Goats: Just Kidding! Part 4

Reader Contribution by Janice Spaulding
Published on March 2, 2012
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Your kids have made their appearance into the world, what now? Depending on what type of goat you raise, will depend on what gets done next. With our dairy goats, we catch them in a towel, clean off the majority of the birth goop, bring them in the house

where it’s warm and start the cleaning process. If you have meat breeds, fiber breeds, or you are planning on keeping the kids with their mom’s you may still want to help clean up the kid, just in the barn and working side by side with the mom.

The dam will start to clean her baby almost immediately. She’ll lick them, nudge them into better position, and generally keep a good eye on them. You can go ahead and help dry them off, but, remember, the first places that need to be cleaned, dried, and warmed are ears, hoofs, and if it’s a little boy, his testicles. These areas are easily exposed to cold temperatures and don’t get the necessary warmth. Kids can get frostbite in these areas which will cause incredible amounts of tissue damage. Even in warmer places like Texas,
below freezing nights can cause the loss of lower ears in goats with the pendulous types of ears in a short time.

The next thing we do is dip the umbilical cord in 7% agricultural iodine. Before I get started on how to do that, I want to mention a little about the umbilical cord during the birth process. If the cord does not break on its own, you can shred it with your finger nail in order to separate the kid. Having a jagged, uneven edge helps with the drying up process of the cord once it is dipped in iodine. There is absolutely no need for umbilical clamps, tying the cord off with dental floss or anything like that! Shredding the end of the cord, dipping it in iodine…boom done. If the cord is extra-long, don’t worry, you can trim it once it’s dried up which only takes a few hours.

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