Urgent! ND doe in labor too early?!?

[Donna R. Raybon]

Clipping long hair on and around tail helps cut down on accumulation of trash. A bit of Vaseline applied in right place also helps. And, as you found out a wash cloth, soap, hot water gets job done.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

You’ll find that shaving them up a little beforehand will help keep them cleaner. There’s examples of what I did on my kidding thread from earlier this year.

 

[lomine]

Thanks for the tips. Right now it’s just her tail that’s kind of bad though it’s not too terrible. I’ll see if she lets me wrap a wet cloth around it for a few seconds to see if I can loosen it.

When do you all let mom and baby back with the herd unsupervised? So far we’ve done a few meet and greets; first through some fencing and then while I held the kid. I’m most worried about the herd queen. She can sometimes be very pushy but she also seems more interested in getting into and exploring the stall rather than checking out the kid.

 

[Latestarter]

My kids were all born in the pen/shelter with all the other goats, including the buck. Had no issues or injuries. A bit of confusion amongst the does as to whose kid(s) were whose... Since Bang and Dot each delivered their first at the same time, on top of each other, and Bang is the queen, even after they each had their second kid (4 feet apart and I assisted with Dot's), Bang kinda "stole" one of Dot's and raised it as her own. Dot sometimes nursed one of Bangs kids but mostly just stuck with the one Bang left her. Once the kid is up and mobile, it generally can stay out of the way of any adult that doesn't want to be bothered. So, after 3-4 days, it should be fine.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

So...I’m a bit of a control freak . Lol.

Fact: by 3-4 days, the kids move well enough to stay out of the way, as long as the space they are in isn’t too small. Some also let the doe mingle with her herd mates for about 15 minutes each day to ease her transition back into the herd.

My method: pull doe when she gets close (like within a week/depending on signs) and then I keep her and the kids separate for two weeks. We also offer an area that only the kids can get into so that they can hide from a meaner doe if need be. (Think like a creep feed gate-but we don’t creep our Nigerians.) They learn fast to stay out of the mean queen’s way.

Edited to add: I like to add them back to the herd of an evening so that everyone is about ready to bed down and that doesn’t give them the whole day to get pushed around.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Kids are more like deer fawns in that they hide out the first couple weeks. This works well if you provide kids a place to hide. Tractor tire with drainage holes so it will not hold water works well. So do the dogloo dog house. You just want to ensure bigger kids do not pile up on smaller if it gets cold.

I pen my kids with mom for at least 2 or 3 days. If all is well then they go out into the 1/3 acre lot with rest of herd. But, when rest of herd goes out to free range I hold kids younger than two weeks old back. Almost always a momma volunteers to stay back and babysit. These youngsters are bad to tire, lay down, go to sleep, and herd moves off. Then I have a clueless momma screaming for her lost kids when they come back in...and I spend an hour hunting kids. By the time kids are 2 weeks old they keep up with momma.

Mine are standard size Nubians. With the mini I would be concerned hawk, eagle, coyote, or even a fox would take one if out on free range.

 

[lomine]

Seems everyone has a different way of doing things, makes sense.

I guess with this little one I’m being extremely cautious, considering she’s my first newborn and her rough start in life. I’m not comfortable letting her out in the corral unsupervised yet. I think I’ll stick with short herd visits until I feel she can make her way around easily.

My other FF should be due to kid at the end of the week. I think I’ll put both moms together in the stall. It’s 12x12 so plenty of room. That leaves the herd queen out on her own but I think she’ll be okay for a few days.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Be careful of water buckets as kids can jump in and drown.... Had it happen to my first kids, but she got out ok. I do not have water bucket in kidding pen. I offer water twice a day and remove bucket if I am not there.

 

[lomine]

Thanks for the tip. Most of my buckets are hanging off the ground but I do have a couple sitting on the ground.

Kid and mom were out with the others today. I witnessed the kid get off and on the wood ‘deck’ so I felt she would be okay outside. Mom is very attentive and the other two does have shown no signs of agresstion toward her. Kid got to meet dad through the fence too. He blubbered at her.

 

[Spokeless Wheel]

What happened ? Sometimes you need to help pull as they push when the time comes. Just need to make sure both front legs and nose is coming at you. If that isn't the presentation you may need to call a vet or handle it yourself. Handling it yourself includes pushing back and reaching in and realigning the the head and feet. I've walked people through this over the phone. Sometimes they come ass first. Never happened to me yet so I can not give advice on that type of delivery.