Putting expectant mothers in a kidding pen question

[Tmaxson]

What are your thoughts or practices on putting soon to deliver does in a kidding stall?

Last year I didn't end up separating either of my two pregnant does. I kept agonizing over it, especially with my February birth but it all worked out great since the doe kidded on a warm 60 degree afternoon after I got home from work and the second one was in May so no worries of freezing plus I had figured out the ligs thing with her and stayed home from work to be there for her. I did stall the first mom and baby for 3 days after kidding and then at night for three weeks because of cold temps and safety. The second mom was only put in the pen with her twins for 1 day because it got too hot in the barn to leave them in there. Everything worked out great and I kind of just made decisions based on the situation. This year I have more goats in the same area so I'm not sure what I am going to do but was wondering what others ideas/thoughts/reasoning are for separating expectant does.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I pen mine once ligaments are gone. I prefer them to kid in a place that I have cleaned and put fresh bedding down and in a place where the mom and kids are safe from other nosy or pushy goats. It also is nice to have them confined in the event that I need to assist (no time to be trying to catch a goat). We bottle feed all of our babies so once mom is done, cleaned up, and has had a chance to recover, we move her to the milkstand to bottle colostrum for the kids. From there she goes back in with her friends and we clean up the pen for the next one.

 

[Mamaboid]

I pen mine at night or in bad weather up until a few days before due date, then I leave them in the pen until they kid, Keep mom and kid in the pen a few days depending again on the weather. We are called Flooded Creek for a reason, and our fields can be pretty wet in places. The older goats know how to stay out of it, but I would not want to take a chance on babies. So in the shed they go.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I pen mine once ligaments are gone. I prefer them to kid in a place that I have cleaned and put fresh bedding down and in a place where the mom and kids are safe from other nosy or pushy goats. It also is nice to have them confined in the event that I need to assist (no time to be trying to catch a goat). We bottle feed all of our babies so once mom is done, cleaned up, and has had a chance to recover, we move her to the milkstand to bottle colostrum for the kids. From there she goes back in with her friends and we clean up the pen for the next one.

This is what we will be doing.

 

[20kidsonhill]

We leave ours kid wherever they choose, unless weather is really bad, then I may pen them on and off. We close them up in the barn at night during the winter, if someone is looking close to kidding, If I am going to be gone for several hours during the day and the weather is nasty in the winter time, I will pen up an individual who looks close to kidding. I really just adjust as the weather calls for it. In the cooler months we may pen the dams with their kids for 1 to 3 days depending on the weather and how well they are doing. I still have a couple penned up that kidded a week ago that aren't doing a good job keeping up with their kids in a group setting. In warmer weather I leave them kid in the field, only penning them if their is a bonding issue. I expect mom to be standing with the kids for the first two or three days, to the point that I have to bring her water and feed because she wont leave them.

 

[Tmaxson]

Thank you all for your responses. This is all very helpful information. I do have another question. Have any of you ever experienced any aggression or interference from other does especially bossy queens or jealous offspring during kidding?

My small herd consists of one very bossy queen (who may or may not be pregnant), her twin wethers from last year, the very large pregnant doe and her daughter from last year. Plus a buck and wether in a separate area.

My plan is to keep the doe and her daughter together during kidding and after since they are so close but wanted to know what others have experienced.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Not aggresion, but I had a very mothering doe that if by some chance she was near labor and another doe would have just kidded, she would steal the newborn kids. I would have to watch her, since that would cause some obvious confussion.
Your wethers may be more of a problem a doe can send of signals that she is in heat right before labor and they may become a pest. I don't have any wethers in the barn with my does.

 

[Tmaxson]

Thank you for the information.

I more than likely will separate this doe from the queen and her two wethers before/during kidding but wanted to leave the first daughter in with her.

The wethers are 8 months old and are somewhat scared of this doe so I don't think they will bother her. Actually only one of them ever reacts to any of the does in heat, the other one is a people lover and would probably rather live in the house with us vs the goat yard. Funny how goats all have their own little personalities, no matter if they are raised exactly the same.

The daughter is the one being the pest and trying to mount her mother when she herself is in heat so I may not be able to leave her in with her mother, we'll see.

The pregnant doe has been separating herself from the rest lately because they are all running and playing and she just can't deal with it as big as she is and we still have 57 or so days to go.

 

[michickenwrangler]

All of my does kidded with other goats present before I bought them.

My goats have a split shed with each "split" having its own run. The smaller portion of the shed I use for the kidding stall and I had my 2 does that are expected to kid first. Luckily, those two are mom and daughter so they are used to one another and don't beat up on one another. When the daughter went into labor last week, I put mom back out with the other does, so daughter could give birth and bond with her kid. Well, it's been getting down into the single digits and we noticed that the Saanens were pushing out the Alpine ("mom") so we put her back in with daughter and grandson so she could at least spend the night in the shed.

Everyone's happy.

I know conventional wisdom says to give the goat her own pen, but I am willing to make exceptions in the cases of goats that get along well.

My others aren't due until April so there is a pretty big gap between kids. The older ones will be weaned by the time the Saanens start kidding.

 

[Mamaboid]

We try to breed so we have two ready to kid close to the same time. So far we have done well with it. We pen them in kidding stalls with wire sides and a small walkway between so they can see each other, and are only separated by about 3 feet. Seems to work well. They each have their own space, but feel like they are together.