Everything You Need to Know Before Your Goat Gives Birth

 

 

Buckle up, Folks.

It’s about to get real very soon, and it’s time to make sure you’re prepared. This guide will take you through everything you need to know before your goat gives birth. And while all the prep can feel overwhelming, stick with me and I’ll make sure you’re ready for kids.

We’ve been raising Nigerian Dwarf goats for more than 16 years. In that time we’ve had lots of kids born on our farm (and been posting it all on YouTube) All of that experience has taught me it’s always best to prepare for the worst, but expect the best. In most cases goats will deliver & care for their babies just fine. But it’s wise to make sure you know how to recognize when something is wrong and what to do. 

A Quick Plug for my Online Course on Raising Goats

I’ve taken all the knowledge I’ve gained over the years, along with knowledge from some of the best breeders in the country and put it all in an online course! You can see all the amazing content & advice that’s included in my online course here.

Pregnancy Feeding & Care 

Your instinct will be to give extra treats during pregnancy, but the best diet you can do is sticking to high quality hay and avoiding grain or treats during this time. An overfed goat will often produce oversized kids, and it will cause more problems on delivery day due to the extra fat she’ll be carrying, so it’s important to avoid overfeeding.

If you’ve been feeding a grass hay, it’s important that you switch to alfalfa hay or at least a combo of grass hay & alfalfa pellets during pregnancy. It’s very important she builds up her calcium reserves throughout pregnancy for good kid growth and easy deliveries. She needs a good source of minerals (we use Sweetlix Meat Maker – ask your local feed store to order it) and fresh water. Continue with your monthly hoof trimming, & be sure to avoid medicated dewormers unless directed by a vet.

Calculating the Due Date

A miniature goat’s gestation is 145-150 days, while a standard goat is 150-155 days. I love using this app for due date calculations.

Gathering Your Kidding Supplies

Everything I have in my kidding kit is in this blog post here. 

1 Month Before Kidding

CD&T Vaccine – The CD&T vaccine is a vaccine made to help your doe produce antibodies against two different diseases (enterotoxemia & tetanus) that are very hard to treat and have a very high death rate. Goats typically contract tetanus from the soil and at other times can develop enterotoxemia when they overeat. Both of these diseases are very preventable with this combined vaccine. It’s given 4 weeks before kidding so that the doe will pass on some of her antibodies to her kids. The dose is 2mL no matter the age or size of goat, and I prefer the brand I linked below which can be given in the muscle (IM). You can also give it under the skin (SC) though they do develop an abscess as an immune response (very normal just leave it alone it will resolve on its own). To learn how to give this vaccine, you can watch this video here by my good friend Crystal at Blue Cactus Dairy Goats. This is where I buy my CD&T vaccine. (be sure to clean the top off with a rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton pad before each use so you don’t introduce bacteria into the vial)

Mineral & Vitamin Boost – When you’re a month away from kidding, it’s a good idea to give a weekly dose of Replamin Gel Plus every week for the last 4 weeks to make sure you can avoid having babies deficient in Selenium, which is a common cause of bent or weak legs at birth. It’s also theorized that a doe deficient in Selenium tends to have kids with “tough to break” amniotic sacs.

Extra Calcium Boost – It’s also a good idea to provide in the last month of pregnancy free-choice Kelp. Goat’s love Kelp and it’s a good source of calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. They eat it up fast when you first put it out, but as you continue to refill, they start to regulate their intake more. (this is where I buy kelp, but you can buy smaller bags as well)

1 Week Before Kidding 

Extra Grain – As you near the end of the pregnancy, about a week before her due date you can give a small handful per day of grain (especially if you’re training a young doe to the milking stand), but you’ll want to keep it to a minimum throughout pregnancy unless you notice that she’s underweight. My favorite grain for milking does (or soon to be miking does) is Purina Dairy Goat. It’s readily available and you should be able to find it at any large feed store.

Hoof Trimming – This is also the time that I make sure to trim the does hooves before the busy-ness of kidding season begins.

Predicting When Labor Will Start

I quite pride myself on being able to predict when a doe will kid, and it’s honestly easier than you think once you get it down. Here’s what you’re checking for:

Ligaments loosening – There are ligaments that are located alongside a goat’s tail, and about 12 hours before labor starts, they will loosen, then completely go away. The best way to learn this is to watch this video by my good friend Crystal at Blue Cactus Dairy Goats. Most of the time people are feeling too low down on the tail, so be sure to figure out how to locate the tail ligaments correctly! They’re a bit higher up and run at an angle.

Udder pop – An doe’s udder will get significantly bigger about 12 hours before labor begins, and if you’re diligent about taking pictures of your doe’s udder (and feeling it) every day about 5 days before her due date, you’ll be sure to see (& feel) the udder getting bigger. Click here to see pictures of our past goat’s udder pops.

What Labor Looks Like

Behavioral changes – In the very early stage of pre-labor, most pregnant does will seek seclusion. They often find a quiet place away from the herd and hang out there for the day. When I see the udder pop and the ligaments loosen, behavior changes typically follow so it’s at this point I’ll place them in the kidding pen.

Labor: Stage 1

In this stage, the doe is experiencing contractions and the cervix is dilating. During this period the ligaments will completely go away, the udder will completely fill up, and you may see some light mucus (though not always). This stage can take up to 12 hours for first fresheners. It is normal behavior for her to seek a secluded location, go off feed, or bleat excessively. On the flip side, some exhibit no signs and act completely normal. Every doe is different.

What to do:

1. Be patient – At this stage you’re just watching & waiting to see when she hits Stage 2 labor where she’ll dig excessively and start pushing. Settle in and be patient. It is not uncommon to notice the ligaments gone at 9am and not see a kid born until 9pm.
2. Put a camera on her – I highly recommend investing in a video baby monitor so you can go about your day and watch the camera. Sitting out in the barn with her at this stage will often make you worry more and cause you to intervene too quickly.
3. Watch for signs to intervene – First time mothers can stay in this stage of labor for 6-12 hours, while mature does will only take 4-8 hours. If you don’t see any progression from Stage 1 (slight agitation) to Stage 2 (digging & pushing excessively) — then it’s time to go in with a gloved hand and see what’s going on.

Labor: Stage 2

The second and most active stage of labor should take 1-2 hours depending on how many kids there are. You’ll see a lot of digging, laying down, pushing occasionally, & getting up again. You should see a long string of mucus appear and right before the first kid is born, oftentimes you’ll see a flush of fluid followed by a bubble which is the amniotic sac with a kid inside. Your doe will be very focused during this time and her eyes will be dilated. Once your doe starts pushing more frequently, check your watch because if she is pushing for longer than 30 min., it’s time to glove up & assist.

What to do:

1. Stay calm – This is the most intense time of kidding, so be sure to keep a calm head. Keep your energy low and avoid talking loudly or acting anxious.
2. Be prepared – You should have your kidding kit ready and my Kidding Positions Cheat Sheet printed out.
3. Watch for signs to intervene – If your doe is pushing for longer than 30 min. then it’s time to glove up and see if you can feel what’s going on.

Possible complications during Stage 2 of labor:

Complications during labor could be due to multiple reasons. There could be a kid in a bad position, your doe could have poor muscle contractions, or in rare cases, your doe could be dealing with ringwomb, a situation where the cervix does not dilate fully. Here’s what to do in all three situations.

• Needing to assist – When a kid is in a bad position you will need to assist. My kidding positions cheat sheet should help you in knowing what to do with each position. BE SURE to glove up & lube up before you go in. You’ll likely need another person to hold your goat down as you go in. Keep you hand closed with your fingers close together and go slow. Your doe will scream and push against you as she feels pressure around the fully dilated cervix, but you’ll need to ignore her screams and proceed. At this point it’s about saving the kids and the mama. Once you feel a kid, close your eyes and try to determine what you’re feeling.
  
  REMEMBER BEFORE YOU ASSIST:
  – Wash your hands & keep nails short
  – Use lots of lube
  – Only pull when the doe is contracting/pushing
  
  
• Poor muscle contractions – This isn’t very common, but still good information to know. In this situation you’ll see your doe with little progression. She may have lost her ligaments but never progress to digging & pushing. First, you’ll need to glove up and make sure a malpositioned kid isn’t the case. Once you know she’s simply not progressing, you’ll first need to supplement her with calcium to help with contractions. Hypocalcemia can be common in pregnant does if not fed a proper pregnancy diet. The preferred method for giving calcium is CMPK, a supplement that contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, & potassium. These will help calcium metabolize faster and help with labor. The dose is 30cc, but know that it can burn going down so it helps to dilute it with water or gatorade (I prefer gatorade because it hides the flavor better & provides glucose and electrolytes). 
  
  If calcium treatment doesn’t help things progress, you’ll need to call a vet to administer Pitocin to stimulate the uterine horns to contract and get labor moving along.
  
  
• Ringwomb – This is more of a rare problem, but still good information to know. Ringwomb is when the cervix doesn’t fully dilate. When you have this problem, you’ll need to contact a vet for a possibly c-section. Also, know that this problem likely reoccurs with subsequent births, and it’s also genetic so it’s best to remove that doe from your herd and spay to keep as a pet or put her down so she isn’t bred again.

Kidding Positions & When to Help

I have created a chart full of all the potential kidding positions and how to correct them. Think of it like a cheat sheet. I printed mine and laminated to so I could keep it in my kidding kit. Download the kidding positions chart here

What To Do Once a Kid is Born

Typically you will see your doe calm down and focus on the kids, with some occasional digging when she feels cramps as the placenta is working its way out. If this isn’t happening and she is digging & straining excessively, then you likely have another kid in there. Be aware that she will dig and strain a bit as she expels the placenta, but then she should quickly calm back down again. If you see a high level of agitation, you’ll need to make sure there are no more babies in there.

What to do:

1. Help kids nurse – Focus on getting the kids to latch. Make a squirt out of each teat to clear it for easier nursing.
2. Watch for excessive digging/straining to push – Your doe may have another kid in there so you need to be watching for that.
3. Offer her molasses water – this is a favorite of most does, and provides B vitamins along with some minerals.
4. Offer her Goat YMCP (where to buy) – This is a goat supplement that provides 4 types of bio-available calcium, niacin for post-kidding complication prevention, as well as magnesium & potassium which all help encourage a smooth recovery.

How to Know If There Are More Kids

Usually you can tell based off a doe’s behavior if she’s done or not. While they do take breaks between kids and will stand & nurse, a big sign of them being completely done is when they go back to eating. 

To be sure, you make your doe stand up, and while standing above her, take your hands and wrap them around her belly just in front of her udder. Push in and you should be able to feel the hard bony parts of the kids (if there are any in there). If she’s soft and her belly moves easily it’s likely she is done. 

However, if she keeps digging, pushing, & straining and part of the placenta isn’t hanging out, she probably has another kid in there and this would be a good time to glove up and gently feel inside to see what’s going on. 

Aftercare for Mama & Kids

Only 10-20 minutes after they are born, the kids should attempt to stand. Within 20-30 minutes, they should start to nurse. This is such a fascinating phenomenon to watch, and it never gets old! Their instinct will be to seek out their mama and start to suckle, and your job is just to oversee and make sure it goes smoothly.

• Caring for the doe: The mama will go into a “mothering zone” where she’ll become obsessed with licking her babies. She may have a hard time standing still while they nurse only because she’d like them to be clean & dry first. Give your doe some space and let her do her thing. You can bring her a bucket of warm water with molasses (1 quart of water with 2 TBS. molasses), as well as Goat YMCP mixed with her water for a good source of electrolytes & vitamins. She should want to drink and this will help her settle down and let the kids nurse. You can also offer her a handful of grain or fresh hay, but she may decline as she’ll be very focused on the kids.
• Caring for the kids: Your job is to make sure he kid is standing & nursing successfully, and you’ll start by squirting milk from each teat to flush it and make sure it’s flowing smoothly. Kids that are slow to stand/nurse should be given a half dropper full of cayenne tincture and a finger dab of honey on their tongue. In 99% of slow-to-stand cases, this should pep them up. After the kid nurses, you’ll need to trim the umbilical cord, then either swab it with an iodine swab or dip it into an iodine solution. I like to use the swabs and squeeze it so drops all over the exposed cord, then rub it in a bit.

Common Kid complications

• Weak kid – We use this term to describe any kid that seems unwell. When a kid is laying flat on its side or refusing to stand, you need to intervene immediately. It could be an airway problem (fluid in the lungs) or general weakness from a rough delivery or lack of oxygen. Try clearing out its airway with the bulb syringe, and then pick the baby up and try to get it to stand. 
• Cold kid – You may walk out to the barn and find a kid away from mama and laying on its side. Usually in these cases they are cold and need to be warmed up and fed like the instructions above. If the baby still isn’t standing after 2 hours, it’s time to make the decision to bring the baby into the house and commit to bottle feeding. You’ll bring mama on the stand, milk her out, and feed the baby from a bottle for the first day. When the kid can walk again, its mama *may* accept him again, but there are no guarantees and you may now have a bottle baby on your hands.
• Unstable on legs/Bent legs – Sometimes kids are born with energy to get up and nurse, but without the ability to do so because of a leg that doesn’t seem to work correctly. Usually this is due to a Selenium deficiency, and with treatment of 2ml of Selenium & Vitamin E gel for a few days, it should resolve itself. A kid that cannot stand will not be able to nurse, so if that’s the case it will need to be taken and bottlefed.
• Trouble nursing – If a kid has trouble latching or suckling, you can first try to put some honey on its tongue along with half a dropper full of cayenne tincture, which should help boost its energy. If that doesn’t work, you can extract the colostrum rich milk from mama and bottlefeed in the beginning. Some struggle so much they need to be syringe fed. Double check to make sure the airways are clear and the kid is warm and fully dry. Keep watch on it and in extreme cases you’ll need to bring it inside to bottlefeed full time. Remember that once you pull a kid away from its mama, it’s likely that she’ll try to harm it (reject it) when you bring it back, so be cautious when trying to bring it back.
• Umbilical infection – When the umbilical cord isn’t cleaned properly, or when the kid’s immune system is weak, the umbilical opening can become infected. Oftentimes the infection travels to the joint of a leg and will cause pain & swelling. To prevent this make sure to cut & clean the umbilical cord after birth with iodine swabs or an iodine dip, and watch for signs of infection (fever, lethargic, joint swelling)

The Days After Kidding

These are the days spent in snuggles & enjoying your new herd members, but it’s also important to start your kids off right by deciding which method of feeding to do. You’ll either dam raise, bottlefeed, or hybrid raise. We’ve done all three versions over the years and highly prefer our hybrid method. I cover how to do all three in my online goat course.

When To Milk Mama (or not)

If you plan on consuming the milk, you can do so starting around 2 weeks after kidding. By this time the colostrum should be cleared from her mammary system and the milk will taste much better. If you choose not to drink it, you can absolutely let mama feed her babies and let her wean them and dry up naturally. But just know that if you do want to start milking, it’s better to do it earlier rather than later as her milk will gradually go down as her kids start eating hay. 

The only way to get milk from your doe is if she is separated from her kids so her udder can fill up with milk. The best way to do this is separate at night, then milk mama in the morning before you let her back with her babies. Goats have an instinct to hold back milk for their kids so don’t worry about leaving much for them. Also, she’ll be producing milk throughout the day that they’ll have access to. Repeat this process every day by separating at night, milking in the morning, and putting mama & kids together. Of course this looks a bit different with my hybrid method or if you’re bottlefeeding.

When Can They Join the Herd?

This is one of the most common questions I get and the answer is once the babies hit 2 weeks old, which should make them hardy and old enough to run from another doe in the herd who wants to headbutt them. Expect a lot of fighting in the first day, but this can be eased with a freshly cut branch to share. 

If you have an especially mean doe or you feel like the fighting’s getting out of hand, you can grab a squirt bottle, take a seat, and spray the bully to get them to stop. 

Sometimes you really do have to let the mamas fight it out and work out their herd order. They should settle down after a couple hours.

My Kid Care Schedule from Birth to Weaning

The day my kids are born I make sure to fill my calendar out with all the care needed over the next few months. Here’s what I do:

• 1 week old – Disbud
• 3 weeks old – Coccidia prevention dose (Baycox)
• 5 weeks old – 1st CD&T
• 6 weeks old – Coccidia prevention dose (Baycox)
• 8 weeks old
  – 2nd CD&T
  – first hoof trimming
  – first Replamin gel dose (blueberry size dab on their tongue)
• 9 weeks old – Coccidia prevention dose (Baycox)
• 10 weeks old
  – Males going as wethers get castrated (we use the banding method)
  – Registered goats get their ear tattoos
• 12 weeks old – Coccidia prevention dose (Baycox)
  – 3rd CD&T (yes we give 3 doses of CD&T as per our vet)

You Can Do This!

Congratulations on your upcoming kids, I know you’ll do great! If you need anymore advice, be sure to check out my online course! You can see all the amazing content & advice that’s included in my online course here.