I came home last evening after a 3 day trip to find that one of my goats had given birth to a little darling, I had no idea she was pregnant! I only HAVE female goats and she has always been a chubby girl. I have a darn good idea of where the daddy came from, but that's another story. Anyway, I have raised baby goats before without the mother, this time I HAVE the mother.... yet, I just think I should be doing something! I have no idea if she was 1 day old,2 days old or just born, when I found them. She was standing up next to her mommy and felt just a little wet. I could find no afterbirth at all. This morning they are outside just hanging around and I have not seen her nursing. How often should she be nursing? Any advice for me would be appreciated. Does mom need some extra feed? Vitamins? Ointment ?
This message was edited Apr 20, 2009 10:21 AM
A surprise birth over the weekend, and I Do mean SURPRISE!
I know nothing about goats but Congrats!! and best wishes. Hay
Well, if she was a little wet, probably born in the 4 to 6 hours before that. Mom may have eaten the afterbirth - that's a natural thing for them to do because in the wild, it prevents predators from smelling/finding the location of the birth, and as a result finding the baby. Kind of an icky thing for us to think about, but it does happen.
Our mom goat got a bucket of warm water mixed with about half a cup of Karo syrup right after the birth, to give her some fast energy. You probably don't need to do that any more. We also feed specific goat chow to the mom for the first couple of weeks afterwards, besides the regular hay/alfalfa rations, just because she is making milk and all that jazz, so I figure she needs a little extra nutrition. I would give mom's udder a squeeze and see if she's producing milk - just ensure that both teats are flowing so that baby can nurse when she wants.
If she has been nursing regularly, she probably is just full. I would say ours nursed at least once every hour though, so keep an eye out. If she is warm and has a full-feeling belly, she's probably nursing fine. If she starts to get cold or lethargic or anything, I'd milk mom and bottle feed.
What kind of goat is she? I can't wait to hear the story on where the dad came from!
Claire
Molasses is preferable I b'lieve...though thanks to Claire! --I wasn't coming up with anything!!
Oh yes, molasses is also very good for the warm water mix-in, instead of Karo. I haven't heard about one over the other, but either one would give a good sugar dose, and I've also read that either can be used on goat kids who need energy.
I get a lot of good information from this site: http://fiascofarm.com/goats/
They have a ton of information organized into topics - just scroll down on the main page to the listings of information by topic - there really is a tremendous amount on there.
I think the difference is in the iron content (think blood fortifying) and the processing.
Ah! I can imagine that would make sense....
CONGRATS!!! I know nothing about goats. Just a nosey busy body who loves to see baby pictures. hint hint. :D
Jeanmarie
Congratulations Bluebunn! Do tell the story of the dad.. can't just leave us wondering! LOL A two for the price of one deal huh?
My very first horse was secretly pregnant when we bought her. She blessed us with a beautiful paint filly several months later. Never knew the dad.
I haven't been able to watch them constantly today, but They are out in the meadow. The baby is leaping and runnning around. I still haven't seen her nurse, but I've seen her pee at least 3 times. Mom does have milk, I checked her teats.I gave her extra goodies, fruit and vegetables, a bit of extra grain. I will definitely post some pics later.... the baby is just beautiful! Thanks so much for the info!
P.S. If she's urinating, she must be drinking, right?
COOL! Info about Dad? Passing through the night, maybe?
Congrats on your new addition! What a fabulous surprise. :-)
Since she's peeing and full of energy, I'd have to say she's drinking from mom. I can't wait for pics.
Papa was a rollin stone..Actually he was an amorous buck up on the hill, otherwise known as..... "The Kissing Bandit". I don't know exactly how many innocent young doe's he led astray, but I know there are a lot of little kids around the "neighborhood" here, who have "Kissing Bandit" written all over them! He was a devious master at opening up his pen and flying over the fence. He broke through my goat fence a few months back and I thought we caught him before he "violated" my girls, but alas, it seems we did not. Who knows, we may have more little ones on the way! It seems his owner was tired of all the frantic phone calls and having to chase him down all over tarnation,, and, finally gave him away to someone with more patience and a taller fence.
But, in retrospect, look at this little darling we have to show for it, isn't she just the sweetest thing? Meet Cecily Rose, two days old!
More Cecily Rose
She meets her Aunties..... but they are more interested in the corn I threw down.
Maude the Sheep's wooly back looks like a nice place to play. Maude isn't too concerned, the chickens cozy down on her backside all the time.
This message was edited Apr 21, 2009 10:17 PM
Sweet Dreams little Rose!
Oh my word, she is a picture of cuteness and adorableness all rolled into one!
Which is her mommy, the one in the picture with the sheep's back? So cute...
The story of the roving buck made me laugh. What a rascal he was! But what a sweet baby. Was he a Nubian buck?
I love your sheep too - when do you shear? What do you do with your fleece?
Mama is the red boar goat, and I don't know what the "Bandit" was.... he was verrrry handsome, though.
My husband will shear in May, he got lassooed into the job when the 4-H kid went on to Vet.School. I have tons of wool when we are finished and I just give it away to spinning pals and those who do felting. Although I have 4 spinning wheels and a loom, I have never gotten past the lumpy yarn stage. One of these days, when I am not doing EVERYTHING else, I will practice more!
That is one darling lil baby!!! She looks totally at home and so content.. just a lil cutie.. Congratulations!
Oooo, I see a little bit of mischief already! lol! She is a cutie! Thanks for the pics. :-)
Blue, she's beautiful! Enjoyed the story.
She is adorable and looks fine. Here in Oregon we have a selinium deficiency so all newborns get a Bo-Se shot. Might want to check on your area.
Ginger
oh my how cute. Billy came to have lunch with me today and I showed him the pictures... Now he wants one....
Thanks for sharing.
Never get one....... always get two or you'll spend all your time getting the lonley one out of trouble.
Ginger
Hey MissJestr - good to see you here! Can you respond to the folks in the Lingernot thread who are wondering what has happened to him...I'm sure you can put their minds at rest!
Ginger, excellant point! The first was terribly bored and into everything, and we could not keep her in the pasture even with an electric fence. The one thing I would add to that, get the first two at the same time and the same age. We bought the first one when she was 4 months. When she was 7 months, we brought home another one, which was 3 months. The older one terrorized the little one non-stop for a good two weeks, before letting up on her. The little one learned how to get through the electric fence to lay just outside, so the big one would leave her alone. Other than that, they were excellant animals and so much fun to watch!
Then of course if you live where there are maurading dogs you will need a donkey or a llama to protect them....
and that's how 4 years later my friend has 20 goats, 3 donkeys and a newly acquired baby yak.
Ginger
Well, one of these day....
We're trying to get DH retired from construction, but he still has a few years before he can draw SS. The next best thing is trying to find work within a few hours of home, so I can stay there full time and he come on weekends. When we think we can pull it off and be able to stay home for several months, we buy a few chickens, rabbits and last summer we bought the goats. But we had to go out on the road again last fall. We made a deal with a young man to take the 2 Boars and breed them and when we returned take 3 babies in exchange. He had bought a few goats from several people and one bunch had a disease that wiped out the whole small herd. We sold the chickens (and rabbits) for much less than they were worth, but there were 8 roosters and one hen. Yes, I got took by the guy I bought them off of as chicks...he swore there was at least 6 hens.
When he does retire, we'll get into bigger flocks and herds. Yes, a couple of donkeys are at the top of the list with the goats.
BABY YAK?!?!
OMG, I must find one.....
Alpacas are really cute, too! I saw a little 7 year old girl walking one about 4 months old on a leash at a rest area after her and Mom had just bought a bunch of animals at an auction. They are super soft and I hear the wool fetches a good price.
Here she is.. Yasmin the Yak.
It is possible the picture will open huge.
Ginger
It did open bigger. I guess I've never seen a picture of a Yak before. What is the purpose of having a Yak...besides being so darned cute?
Oh she is soooo adorable!! Yasmin, what a perfect name.
MsRobin - their fleece is wonderful for spinning! The undercoat is very soft.
and Melody (said yak owner) is really into milking.. She has a lot of goats she milks so I suspect that Yasmin will eventually provide.
Ginger
ught oh! A Yak? Will that complete you Claire? hehehe
That is so cute!
I don't think Claire will feel completed until she can weave penguin feathers, lol, giraffe down, ummm..........
Sewincircle, the following are still on the "someday" list:
Yak
alpaca
emu or rhea
various breeds of sheep that I don't currently have
vicuņa
miniature llama
maybe a Jersey cow
turkeys
(the penguin is very tempting, Grownut!)
I saw Alpacas on Craigslist and they are very pricy! I was shocked.. Like $2700. to $3500. each! DANG!