Pine shavings?

[Pamela]

We should be having kids in the next week to 10 days. The goat house has been cleaned out, but we have no straw at this moment to put down. Pine shavings are easy to get and affordable too. Would these shavings be acceptable to use as bedding for kidding? I don't want to buy any if it isn't.

 

[Latestarter]

Some like shavings, some like straw, some like a mix... really, whatever is cheapest and easiest for you to get. Whatever you use is going to get all bloody and messy during the birthing and need to be cleaned out afterwards most likely, so spend pennies rather than dollars.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I use shavings... they can be a little messy when the kids are still damp, but they brush off very easily. Good luck with your upcoming babies!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

We use shavings, sometimes straw (which is seriously as pricey as hay around here so I don't have it on hand often). Oh and in case anyone (meaning me) thought, hey all of this shredded up newspaper shouldn't go to waste, DON'T. What a mess and our doe Ruthie is walking around with week old news stuck to her butt and tail (she tried to hit me when I went to remove it so I thought, shoot girl, you can just look stupid, fine by me).

 

[Carmen Zamastil]

Keep vasoline on hand, if you kids are born in extreme cold temps this time of the year, after toweling then off after birth, iodine the naval cord, then rub vasoline on their ears to prevent them from freezing. Petrolium does not freeze and vasoline is harmless. Thin wet skin, like ears and evem teats after milking in extreme cold benefit from it. Try some on your own chin, cheeks an nose when doing winter chores. It works great, its not toxic and it inexpensive.

 

[babsbag]

I mentioned using shavings to a friend the other day when we were discussing mastitis that can be caused by straw. Streptococcus uberis is a pathogen which causes environmental mastitis. It is found in much of the goat's environment and is particularly prevalent in straw bedding.

My friend said that shavings bring their own set of udder troubles. I guess that the smaller the particle the more surface there is for bacteria to cling to. So the moral of the story is to make sure you keep the kidding area clean and then cleaner if using shavings.

 

[Pamela]

I bought 2 bales of shavings yesterday, so we are on our way to being ready! I am really excited to see what we get. Our first doe should go next Monday (ish) according to the date she was marked. The other one looks like she could go sooner, but wasn't marked until about a week after the first. Our buck had been in a marking harness for a couple of weeks before anyone got marked, so I am fairly certain on my dates. My favorite doe, Baby, either is sterile or waaay behind the first 2. I know she was marked again in late October, but then we took the harness off of our buck and he stayed in with the girls until recently. So who knows, she could kid quite late! I'm OK with having the kidding spread out a bit, last time we did this we had 7 babies in about an hour. It was crazy.

 

[Mike CHS]

We create a 20 gallon can full of oak and cherry shavings from our planer and joiner ever time we do a project that I was hoping to be able to use. Now I think I need to take another look at those things.