Kidding season is a very exciting time. It can be pretty stressful as well. Get ready to lose sleep. You might miss Mother’s Day church service if you have a doe go into labor that morning. Usually everything goes well, and mamas’ body sure knows what to do but sometimes things can go wrong. It is wise to prepare for the worst. The does well being is your top priority. Do not interfere unless you have to. When doe does give birth she won’t mind you being close to her even if she is skittish. One of our does that would not let us touch her became extremely sweet after she gave birth because we were there. She followed us around like a puppy.
Nigerian Dwarf Goats are pregnant for 145 days to 147 days. You will know that your doe is soon to deliver when she bags up, her ligaments loosen, you’ll see discharge, the doe will become restless, she might start crying, and looks for solitude.
This year we had 26 kids born. Our 17 year old daughter Esther helped deliver the babies. My husband and I were out of state visiting family the week all our does decided to give birth. Last year a different doe gave birth the following week. It was so much easier. We will never have all of the does put in with our bucks at the same time. We have 6 separate stalls, and we like to put babies and mamas in them after they give birth, so they have more time to bond and so we can make sure everyone is nursing well.
What you will need to have on hand:
- gloves
- paper towels
- old but clean towels
- iodine to dip umbilical cord
- dental floss to tie off umbilical cord
- scissors to trim umbilical cord
- bulb syringe to clean out nose or/and mouth
- bottle
- goat formula
- molasses to give mama with warm water after she gives birth
- lubricant if you need to check inside to see how baby is positioned
- have a printout of different positions and what to do like the one below
- have your vets number on hand just in case something goes wrong
Sometimes you’ll wake up and find healthy dry baby nursing mama in the morning because while you slept mama gave birth. In those cases, I give mama molasses with warm water to drink and dip babies umbilical cord into iodine and that’s it. The first few days of the baby’s life I check on mama and baby often.
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