OK, but her situation is only temporary, so her figure is volatile...
New Goat Owner 101 Questions
That photo was taken four days ago; she's bigger, if that's even possible.
and WHEN is the full moon?
I think the moon is full now...what does that have to do with it?
Here's both of the goats. Those are dog houses they are standing on.
frans530 you need to confine a doe about one week before she is due (or your best estimate).
jasmerr go to this site http://fiascofarm.com/goats/how_to_deliver_a_kid.html read these pages. Also they've got a video of a doe kidding. It's fascinating!
Those pages will answer all your questions but right up front I can tell you that you need to let the kids nurse from her at least the first day so they can get colustrum. That is stuff she produces before she makes regular milk. It's full of the antibodies that give the kids their first protection against disease. Without it most kids will die.
The references to the full moon are because a person who was here and hasn't posted in a while kept telling everyone that goats kid when there is a full moon which is just plain bunk!
MollyD
When I had my goats, you can well be sure they had their babies around a moon change, every time.
Nutri drench for the baby and the moms. The babies need to nurse off the mom at least the 1st few times to get that C, stuff. you know the good milk for them babies. Iodine for the cord, towels in case you need to help or help clean off the babies. When my big boar mom had trips we helped her clean off her 3rds one, boy was she tired, but she took great care of them.
"When I had my goats, you can well be sure they had their babies around a moon change, every time."
Sorry but that is just plain old wives tale. Given the way you raised your goats you wouldn't know when they got pregnant so you had no idea when they were due at all. The moon might have been full but it was pure coincidence. Typical goat gestation period is from 145 days to 155 days. The average is 150 days. The moon doesn't come into it at all.
jasmerr signs that your does are about to kid include bagging up (udders filling with milk), a change in how the tail bone meets her body. This page http://fiascofarm.com/goats/prenatalcare.html#labor gives you all the labor signs but they do not include how full the moon is!
MollyD
And now into hairy territory..
I honestly don't know, but if this is volitol.. please feel free to stop me...
Opinions and whys of removing kids immediatly after birth.. And I think I may have made an error when I said opinions.. I am not looking for a sweet "cuz I want them to be a mamma".. I really want to know the real answer.
Thanks, everyone. It's really helpful to have personal experience advice in addition to what I have read.
Thanks for the link, Molly. That page is extremely helpful. I had already read Fias Co Farms goat pages, but somehow missed this one. It is certainly the most helpful.
Let us know please when you have them, well when she has them lol. And we love pictures of them cuties.
I surely will let you know.
frans530 some people leave the afterbirth for the mama to eat and the belief is that it gives her extra nutrition for making milk. In the wild she would have been weakened by kidding and need food real fast in order to get up and move her kid from where it was born so predators couldn't smell the blood and find them. Removing the blood is another reason they ate the after birth in the wild.
Some won't let her eat it because they don't feel it's necessary. I think they're grossed out by it. It won't hurt her if she does eat it and it won't hurt her not to eat it. Mostly a matter of personal choice here.
jasmerr you're welcome. Did you see the birth video? It's on http://fiascofarm.com/goats/goat_videos.htm if you missed it!
MollyD
lol
Molly I meant leaving for the first 48 hours, then removing perminitly and bottle feeding, so as not to less-en your milk income.. and I am assuming there must be other reasons.. sanitary??
Fran, this is often done with cows, both to keep them producing well and regularly and to make the young ones attach to you instead of the mother for ease in handling. I know those who do it on small farms will bottle feed mother's milk anyway for at least a month, morning and evening.
Sorry frans530 I was reading real fast cause I was going out to handle something and saw the words afterbirth and ran them together in my mind.
Dairy goat people remove them within a day or so for the same reasons that grownut says cow people do it. Meat goat people do not remove them and prefer to let the doe feed them since it's less of a problem. Feeding them with a bottle is time consuming and very difficult to do if you hold down an outside job. I know a gal who works and occasionally has rejected kids that need bottle feeding. They often die on her cause her grandfather doesn't feed them on time or as often as they need. My kids are doe fed but they got really attached to me anyway so that's not a real factor in a small herd. It might be in a large one but then would you have the time to hand feed so many kids with a large herd? Bottle fed kids also tend to be a bit smaller than doe fed kids. If you don't need the milk let them nurse, if you want it then be prepared for the work (very intensive the first few weeks). Those are the pros and cons as I know them.
MollyD
i was told by some dairy goat people that they bottle feed the babies because nursing makes the teats incompatible for milking machines...
Really! That's very interesting tf. I can see the possibility since I have read that kids can make the teats longer or lop sides. Still wouldn't they do it anyway since what the kid eats is that much less that gets to market?
MollyD
well, youa are talking meat goats and i am talking dairy... those kids don't go to market, they go into produciton!
i even know some that keep cows, just to have enough milk fo rall the kids. cause they want their goats back into production. and some do cow replacement powder...
LOL I didn't write clearly. I meant that if the kids were getting any goat milk instead of the bottle wouldn't it mean that much less goat milk going to market? That's why I figure they would bottle feed them anyway no matter what .
Yeah some people give the kids cow milk if they can't get goat. Also there are some replacement formulas on the market too.
MollyD
oh, i re-read and get it now... yes i think that is one of the reasons for cow milk preference... doesn't make it right in my opnion. but my girls grew up fine on it from the store. last summer [2007] it was only 3 bucks a gallon!
time to get a cow!!
yep it si four bucks now. goats milk at the store is 4 something per quart, from goat people 4 bucks a half gallon. so you can see the economic sense of giving hte kids the cows milk and selling the goats milk...
i do NOT want a cow. well actaully, there are a few i woudln't mind having... NO. NO COW... maybe a miniature one NONONO
I plan to get one in the spring. Raise it up on the land then fall pen his rear up and have him for dinner.
well, that sounds uyummy! i was referring to milk cows... but fresh grass fed beef is a healthy treat!
Oh yes for sure, I aint milking nothing.
those mini cows aren't all that much smaller than regular cows!
OK, then, it is settled NO COWS! just goats ;-)
lol. no milking cows, but I will have a meat cow and maybe a few meat goats, my butcher will process them for 35 bucks a piece, that is the goats that is.
TF, how could resist this face?!
As much fun as cows can be, I am truly a goat person!! I'll take their silly antics any day of the week!
I have a friend who raises champion Saanans. She takes in day-old calves for people and bottle feeds them the goats milk. She gets paid quite well. She's never had a problem w/ scours raising them on the goats milk and they grow like weeds!
YES, i heard that too, raising calves on goats milk....
what a doll!
TF -cows have a lot of personaaaliteeeeey. Ours likes to come visiting. Parentals finished a house uphill from us and have not fenced it off from the pasture. The cow comes round and peeks in aaall the windows to determine where the action is, mmooos, then settles wherever she sees the people are. Dad almost lost it when he looked up from painting a casement window in the basement and Moothilda had her head in looking at him. A nice little cuddley Jersey...
I thought some of you might enjoy knowing that, yes Goat Science is taught in some high schools.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1098/is_n1-2_v22/ai_13478807
Photo is some of the student that built the barn and pens the goats lived in right behind the school high school-- the La Mancha was State Fair Champion Doe. The Nubian had a doe kid that literally had the run of the whole school. The students toilet trained her-- she would beg to go out by pawing at what ever classroom she was currently visitng when she had to go. Every night and week ends students took her home with them. She was a bottle baby as her mom had tested positive for CAE, http://www.goatworld.com/articles/cae/cae.shtml and we didn't want her getting it from the milk. The other does were clear and the the nubian seperated from the other 'girls' and her doe kid "Georgia" replaced her mom in the herd. The herd became CAE free, and the kids loved that goat! All were register. Those animals were pet therapy to a lot of 'at risk' students. It really does work.
Lynn
Great story, Lynn. Kids (human) always learn more hands-on.
Just_racey is that pic in georgia. The reason is the snow it rarely snows in ga.and i was wondering if that was the case a rare snow. At my sons high school they offer Agriculture on several forums plants,animals,and machanics my son is working in the green house they have been raiseing poinsetias for christmas fund raiseing. He's learning to drive farm eqiuipment and building things some of his friends are studying to be vets.
The article link she posted seems to suggest it was in Michigan...
"Duh" sorry missed the link thanks claire I'll be sitting here shaking my head. Sorry Racey
Yes, It is in Olivet, Michigan- about 45 Min S of Lansing. The program was judged best in the state then picked by the USDA as best in the nation. We were able to induce labor on 2 does so the student could see the kids being born right during the school day. First time I ever saw 150 students voluntarily be SILENT for an extended period of time-- no one had to say a thing to them! really kewl, the la mancha had 5 kids. Had to repel and straighten the first one, the rest popped right out.
Boyoboy. Thank you SantyClaus, um Racey for a wonderful story!!