11 Tips for a Successful Goat Kidding Season

Reader Contribution by Julia Shewchuk and Serenity Acres Farm
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Here at Serenity Acres Farm we take special care to ensure a happy and healthy kidding season since nothing is as heart breaking as losing a mama goat or baby goat during or after the birthing process and we certainly don’t want or need the additional stress and expense of having to dash off to the emergency clinic with a sick and pregnant goat. Here are 11 tips to give you the best chance for a great kidding season based on our experience. But when in doubt, always consult your vet! He’s the expert.

1. Kidding Season starts the year before at breeding. Match up the same size buck and doe. Don’t breed a mini doe with a regular size buck. You will have a big baby in a small doe. It is not worth the risk.

2. Your does should be in good condition, not too skinny and not too fat. For the first three months we feed mostly grass hay free choice with a bit of perennial peanut or alfalfa thrown in and a cup of grain morning and evening. In the fourth month we up the grain to two cups morning and evening and increase the perennial peanut/alfalfa hay to keep the calcium: phosphorus ratio at a minimum of 2.5 to 1. In the fifth month we keep the grain the same if the doe is in good shape but increase the peanut hay considerably to furnish the doe with as much calcium as she needs to help in the final growth phase of the fetus.

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