Your Checklist for Kidding Prep?

[DellaMyDarling]

(Hopefully) approaching our first rodeo in goat kidding here on the homestead.
I've been reading and researching, but feel my good and recommended books are overwhelming me. Mama Rhonda should be growing me some lovely babies for mid October.
Please tell me your prep and checklist for kidding!
I see many good supply lists, but I'm more concerned with forgetting to administer a supplement, or timing training to milk stand, or who knows what...
Break it down for me? What should ideally be done and when?

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Bumping this up, clock is ticking and I think we are on schedule, less than 4 weeks.
Mama is showing nesting behaviors, like pulling all the hay from feeder, squishing it around in a dark corner, and chilling in it. I don't see much of that mentioned, but my instincts say it's just the late pregnancy hormones like in humans.

I do NOT want to be calling vets in to do anything I can do myself.
Under impression I can get the necessary vaccines at Tractor Supply, no? And, is there really a debate in things like CDT?

Fiasco Farms site says I should now begin weekly selenium if we are in a deficiency area (I am, and have it on hand, so proceed?)

I haven't read the chapter yet...
When should I look at routine things for the potential kids? One breeder in area said his were too young for vaccines when I inquired about a 7 week weanling, so I'm a bit confused now.
It is undecided if any kids will be retained or all sold, but leaning towards selling this time.

Herd all tested negative from previous owners of which I have confidence in.
When would you test again and must a vet do it?

 

[lalabugs]

I always give CDT 4 weeks prior to kidding. Yes, you can get CDT from Tractor supply. Some people do not give CDT. It's a personal choice. I prefer to vaccinate my herd with CDT. I vaccinate my kids at 4 weeks and 8 weeks, then annually.

My kidding bag check list:
Iodine
Large puppy pads
Towels
Baby nose sucker
lube (i prefer a water based lube)
gloves

I also have molasses on hand and make a 8 qt bucket of warm molasses tea for the doe after kidding. I have not had a doe not suck it down. They love it.

I test annually, unless I bring in a new goat. No, a vet does not have to do it. You can pull the blood yourself and send it off.

When I first started with goats, I started watching them closely 4 weeks out. Now not so much. I do start locking them up at night by themselves with a camera in their pen to keep an eye on them and see how they normally act. They are not locked up during the day. The other does they are close to are locked up in a pen next to them where they can see/smell each other.

I do start taking udder pics at 8 weeks out. Once a week to see the difference in udder. The last week I take daily pictures. It really helps to see the difference. Since you are seeing the goat daily. I have goats that their udder became huge and shiny. Others did not get a shiny udder at all.

 

[MiniSilkys]

Have you read about how to check the ligaments? My Peanut had a due date of October 28. Today her udder was bigger than yesterday. I checked her ligaments and they were small. After I put everyone in the night pen I noticed her some times looking off in space. I started checking every couple hours. Then her ligaments were gone and I could see the plug. I checked her 30 minutes later and there was fluid so I waited about 10 minutes and she started pushing. It was all over in 20 minutes and she had triplets.
I give all of my newborns jumpstart plus. I have been raising my minis since 2014 and have never given any vaccines. I have lost a few newborns due to being born early and one doe to old age. I have never had any other problems besides one doe being butted in the head.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Have you read about how to check the ligaments? My Peanut had a due date of October 28. Today her udder was bigger than yesterday. I checked her ligaments and they were small. After I put everyone in the night pen I noticed her some times looking off in space. I started checking every couple hours. Then her ligaments were gone and I could see the plug. I checked her 30 minutes later and there was fluid so I waited about 10 minutes and she started pushing. It was all over in 20 minutes and she had triplets.
I give all of my newborns jumpstart plus. I have been raising my minis since 2014 and have never given any vaccines. I have lost a few newborns due to being born early and one doe to old age. I have never had any other problems besides one doe being butted in the head.

Ok, my first goats ever..doe due around mid February...what is jumpstart? Why buy puppy pads? Just for the fluids? I was told to get the fluids on my hands and let he4 lick it off so she accepts me for milking her. What does the molasses do? Just basically replace the sugar she has lost? By plug..do you mean the mucous plug? Taking pictures of her udder bag is a great idea! Busty is growing, but, being that we’re only about halfway, it’s hard to tell if I’m just feeding her too much! . I’m being careful to just give oats and alfalfa pellets..a bit of BOSS, soybean meal. Anyth you can tell me would be great!!

 

[lalabugs]

Really depends on your does. Our does are all super friendly. We also mess with the does teats as young kids constantly. They're use to you touching that area. It has been night and day milking a doe that has been touched constantly, compared to a doe who was not touched constantly. We are at all of our does kiddings. Wild ones even with being there during kidding and helping, them smelling/licking us did not help with them calming down for us to milk them.

Puppy pads are great to lay the kids on when they're born that way they're not covered in dirt/shavings/hay. Depending on what you use for bedding for your does. Yes, plug is mucous plug.

What breed of goat do you have? I personally keep hay available 24/7 to my goats, along with mineral. My goats get alfalfa hay, i do not have pellets available to them. I do grain my pregnant does once they're about 2 1/2- 3 months pregnant. I slowly increase the grain amount over the course of the pregnancy.

Another thing that I have on hand (not for the kidding, but for the pregnancy) is human ketone strips. If any doe is not acting herself in anyway, we check the keytones. It is easier to help with ketones if you catch it earlier than when the ketones are really high. Though I have had a doe who had high ketones, we were able to get her through it. She ended up having 5!

molasses tea helps give them some energy after labor. Labor takes it out of them. Do you have any pictures of your doe? I have 2 does that are bred right now. Both nigerian dwarf. One is due end of Feb, the other one due beginning of March. Neither one look pregnant at this stage.