Delivering Baby Goats

Those little rascals are so darn cute! How do they get here…?

I mean I’m not going to have the talk with you on the circle of life…but I will tell you about how our little kids…goat kids get on the ground! 

Birthing Pen

You’ll want to build a birthing pen for your doe that is kidding and for the two, or three, or four of them afterwards to be secluded from the rest of the herd. 
This can be as simple as sectioning off a section of your current goat house or building a whole separate building for them to have all to themselves. 
If you have other animals that you keep your goats with make sure they do NOT have access to this pen at all! 
Just like humans a newborn baby animal needs to be alone or just with mama for a certain amount of time so they can build up their strength and immunity. 
This structure doesn’t have to be big, just big enough for mama and baby(s) to move around. 
You’ll need a mineral feeder for grain, a small hay feeder, and a water bucket in there for the doe.  
​Goats are known for having multiple kids at a time so prepare for more than one!

Kidding Kit

FIRST you’ll want a kidding kit available if you are able to get there in time before it all goes down.
I usually just have my Goat First Aid Kit available for kiddings because I combined everything into one kit to make my life a little easier. You can do whatever makes your life easier! Some of this stuff is optional, you’ll figure out what works best for you and you’re goats.
All of these things are what I have available for kiddings:

• Betadine Solution or Iodine – to dip the kids umbilical stump in, sterilize any supplies, and scrub bare hands that help with birthing.
• ​Gloves -if you don’t want to use your bare hands (I suggest using skin tight gloves so you can still feel what’s going on)
• Paper towels/cloths – to wipe off kids nose & mouths
• Towels/Puppy pads – for kids to land on instead of dirt or straw when wet
• Flashlight/headlamp -in case it’s dark
• Scissors – to cut umbilical cord
• Small bowl – for betadine dip
• Clamp – to clamp umbilical cord before you cut it
• Bucket of cold water -to dump on the kids to shock their system to wake them up and to clean them off, if needed!
• Colostrum Replacement -for babies if you can’t get them to latch onto mama –>make sure it’s for goat kids!
• Bottles & Nipples -if you can’t get them to latch to mama right away or you want to bottle feed them in a couple weeks
• Nutri Drench – energy booster
• BOSE Selenium/E Gel -for deficiency (diagnose first)
• Warm water & molasses – for mother as a pick me up
• Feed – for mother to eat
• Garbage bag- to lay underneath mama to catch the afterbirth 
• Goat sweater & heat lamp – for winter kidding –only kids get heat lamps (not to close) and don’t let them outside of their birthing pen for several days (see Goat Health for more details)
• Phone/Camera – to video tape
• Bucket / Tote – to keep all supplies in

​Goats often have problems kidding (giving birth), but only step into help if absolutely necessary- call your vet if you don’t think you’ll be able to help.
How to know your goat is laboring:

• Restless
• Pawing at the ground
• Bloodshot eyes
• Raised tail head
• Full udder
• Discharge
• Very vocal -yelling
• Stretching
• Affectionate towards humans
• Drifting from herd
• Water bag bursts 

Now Watch the Birth Happen

Goats can birth laying down or standing up, it is easier if they are standing up, but if they have had a long labor and are tired they will want to lay down, you may need to help them in this position. 
———-Kids should be positioned head first with front hooves straight ahead
If you need to help pull the kid out, put on clean gloves or scrub your hands in betadine and get in there!

Things I wish I would’ve known my first go ’round with a difficult goat birth:
​When the mama is in distress or super tired after a long day of labor and is now in active labor, you will most likely need to help her. 
A doe can be in pre-labor for roughly 12 hours. 
Once she goes into active labor you have between 20-30 minutes to get the first kid out (if there are multiple). This is when she is actively pushing and/or you see a sac or two hanging from her.
If she is contracting and pushing and nothing is happening or she’s not making very quick progress, after 20 minutes hop in there and pull the kid out.
You’ll need to try to get them into the correct position, which is diving head first.
You can reach in there and hook their elbows with your finger to get those legs up front with the head. 
You can then pull on the hooves and shimmy back and forth to wiggle the kid out, you can pull on the head, you can even grab in the eye sockets. You’ll need to be gentle but be firm because they have to come out no matter what! 
Once the first kid is out, reach in there and make sure there aren’t more in there. You can push her stomach up towards you on the outside to get a better feel. 
If there are more kids, you can give your doe a break for 20 minutes, but if she doesn’t make any progress you’ll need to pull this one out too. 
If there aren’t more kids, leave her be and let her be with her kid. She should deliver the after birth naturally up to an hour afterwards. If she hasn’t, call your vet. ​

They’re Here!

Once the kid has come out, let the mama do her thing. A doe could possibly reject her kid if she notices a deformity in the kid or if she has a particular painful birth…I know it’s sad…and no, we can’t do that as humans so don’t even think about it. If this happens you will need to take matters into your own hands and take over being the little one’s mama.
Make sure the sac around them has broken. Wipe the kid off with a towel and make sure they don’t have any mucous in their throat, nose, or mouth, you’ll need to either use your hands or a nose sucker to pull the it out of the kid. 
Depending on the weather you may need to get a hair dryer out there to make sure that kid is completely dry and warm.
Watch from a distance and make sure the kid is breathing and is moving around ok. 
If you need to cut the umbilical cord you’ll want to clamp the cord about 3″ away from the kid and then cut it with scissors about an inch after the clamp. Dunk it in a betadine solution or iodine to prevent infection. You can also use it in a spray bottle and spray all around the cord and belly. 
Within the next hour the kid should be up, walking, and drinking from mama. If not, the kid could need some assistance getting some milk from mama. Everyone has their own different timing on this, some wait a half hour and others wait 3 hours…it all depends on your comfort zone as a goat owner. 
After about an hour of leaving mama and baby alone, I like to do a quick physical exam on the kid. Make sure all of their vitals are good, and see how much they measure out to be, check to see the horn situation, gender, etc. I document all of these things! I also give them a small amount of the nutri drench in their mouth, once I know that they can drink and swallow ok. 
Sometimes you could have multiple kids, so make sure you have some assistance in the birthing pen if at all possible! 

Lets Check on Mama!

Things To Watch Out For

• When ever you give the kid a couple shots of nutridrench, give the doe some also, this can help give her a boost after a long labor. 
• As your kid is drinking from their mama keep an eye on her teats. If you notice any redness or swelling it could mean mastitis. You don’t want to be milking her yet, but you do want to make sure milk is easily coming out of both teats to be sure that the kid(s) are getting enough milk. 
• Check the doe’s temperature 24 hours after birthing -anything over 104 degrees is high. Call your vet if you think it is necessary.

Now that the excitement is over you’ll just want to snuggle them!

Just like you would do with your kids, let the mama have her time with them! The next day is a good time to start handling the kid(s). 
Here are some tips on handling the little ones:

• Don’t chase them, let them come to you
• Bottle feed them -Kids should milk from mom for about 2-3 weeks, then can be switched to bottle fed -If they are left to milk on mom the mom will naturally wean them off at around 6-8 weeks. -After 8 weeks they should be eating solid foods.
• Don’t take them too far from mama, stay in their pen and let them get used to their surroundings. Don’t take them lots of places that they won’t spend their adulthood.
• Hold them and play with them and be very hands on with them, especially if you want friendly goats as adults. 
• Name them and train them to respond to their name at a young age, this will make your life easier and more fun as they get older…and make you seem like the best goat owner in the world!

Their Health As Babies

What if my baby goat (kid) isn’t doing well? 
Call your vet if you are out of your relm of knowledge and aren’t sure what to do! 
Baby goats can be weak or ‘floppy’, this can mean a few different things. They could be hypothermic, dehydrated, hypoglycemic, septic, or acidic. You really need to focus on getting the newborn kid colostrum milk whether that comes from the mama or from a bottle. They may need a thymine shot, a corn syrup drench, or a warm bath.
That first week is just as crucial as the first hour. Pay attention to the new kids in the pen! 

Giving them a bath: some people will say no to this because it can lower their temperature…BUT it can be good to bathe your newborn goat for the obvious reason of cleaning them up after birth. You will want to make sure the water is warm and dry them off completely, especially if it is cold outside. You might even want to put a goat coat or sweater on them if it is cold outside. 

Give dewormer-both mom and baby need some dewormer to fight against those initial parasites that are going to attack them both in this vulnerable stage of life. Follow the directions on the dewormer you are giving for the times and amounts to give. You may need to give a follow up dose in a few days. 

Make sure your kids are peeing and pooping regularly and it all looks normal. A kid won’t have the normal goat pellet poop at first. At first it will be a very black poop, the meconium, and the doe will probably clean this up off of her kid(s). If she’s not you may need to wipe their butt with a damp towel. For the first couple weeks it will be more of a yellow color and will be a little more smooth than the separated adult pellets. Kids can easily get diarrhea (scours) so watch to see which kid it is coming from if you have multiple new little ones running around. 

Kids should be given the CDT (tetanus) shot 4 weeks after birth IF the mom was not given the shot within a month of birthing.

Make a plan to disbud them at about 3-5 weeks old, if you want. You will want to make a point to do this if you don’t want them to have horns, it is much easier to disbud them than it is to dehorn them.