms leg and tether her. Vet said milk sample is clean, babies got abx subQ, everyone seems good. Moms attentive, and quietly vocal, y'know, after eating part of someone's tail off thinking it was the cord. Just left side and tip degloved on to part of the right. She hands the bandage but she healing well.

 

[Baymule]

Kids and lambs start eating at just a couple of weeks old. It’s normal. They copy mom.

The babies are so cute, love the colors!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

LOOK WHOS HERE! AND A WEEK N A HALF OLD ALREADY!

Congratulations on the cuties!

Yes, babies start sampling and nibbling feed pretty early. That's exactly what you want to happen. Also, babies learn to nurse very quickly. Mom may not stand for more than a few seconds at a time. You can weigh the babies a couple times a week to make sure they're gaining. Keep in mind that mom needs a lot of groceries to make a lot of milk.

Good luck with them - they are precious!

 

[fuzzi]

LOOK WHOS HERE! AND A WEEK N A HALF OLD ALREADY! (That ultrasound turned into a well check really quickly!) Mom's not having the nursing too much anymore, so now I get to hold her leg twice a day and let them eat. She had an issue with one udder since the babies favored one and she wouldn't let them touch the other. Vet said milk her out, babies won't touch the bottle and female is sneaky about nursing and mom still hate anyone touching the one side. Machine came in to make it faster, so less stressful because it's WAY faster. Babies still nurse post milking and get nice full bellies. but female has been trying alfalfa hay "dust" and leaves which I try not to let her do since she isn't three weeks, but good amount of urine and yellow poo means good intake I guess and everyone seems ok except me having to hold moms leg and tether her. Vet said milk sample is clean, babies got abx subQ, everyone seems good. Moms attentive, and quietly vocal, y'know, after eating part of someone's tail off thinking it was the cord. Just left side and tip degloved on to part of the right. She hands the bandage but she healing well.

Oh my, so cute.

Ate part of the tail, bwahahah!