Kidding Season

By Sharon Holman, Powell~Holman Boer Goats
The Boer Goat January/February 2003

Kidding season is the most challenging and rewarding time for our goat operation. You have to keep a close eye on the expectant does, maintain accurate records of the kids as they are born, and make sure both doe and kids recover and prosper.

Many different schemes have been developed to manage the kidding process of registered goats around the world. We studied these systems and adopted pieces of different ones to design what fits our facilities, environment and goals.

Within 30 days of the due date, we vaccinate all pregnant does for overeating (Clostriduim Perfingens Types C & D). This practice has all but eliminated the young kids (less than one month old) from getting floppy kid and/or other overeating problems as the unborn kids also benefit from this vaccination. You will need to give the kids their own vaccinations when they are two to four weeks old – and do not forget the follow-up dose within 21 to 28 days.

What time of day do you want your does to kid? We prefer daytime, as the temperature outdoors is warmer and it is easier to keep an eye on the does to detect possible problems. Some goat producers might prefer night kidding, as it better suits their work schedule or facility. Research shows that sheep and goats react to feeding time the opposite of cattle. When does are fed either twice a day, morning and evening or only in the morning, they tend to kid during the day while those fed only at night tend to kid at night.

Pregnant does are run in the pasture until 10 days before their due date, which is 149 days from breeding. At this time they are put into a very small trap, about five acres. They are given shelter in a barn at night and during bad weather (rain and /or cold winds). The handy table of breeding dates and kidding dates (see page 49) shows the expected kidding time after a 149 day gestation period.

As the does kid, they are put into their very own pen with their kids. This pen is in the barn and is bedded with straw hay. Fresh feed and water are available at all times. Pen size (5’ x 5’ to 8’ x 8’) varies as to the number of does kidding vs. the space available. Kids navels are dipped in seven percent iodine as soon as possible.

Kids receive their first identification within hours of birth by placing a numbered plastic ear tag in the ear. These tags are ordered at least a month before kidding is expected to start. We order a year’s supply at a time and work the last digit of the year into the numbering system. For 2003, our tags will start with 3001. The “3” indicates that the kid was born in 2003 (the last digit of the year) and the “1” indicates it was the first kid born in 2003. When we tattoo the kids, the alphabetical year letter will be used with the birth order number (“R” is the letter for 2003). So the first kid born in 2003 will be tag number 3001, left ear tattoo 1R and the thirty-third kid born will be tag number 3033, tattoo 33R.

Kidding records are prepared as breedings take place. The date the doe is bred, who she is bred to, and the expected due date are all written on the chart with a place for the date kidded, sex of kids and tag numbers of the kids to be filled in as kidding progresses. For embryo transfer recipients, recip doe donor and sire and how many fetuses were sonogrammed, are recorded with a place for all the kid information to be recorded. When you get ready to fill out registration forms, all the information you need, except color, will be available on one sheet.

Tattooing the kids is made a little easier on the handlers by placing the kids in a kid box instead of trying to hold them still. Green tattoo ink, either paste or liquid roll on, is applied to one ear on the hairless area and between cartilage strips. The tattoo is pressed into the ear where ink has been applied. A soft toothbrush is used to massage the ink or paste into the impressions as the ear is laid back onto the top of the box, ink side up. If some of the holes bleed, brushing should continue until bleeding has stopped as blood washes out the ink. Sometimes you will need to apply more ink. If ink does not get into the impressions, you will not have a readable tattoo. Having a hard surface under the ear, like the kid box lid, helps you apply even pressure as you brush the ink.

One drawback to tattooing when kids are less than three months old is that the 3/8” tall tattoo grows with the ear so it is about 3/4” tall when the goat is grown. Each dot will be the same size, the dots will just be further apart. Soremouth vaccine is administered at the same time as the tattoos, mainly because this way we know we will not miss anyone.

Does and kids are released from their confinement within a couple of days if all seems to be going well. This release is into a rather large pen with access to a barn for shelter. After another few days in this pen, they are released into a pasture.

It is important to keep a close eye on all kids and does. Sometimes a kid will be rejected by the doe, so keep a watch for kids that are drawn and/or trying to steal milk from other does. Nursing from behind the doe is a favorite method for kids to steal milk. Strutted bags, sometimes just one side, is a sign of trouble for does. If she has twins, one might not be nursing. If she has a single, you need to get it to nurse both sides instead of just it’s favorite teat. One way to do this is to put a piece of tape on the teat that is preferred for a day or so. As the kid hunts for a teat, it will find the teat it had not noticed before.

Creep feed is available for the kids in the pasture. This is a self feeder that is kept full of a pelleted feed in a pen that the does cannot get into but the kids can. The fence around the feeder is solid fencing except for the “jail bars,” which are about eight inches apart. It is important that this fence be high enough that your does will not be tempted to jump into the creep pen.

We generally wean our kids at three months of age. We separate the buck kids from the doe kids at weaning and continue them on the same pelleted feed that they were eating while on their dams. If you did not tattoo your kids earlier, it is time to do it at weaning. Don’t wait any longer or the job is only going to get more difficult due to the goats being harder to constrain as they get bigger.