first kidding -a doe!

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We had our first kidding and it was a single doeling. It was mom's first kidding too and she gave no real indication this morning that today was the day, ate her grain and hay and proceeded to drop the baby outdoors and leave it there to get cold. Fortunately I rechecked everyone and found the little one. We got her warmed up and cleaned but she was slow to catch onto nursing. She has nursed several times and is getting much stronger- up and moving around although still quite wobbly and still has a hard time getting the teat. I am worried because the little thing did get really cold this morning. Is this a bad indication for the mom to just walk away from the baby??

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), February 19, 2002

Answers

Terri, you simply don't know if she will be a good mom or not. Perhaps something was going on in the barn? Maybe and older doe got her kid away from her? After the kid nurses good again, milk the doe out and save some of the colostrum in the freezer. Also make sure you milk out the side the kid doesn't nurse, so when it is a little older and stronger and wants more milk, that side hasn't dried up. Now that she is warm with her tummy full she will be fine. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 19, 2002.

Sometimes it takes first timers a day or two to get the idea. How is the mother acting toward the kid right now? Poor mothering can be due to a lot of factors- inexperience, being very low on the pecking order, plain stupidity, hard difficult labors, small barn for the number of goats- forcing the dam to kid out in the cold or rain, stress at the time of kidding (dogs, children handling the kids, etc). Generally speaking, it's best for the doe to have as little stress as possible when kidding and for the first day or two, and this is even more true with first time mothers. They simply cannot bond well with the kid when they are trying to get away from three or four bigger does, and then everything is so new and stressful anyways. I hope it all works out well, if nothing else, you will have a bottle baby. :)

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 19, 2002.

Mom and baby are doing much better today although I think mom would leave and go with her herd mates if I let her out of her stall(she tried this afternoon) but baby is nursing well and getting very steady on her legs and jumping on top of the crate I put in for her to sleep in. So I think the little one will be ok -now on to the next. I have a four year old who has kidded twins before due next and she is just huge! Her udder is easily three times the size of the first freshener who just kidded yesterday. I am a little more confident after yesterday but still a nervous wreck.

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), February 20, 2002.

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