Raising Goats Naturally

Sometimes raising livestock means you dive in headfirst and encounter a steep learning curve. Lots of mistakes usually occur as well, unfortunately. But it seems that is just a fact of life. There are some pursuits that are more likely to have well-researched information and those that don't,  so it's nice to see someone publish a resource on raising goats that is based on natural practices and direct experience. Raising Goats Naturally, the Complete Guide to Milk, Meat, and More by Deborah Niemann seems to fit the bill and would be an ideal book for someone just getting started with goat ownership. I have to totally support her statement, "Even if we owned goats for a hundred years, we would still be learning."  So true but so hard to grasp when you just want to know how to do something right! Even when we help out with other farm's barn chores from the same 4H club, there are so many different ways to achieve the same outcomes depending on your space, available feed, and mix of animals in your herd. Regardless, Deborah's chapter "Day-to-Day Life With Goats" would be an awesome read for anyone wondering if new goat ownership is right for them. For myself, I particularly enjoyed her chapter on feeding. She made several points that I plan on considering with our own herd, namely feeding alfalfa pellets for more economical usage of alfalfa...our girls waste so much of their alfalfa...and sourcing a concentrate with higher amounts of copper. Good food for thought for sure. Since the majority of our goat herd has Nigerian Dwarf influence, I also enjoy her anecdotal stories from her own Nigerian Dwarf herd as many resources do not take this breed into account. Overall, I would definitely consider this book as a permanent part of our household library. Read and enjoy!

Spring Kidding Season

When the first week of April rolls around, we will officially begin our 2014 kidding season. We have seven bred does this year, ranging from our foundation miniature Toggenburg doe, Kari, down to our newest Nigerian doe acquisition, Sweetie. The whirlwind should be over by the end of April, and we will be bursting at the seams with plenty of goat kids to fit a multitude of purposes...from city goat to homesteader and everywhere in between. Stay tuned...

Two More Miniature Dairy Goat Kids Born Today

Today we were surprised by the kidding of a first-timer out in the main goat yard with no advance notice. While going out to check the kids born yesterday, we heard a kid scream but it wasn't coming from the house where yesterday's kids were. It seemed to be from the goat shed. Looking out towards that way, I was sure I saw something little and white. We don't have any goats that color. I quickly shut the door to the goat house and slugged through the mud - in the wrong shoes I might add - to find Maddie furiously cleaning a newborn kid. What caught my eye though was another kid face down in the mucky hay on the outskirts of the shed, bottom stuck up in the air, and not moving. I grabbed it quickly and found it alive and breathing. Calling for reinforcements quickly, I stuffed it in my coat to try and warm it immediately. It had not been cleaned off at all.

We moved the momma doe and the two kids down to the barn out of the wind and rain to see what we had. The littlest one was a doe and the kid up and moving around was a buck. We brought down towels, heating pad, and portable heater along with supplies to tube feed the littlest if needed. When presenting Maddie with the kid she had originally ignored, she took no interest in licking it off at all, so we stepped in and got her cleaned off as well as some good rubbing to get her circulation moving. By placing her on a towel over the heating pad, it did a good job of warming up her extremeties which were very cold to the touch while we briskly rubbed her body and head to warm/dry her off. As she perked up, we moved her closer to Maddie who suddenly took interest in the kid. We think she was a little overwhelmed as a first-time mother and didn't know how to address the fact that she had two kids to deal with. Now that Maddie was open to accepting the kid, we felt that a major hurdle had been crossed.

With the doeling too weak to appear interested in nursing as her robust brother had been for the past hour, we went ahead and milked out some colostrum and tube fed her. The first kid we ever tube fed was Maddie which seemed coincidental of sorts. Sure enough after some warm milk in the tummy, the little one tried standing and shuffling along. She was pretty pathetic to watch but very determined. Once on her feet, Maddie stepped in and gave her a thorough going over.

Goat Princess stayed all afternoon to watch Maddie and her kids to be sure everyone stayed warm. After checking in on them just before dinner, Goat Princess reported that the little doe had been nursing on her own and walking pretty good. Excellent sign.

Tonight we moved the little family in with the other two does and their five kids who have been in the warmer goat house. Only concern of mine was that Maddie would get overwhelmed with the other does and kids, but after spending some time observing, everything looked great.

Tomorrow will be exciting to see how much more active these two kids will be and the fun they will have interacting with each other. Seven little kids together should be a riot!

Five Kids Born Today

Today was a busy day here.

Kari started off April Fool's Day by delivering a doe kid quite suddenly. Her due date was yesterday, but her udder was not filled to over-capacity as we usually use as a sign as to when kidding will begin. Within a short while, she delivered two buck kids right after another...all alive and healthy...a good thing around here. We were surprised that only one of the kids took on the gypsy markings of their tri-color Nigerian sire.



Within a few hours it was obvious that Wroxy was going to deliver. We had suspected her from the night before even though her official due date wasn't until tomorrow. Wroxy delivered her kids easily as well with both being doelings. Once again, we were surprised by the lack of color but they are beautiful just as they are.



We are anxious for the five little kids to get strong on their feet so they can be introduced to Corona, Vega's doe kid, who has been anxiously awaiting a 'playmate' for some time now.

Check the sidebar post to the right for a slideshow of the kids and their moms.

Goat Kids Due This Week

This should prove to be an exciting week around Abernethy Creek Farm. We have a total of three does due to kid this week. There are two miniature dairy does - 50/50 full sized dairy with Nigerian - that are due. Kari freshened last year with quads and Wroxy with triplets. We also have another first freshener miniature dairy doe - 25/75 full sized dairy with Nigerian - who is smaller than the 1st generation miniature does. We are anxious to see the size of her kids. We're anticipating that they will resemble good-sized, full term Nigerian dairy goat kids. Pictures will be up as soon as we can get them once those kids are here.

HPF Rose - Story of our unsuccessful Boer goat kidding

Now that it has been a week since our Boer doe HPF Rose unexpectedly kidded, and she's now on top of the game, I'm able to post about it. A little background is in order.

Rose's first freshening two years ago brought about a stillborn runt buckling, a live buckling, and yet another stillborn buckling. The first kid was presented butt first but delivered in that position with just a tiny bit of assistance. He was only about two pounds but fully developed. It was my first kidding by myself without CamoQueen to assist. GoatPrincess was there but we were flying blind. I blamed myself for the two stillborn kids as these were the prize kids that were to be delivered by CamoQueen's two-time county fair champion Boer doe. It just wasn't right. Long story short, the buckling was sold and kept as a buck and has thrown some great kids.

The following year we bred Rose to the same buck and brought about another pregnancy. She was as big as a house again this second year and all appeared normal. Normal that is until she got close to her delivery date and did not develop an udder. Strange we thought. During a cold spell near her due date she developed what we thought was ketosis, standing in the blowing snow - not coming in to eat - rather dazed in appearance. We noticed her backside was completely wet and thought that odd. We treated her for ketosis and watched her. No udder. No labor. It was then we realized that she had lost her baby belly and was back to normal size. What had happened? A little research brought us to realize that perhaps she had experienced a false pregnancy. One of those oddities of nature where their uterus will fill with fluid, they will not come back into heat, and take on all aspects of being pregnant only to deliver a burst of fluid. Very strange.

This last year we bred Rose to another buck fearing that the last two breedings were not bringing about compatable pregnancies. This time she came back into heat after the first breeding so we took her back for another weekend with the buck. We changed her due date and were hopeful. Last week, one day after her original kidding date, we heard her out in the goat yard. She was down in the shed pushing. All panic broke out and we decended with towels. The kid was delivered just fine but stillborn. We were devastated. Not being sure if there was a kid number two, we took her into the kidding stall to observe. During a quick trip back up to the house, she did deliver kid number two - stillborn as well. She had cleaned it off and was lying next to it but it gave no appearnce of having been born live. We were absolutely crushed. But our next concern was Rose herself. She did deliver her placenta but refused to eat or drink and continued to grind her teeth. No temperature. No ketosis (used test). Just looked poorly.

It was then that we made the connection between the way she was acting now to that of last year...same depression, lethargy, lack of interest in anything. Remembering that lavendar oil last year seemed to lift her mood, we placed a few drops on her forehead and left her in the kidding stall with our latest doe to kid along with her kid. We drenched her with a goat Power Punch and hoped for the best. It took nearly four days for Rose to finally perk up and seem interested in life again. Is there a medical term for this? Perhaps a bad case of baby blues and depression? Perhaps we will never know. And the question still remains, why did she come back into heat a second time and permit herself to be bred but yet delivered full-term kids from the first breeding?

Today Rose is backing to eating with the herd again. It is so good to see her standing there, finally contentedly chewing her cud...my indicator for a happy goat. I think I felt as poorly as her lamenting for her lost kids. There's no doubt in my mind that the maternal instinct in some animals is very high and they do mourn. I'd like to research this topic a little more and hear from other animal owners of their experiences in dealing with this.

Preggo or Not?

Time is ticking away, and I'm beginning to think that our black and white Boer doe is not really pregnant. Her and our last doe to kid were with the Boer buck for four plus weeks, and we had reason to believe she was bred fairly close to the same time as Vega. So far, no udder on Tori. The buck didn't go home until the first of October, so there is possibly still time for Tori to kid. Personally, I'm just not sure that she will due to the lack of any udder development so far and no baby belly. A surprise would be nice though. We'll keep you posted.

First Kid of the Season

This was no ordinary kidding to kick off the kidding season this year. Our third-year freshener, Vega, was looking as if it was time to kid late afternoon on Thursday as her udder was filling and she had distanced herself from the rest of the herd. We hooked up the baby monitor, kept her in the little goat house with a friend overnight, and kept checking. By 12:30 a.m. Friday, it looked as if we might as well get some sleep, so off to bed we went with the monitor running.

About 5:00 a.m. there came the sound of Vega's bleating. I woke up CamoQueen and GoatPrincess, and we headed out in the chilly 27 degree night air to see what was up. Yes, Vega was streaming goo and looking uncomfortable, so we settled in on the straw to wait. Within 45 minutes or so she started serious contractions and getting down to push. But unfortunately, things did not proceed as quickly as we would have expected. After waiting a while longer, CamoQueen lubed up and decided to see if the kids were presented right. Yes, there was a front leg, another one, and the head. All should be fine. Six-thirty came and went we decided it was time to call in some help. As our dear friend was on her way, CamoQueen tried pulling the kid somewhat but there was too much resistance. Tammy arrived and confirmed that everything was lined up right and began to think that perhaps the head was too big to pass through the pelvis as it was just too tight in there. A few more phone calls and it was decided at 8:00 a.m. that since Vega had pretty much given up pushing and was totally exhausted that it was time for some intervention-perhaps even a C-section.

The back of the Suburban was loaded with straw and Vega went for a ride to our closest goat vet about 40 minutes away. Once there, she was given a once over by the vet, and he decided to try to pull the kid. Rather than go into the graphics here, we'll just say that after some tranquilizer to calm her down and a lot of bracing, he was able to extract the kid - not a whopper like we had perhaps thought, but just an average kid...a little doe looking just like her full sister from last year. The vet couldn't come up with any specific reason for her needing assistance other than her pelvic area did seem a little tight. Probably won't be breeding her to the same buck next year.

Our little girl has not been named yet although the Spanish word for crown, Corona, was suggested. She belongs to CamoQueen so the decision will be hers. All in all, she's a pretty cute little girl. She was up on her feet on the way home and had no trouble find mom to nurse once they got settled into the house. More updates will show up as those pictures keep pouring in.

No Babies Yet...

We're waiting, but no goat kids yet. Those expectant mothers never keep to anyone's schedules. We were all impressed yesterday though by one of the kids' head firmly protruding from mama's belly. We're taking bets on at least two kids. Stay tuned.

Baby Watch

Well, the baby watch is on. Two does due this week. Rather than obsessing over them this year, we are watching for udders to fill and will then decide if they need stalled at night with the baby monitor. We did not get much sleep last year by stalling them early and "listening in" all night - cud chewing and ears flapping about do tend to keep you up all night!

Kidding Kits

One of the smartest things we've ever done was to put together a Rubbermaid tote box full of the things that one might need to help assist with a goat kidding. It all started as a presentation for one daughter's 4H club, and it has become a part of our spring kidding routine ever since. So on that note, I will need to be placing an order with Hoegger's Goat Supply to restock a few items, including Selenium E gel which we give to the does a week or so before their due date and also to the newborn kids right away. Seems to do wonders for those kids who might be a little weak in the legs after birth. Off to order online ...

One Step Closer to Kids

Well we started the process of getting our two does that are due to kid in mid-February a little closer. Each of them received their 2cc of CDT vaccine to boost their protection in order to pass on the benefits to those little kids waiting to be born.

The Ober doe who was bred to a Boer buck is looking plenty big. We dried her up in December, but her udder has never really shrunk down. She seems to still be carrying milk around. Hopefully she's allowing her udder to take a break before she needs to kick in full gear again.

Our first timer black and white Boer doe who was bred to the same Boer buck as the Ober doe really doesn't look preggo at all. Sure hope we don't have a false pregnancy like we experienced with a Boer doe last year. If she would just start to develop a bit of an udder bump, things would look more positive.

Kidding Time Again

I've decided to make a commitment to maintain our blogger accounts ... again ... but I don't feel quite so intimidated this time around.

Kidding is just around the corner with two of our does having been bred to the Boer buck which my daughter bred herself. One doe is an Oberhasli who last year with her second freshening threw a great single doeling with a definite market build who is turning into a great percentage breeding doe for market auction prospects. The other doe is a black and white Boer that struggled to thrive as a youngster, having been a bit of an accident and arrived suddenly during Veterans day. She was given to our family to hand raise and actually spent the entire Christmas holiday in the house until the weather moderated a bit in order to go live outside. Needless to say, we're anxious to see what the Ober will throw and how the Boer will do with her first pregnancy.

Mini Nubians have arrived!

Yes, our newest Doe, Wroxy, a mini Nubian finally got down to business after 11:30 p.m last night and delivered triplets ... one buck before midnight, a doe right after midnight, and a stillborn buck a while later. I would have guessed two kids or the possibility of one larger one but never three! She carried them down low and not too wide apparently so it was harder to tell.

She seemed a little distracted Sunday a.m. but we left her out anyway while we were gone in the morning. Early afternoon, however, we decided it was time to convert one of the horse stalls into a kidding stall. She roomed there all evening with a dry yearling to keep her company, but we could tell she would kid that night ... arching her back and stretching ... milk bag filling very full ... calling more than normal.

Just after getting a heat light set up along with a cot for Megan to spend the night and the rest of us getting ready for bed, Wroxy decided she would have her kids that night. After several serious pushes, it became evident that there was a lot of pressure going on. While inspecting her, the bag broke and relieved that pressure. It was then apparent that the kid wasn’t lined up right. But before we could think about it, she pushed out that kid butt first! A little buck, probably no bigger than three pounds. She didn’t take to licking him right away … a new mom thing … but finally got the hang of it. Pretty soon another round of pushes brought a little larger doe presented the correct way, thankfully. While concentrating on getting these two dry in the freezing temperatures, we realized that she wasn’t getting up to let them nurse. I began to think that there just might be a third. She did finally begin another series of pushes and delivered a stillborn buckling even larger than the doeling. Looking back, we probably should have gotten her up and “bounced” her to see if there was another kid and assisted in getting it out sooner as she didn’t deliver it right away. But, as with everything, you are always learning.

First Kids of the Year are Here!

Well, Kari our mini-Toggenburg just delivered four kids this morning right on her due date. There are two bucklings and two doelings weighing around 4 lbs. each. Kidding went easy for the doe and quick being her second freshening. So far everyone looks healthy and strong. Our oldest daughter was at an early a.m. FFA meeting so Megan was the midwife this time around and did a great job.

Cut and paste link below to view video of the birth:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-31489220763991882&hl=en

Cut and past link below to access photos on Shutterfly:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0BZtG7lw0bMWEr&notag=1