Goat Pregnancy Care

PLEASE NOTE: 

What works for us may not work for you. As I am learning I will update this with new methods I have seen/heard of as well as putting what we do on our farm and our experiences with the different methods if we have tried them. Please do your own research and see what might work best for you, your location, your animals, and your overall farm goals. We are located in the Pacific Northwest in the desert. You are responsible for judging what practices might fit your farm best. The Internet is a great tool to use to find answers to your questions, but it also requires some effort on your part to judge how accurate that information may be. We have linked to some products we use or have found to work well, feel free to shop around to find better prices (we do not get a commision off of these items).

Feeding:

Our milkers are fed a grain mix with everything the kids get plus a 16% protein dairy goat pellet. Does begin getting grain about the last month of their gestation, then they get grain AM and PM on the milking stand after kidding. We give our milkers alfalfa hay for 1/2 of one of their feeds each day starting at about the last month of their gestation through the end of their lactation. 

Pre-natal Care for our Pregnant Does:

Before our does are ever bred, we evaluate their overall body condition. When we are sure our girls are ready we put them in with the buck of our choice. We let our animals breed naturally, so sometimes this process takes a couple of months. 

Gestation for Nigerian Dwarf Goats is about 145 days. For now, I just observe my does very closely during breeding season that way I have a good estimate of when our girls are due. We complete our health testing after breeding season, this way we can get blood tests to confirm pregnancy when needed. 

At about 28 days before the expected due date, we give our pregnant does their CD&T shot, a hoof trim, and Selenium/Vitamin E gel or Replamin Gel. This allows enough time for the dam to pass the immunity of clostridia and tetanus to her kids before they are born. We give Vitamin E to help strengthen their uterus in preparation for birth. At this point in pregnancy, we also start our does on Alfallfa hay to ensure they're getting enough calcium in their diet.

At about 21 days before their expected kid date, we give them more vitamin E and Fir Meadows PreBirth Late Pregnancy Support herb.  

At about 14 days out, we give them a sanitary trim and give another dose of selenium/vitamin E, their PreBirth herbs, Primrose Oil and calcium carbonate. Primrose oil helps to ripen the does cervix and calcium carbonate helps prevent prolapse. At this point in pregnancy we begin feeding our does 1 cup of grain in the evening. 

At about 7 days before kidding, we give them their PreBirth herbs, selenium, primrose oil, and calcium carbonate in the morning. In the evening, we give them vitamin E, PreBirth herbs, primrose oil and calcium carbonate. At this point, we increase their grain to 2 cups each evening.

As we get within a week of the doe's expected due date, we start to feel their ligaments periodically throughout the day. When ligaments are gone, we separate the doe into our kidding pens. 

After the doe has finished kidding, she gets a bucket of warm molasses water to regain her energy, and she is fed a banana with her grain that evening. We give our does an herbal wormer for the next 3 days using Fir Meadow's DWA and GI Soother.