Kidding is just getting underway on our farm. A lot has to get done to before the baby goats arrive. It includes herd health work, preparing the barn and organizing my supplies 
 
Preparing the does
About a month before the does are scheduled to kid, we will do a herd health day so they are ready for kidding. This includes:

• Hoof trimming, if needed
• Deworming, if needed. We make the decision by assessing each doe individually, based on body condition, FAMACHA and behavior. If a doe needs to be dewormed, we will typically deworm with two or three dewormers, with each from a different class of dewormer. This practice is based on a research article published on the American Consortium for Small Ruminants website: Combination Dewormers: The Time is Now by Dr. Ray Kaplan, Professor of Parasitology, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine  
• Assessing body condition to determine if any supplemental feeding is needed
• Vaccinating with CDT for clostridial enterotoximia protection (over-eating disease) and tetanus, and Pasturella for pneumonia since our spring weather can have big swings in temperatures, which can lead to respiratory issues. By vaccinating a month in advance of kidding, we are able to pass on immunity protection from the does to the kids, which is especially important during the kids’ first month of life. 

 
As we work through each doe, we will enter notes on what we did into our herd health system, Easy Keeper, making extra notes on areas of concern to help us better monitor the health of each goat and manage our herd overall. 
 
Much like our other herd health days, we will set up our workspace in the barn to work efficiently as possible. Each of our helpers has specific tasks to keep everything moving along, while I visually assess each goat and enter notes into my record keeping program on my iPad. Along the top of the pen wall, we set up several 5 quart rectangular fence line feeders to hold supplies, including vaccinations, dewormers, hoof trimmers and drenchers. Here are some of the supplies I use:

• Fence line feeder 
• Drencher (feeding syringes) 20 ml and 50 ml
• Automatic bottle top syringe 
• Serrated hoof trimmer
• Stand for hoof trimming and herd health work

 
Preparing the barn
In the weeks leading up to kidding, we start to transition the barn from winter housing to kidding:

• Bucks will be moved to a separate pen, if not already. We often leave them with the whole herd most of the winter for ease of feeding.
• Yearlings, last year’s doe kids kept for breeding stock, move to a new pen. In the area where they were originally, the barn bedding is cleaned out to allow for set up of 8x8 pens for kidding. 
• Warming boxes for the postpartum pen are pulled out, each box has two radient Sweeter Heaters inside for warmth and a safe space for new kids
• Infrared heaters are checked to make sure they’re working and we have enough propane, if we have a cold snap during kidding 
• Pull out tote of heat lamps for back up. We don’t use these often, but they are good to have on hand.
• Set up barn cameras about a week in advance
• Make sure extra bedding is on hand

 
Supplies mentioned:

• Sweeter heater 
• Prima Heat lamps  

 
Preparing supplies
About 1-2 months in advance I like to assess my veterinary supplies for kidding to allow for enough time to order or purchase supplies locally. This includes ordering enough vaccines for the does, as well as for their kids (they require boosters with most vaccinations). 
 
Here are the supplies I like to have on hand for kidding. Some of them are used, and some are for emergency situations:

• Plastic gloves – I wear them anytime I might encounter bodily fluid or administer any type of supplements or medication. There are a number of zoonotic diseases that can be passed between goats and humans. It’s a good preventative measure to follow.
• Artificial insemination gloves – these are great if you have to do a rectal exam or assist with pulling a kid
• Selenium and Vitamin E Supplement – this is only used if a kid is weak and showing signs of a vitamin deficiency. Consult your veterinarian for supplements and dosages, if needed.
• Lubricant to aid with rectal exams or assisting with pulling kids 
• Betadine surgical scrub – If I have to internally assist to pull kids, it is a quick disinfectant
• Flashlight 
• Iodine for dipping umbilical cords
• Small plastic cups (condiment size or smaller) for iodine for dipping umbilical cords – I get these at the dollar store
• Dedicated, clean and sharp scissors for trimming umbilical cords
• Small scale to weigh kids – I use this one with a bucket 
• Ear tags for farm identification and USDA scrappies requirement
• Probiotic gel – give to kids and does for an extra boost 
• Vitamin B gel – give to does if they need an extra immunity boost after kidding, or have had a rough delivery 
• BlueLite – goat electrolyte mix – use in the doe’s water after kidding 
• Digital thermometer 
• Lots of old towels for drying off kids
• Marking pen or ink 
• Kid tube feeder 
• LA 200 – To prevent any infections if the doe has complications during birth or you have to assist with the birth. Consult your veterinarian on best practices and dosages. 
• Bag of a quality goat milk replacer, or a Jersey milk replacer (it has similar fat and protein content as needed for goats)
• Colostrum supplement – powdered or tube
• Dog jackets – only for weak kids or really cold dips for brand new kids. Only use these in extreme situations
• Hair dryer – to help dry off new kids, especially when it is cold or if they weren’t cleaned off right away by their mom
• Pet heating pad – used with kids that need to revived or extra warmth for new kids when there’s a cold dip
• Handful of bottler for bottle feeding. I prefer Pritchard nipples on Fiji water bottles (they are more durable for rewashing). 

 
Kidding process and protocols 
When a doe kids, I will let her do most, if not all of the work herself. The only thing I will do is help clean off kids with an old towel to so they dry fast as possible and help clean airways. The does will typically still continue to clean their kids afterwards. By helping dry the kids, this helps reduce any chances of pneumonia or hypothermia, especially if it’s cold out. 
 
After the doe is done kidding, I’ll bring her and the kids into a separate pen for 24-28 hours to allow for bonding and recovery. I’ll observe the kids to make sure they nurse. If a kid had a rough or slow start, I’ll help them with their first feeding. 
 
When it comes to processing the kids, we will take weights, ear tag, and trim umbilical cords and dip them in iodine. Then the kds are placed back into the pen with their mother. This information and anything else relevant about the birth or kids behavior is entered into our animal health record system, Easy Keeper. 
 
After 24-48 hours, the doe and kids will move to a “postpartum” group pen with other doe/kid pairs. The kids will have access to a creep/safe space, typically with some source of heat to keep them safe from other mothers and prevent them from accidently being sat on by their own mothers. 
 
Kids are vaccinated a month after they born and then followed up with a booster based on the vaccinations given.
​

If you’re interested in learning more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat, join our online community here.  ​

Thank you Katelyn at the Wild Rose Farmer for having me as a guest on her Rural Woman Podcast. I’ve been a listener since the start and an avid podcast junkie for along time. It is an honor to be coming into your earbuds as a podcast guest, instead of my usual role as just the listener!

For those who often ask about how I got started raising goats and the meat goat industry and market, here it is!

You can find the podcast episode here, listen to it anywhere you listen to podcasts, or stream it on ‪WildRoseFarmer.com‬

P.S. If you’re new to this podcast or Katelyn, she also raises goats for meat!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I manage my herd as it grows to its “full size.” As some may know, my herd is still in its growth stage since I've been building it from within. In this planning process I’m being mindful of working with the seasonality of our region, managed grazing practices, and use of our facilities.

My plan going forward after this kidding season will be to split our herd into two groups and move into a breeding cycle where our herd is kidding three times a year, about four months apart. This doesn’t mean we’re doing back-to-back breeding, but it means that each group will kid every other kidding season. Each doe will have the opportunity to breed every nine months, allowing for time for gestation, nursing, and recovery. 

Why am I moving to this system:

• Less intense kidding season. Not all does will be kidding at the same time. Easier on the shepherd to monitor her herd
• If a doe doesn’t take, she has an opportunity to be rebred sooner, than waiting an entire year or culling. Lack of conception can happen for many reasons, which may not all be on the doe.
• This allows us to have a more consistent supply of meat for our customers

From an economic perspective, this farm is also a business. It requires income to continue and serve our customers. Over the span of time, we should be able to produce the same number of kids as if our herd size was 25-30% larger. This means fewer breeding does to feed and manage, with more offspring to either add to our herd as replacement stock or to sell. As a family farm, it also helps keep my workload more manageable.

What I will be working on figuring out: 

• The right timing of breeding and kidding based on our seasons. My goal is to still minimize kidding in cold weather to allow our does a chance to care for their new kids without a lot of extra concern with hypothermia or pneumonia.
• Goats can be seasonal breeders (not always). I’ll need to determine the best strategies with our summer breeding plans.

What I know I’ll need to do:

• Continue to take good records on our animals
• Band all of our buck kids, unless we have requests for breeding bucks. It will just be easier to manage our market kids in one group or it could get out of hand fast!
• Set up a good animal sorting/handling system 
• Get used to kidding three times a year!

Lastly, a big shout out to Sandy Brock, of Sheepishly Me, a sheep farmer in Canada. Her approach to managing breeding and lambing for her flock provided me inspiration to think about how I could adapt practices to my goat herd and our grazing system. 

This past weekend we started preparing for breeding season for our goats.  We will do this herd health work about 1-2 months before we actually put the bucks in with the does. 

So here’s what it looks like for us: 

Does:

• Sort and officially wean all doe kids. We let them self-wean up until this point.
• Look over the goat, including body condition, udders, FAMACHA, coats
• Deworm: We do “three-way” deworming, using one dewormer from each class of dewormers. Current research from the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control (wormx.info) shows a greater impact of all wormers when working together. Because we experienced some parasite issues several years ago after introducing new goats to our herd, we are on a 2x a year deworming schedule and then only deworm goats who show signs of needing it outside of that timetable. Our goal is to reduce our frequency but for now, this approach works best based on our situation. 
• Copper bolus, as a nutrient supplement and as a natural dewormer
• Hoof trim
• Take notes on any other issues, visual observations, behavior, genetic attributes 

Bucks: The bucks get the same attention.

Why do we start the process in advance? It gives any goats that need a little extra attention some extra time before the big dating day comes. We can make sure all the goats are at their best, in terms of health. If any kids are still nursing, it also allows the does bodies to readjust before making the transition to growing babies. 

The day of health work: We bring the goats from the pasture back to the barn. It’s just easier to have a contained space to work with them and sort them. We will have 1-2 friends or family members helping sort goats and doing the hoof trimming and health work. 

I’ll also make observations and record all the health work and other notes into our online record system EasyKeeper on my tablet (if you try it out, you can get a $30 credit here).. This year I also was keeping tabs on our almost 2-year-old-daughter. It was a bit of a balancing act! 

We use the over the fence feeder troughs to put our supplies in order of use and so they’re easy to access. There’s a whiteboard with a checklist of tasks for each goat and dosages based on animal size. This helps streamline the process. Next year I’m hoping to add a chute and sorting facility to our system. Right now, it works, but it has the potential to add extra stress on the goats and is also hard on our own bodies.

At the end of November, after Thanksgiving, we’ll split our herd into groups and put the bucks out. The timing works out well. We kid in mid-April, which its usually starting to warm up.  We often have extra family and friends around the farm with the holiday and deer hunting season. 

We’ll put our yearlings into one group so there’s no extra competition or stress with the older does during breeding. We also will often use a smaller buck.

The older does are split into two groups with our other bucks. We use breeding harnesses to know when does are exposed. They are kept in their groups for 20-30 days, or until all does are marked. Then we combine the groups at 45 days. Around 60 days we will usually pull the bucks and put them in their winter pen. 

Five months later it’s baby goat time! 

Wonder why we kid later in the season? Read this blog post here.

If you’re interested in learning more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat, join our online community here.  ​

This is the second blog post in a four-part Grazing Goats Article Series. The first article, Pasture Fencing for Goats, can be read here.

Electric fence is a great fencing option for goats. However, it is only as good as the training the goats receive. If there's no training, there's a greater chance, or even better chance, that your goats will get out. With the proper training, the goats should respect the fence and not escape. 

Each spring our goats are given a "refresher" training, and new goats to the farm, kids or purchased goats, are also trained on how to use the electric fence. Between having good perimeter fencing (see part I) and fence training with portable electric fence, we have little to no issues with our goats staying in the pasture. On occasion kids may get outside a paddock with portable fencing or out of the perimeter fencing since they are smaller, but they always come back to their moms. Once they get older it's not a habit that continues. 

Here's how we fence train our goats:

The prep work:

• Set up the temporary electric fence in a small loop or square, so there's enough room for the goats being trained to comfortably move around and eat grass
• This should be inside of a permanent fence, or put up a second temporary fence as a "back up" fence, giving some extra space in between fences
• Make sure you can quickly and easily turn off the fence. For us, that's unclipping the alligator clips from the temporary fence to the permanent fence, which is how we access the electricity from our energizer.
• The first time training the goats on the fence, there are usually two of us. That makes it easier to turn off the fence if a goat gets out (or to chase that goat!).
• Before turning the goats out, we will make sure they have eaten some hay for the day. So we usually, will start training in the afternoon. The goats love the lush grass, so this helps prevent them from overeating and causing bloat. It also helps their rumen adjust from dry matter to fresh forage. 
• If it's a larger group, I may split the group up into smaller groups.

The actual fence training:

• Turn out the goats into the training space and watch. I will usually pull up a lawn chair and take notes on the goats that touch the fence. I like to make sure all the goats touch the electric fence at least once, if not twice. It doesn't take long for them to remember how it works. 
• I also pay more attention to the younger goats who haven't been on pasture before. The older does usually remember quickly how the fence works. 
• The first day, I leave them out for maybe an hour, making sure all the animals experience the fence. Then I close off access to the pasture. 
• The second day, I'll wait until the afternoon again, making sure they've eaten some hay. I'll then let them out for a longer period. I'll watch again, but this time I might do some other work around the barn.
• Repeat for another day, possibly more depending on how the goats are taking to the fence. 
• The goal is to have the goats respect the fence. They may be busy eating grass and touch their nose. They may yelp in surprise and jump back. That's ok. We don't want the animals charging through the fence or getting tangled. 

After training: 

• The goats should be ready for rotation grazing with temporary fencing. 
• I always keep an extra eye on them for the first week or so as they continue to get adjusted to the fence, especially with younger kids. 

Tips for success all season

• Make sure the fence is always ON, HOT and not grounding out. A fence tester is a handy tool to help monitor how the fence is working.
• Always make sure they have enough to eat. If they don't, they will want to go where the food is outside of the fence. It's important to watch pasture levels and rotate the herd into new paddocks. 
• GET RID OF THE JUMPERS. I will usually give them one chance. But you can tell quickly with goats, who the naughty, instigators are. They will teach other goat's bad habits. 

If you raise goats, what has worked for you for training goats to respect electric fence?

In the video below you'll see an example of how we fence train our goats to portable electric fence.

Watch for the next blog post on the basics of rotational goats in this grazing goat series. Sign up for our online community here so you don’t miss the next post and to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat. 

If you missed the first article in this Grazing Goats Series, you can find it here: Pasture Fencing for Goats.

Electric fence is a must for keeping goats on pasture: keeping them and our livestock guardian dogs in, AND keeping predators out. 

As good as electric fence is, it isn't foolproof. Sometimes it's not working as well as it could be. 

The only way you might not know is if... hmm... a goat breaks out of your paddock fence, or you find one of your livestock guardian dogs roaming the whole pasture. Thank goodness for perimeter fence! (Learn how we use permanent, perimeter fence and temporary paddock fencing in this article).

So how do I know if the fencer is working like it should be? I will look at the fencer itself (see picture below) and check to see if it's fully energized, with the lights flashing all the way up to green. If it's not something could be grounding it out. But, do I always want to run back to the barn and troubleshoot? No. 

So, enter in one of my favorite grazing / electric fencing tools -- a fence tester. I have the Fault Finder by Gallagher.

When I suspect the fence might not be as hot as usual, or not even on at all, I'll take out the Fault Finder and test the fence. It will show the KV running through the fence, and if there's a grounding issue it will point an arrow to direct you in the direction it's at. It gives me a general idea of where to check the fence to look for down trees, areas where deer may have knocked down the top high tensile wire and it's now touching the woven wire, or other issues. These tend to be my most common issues. 

I also like to use the fence tester when I'm running more temporary fence than usual, or running temporary fence outside of our permanent fenced in pasture. These are instances where I want to be especially certain the fence is HOT. The more electric wire I put on my energizer, the greater odds it might drop the KV. Usually, in these instances, I might also need to do more trimming or knocking down grass and brush to make sure there's no other grounding issues, which impact how hot the fence is.

If you're going to use electric fence and graze, this is a tool to have. There are several options out there to choose from. I happened to use Gallagher's Fault Finder since I use a lot of their fencing products and have been happy with the quality and performance.

if you're interested in learning more about more of my favorite goat things and how we’re raising meat goats on pasture, join our online community for raising goats for meat here.

There’s a popular saying, if a fence can’t hold water, it can’t hold a goat. While it’s true that goats are more challenging to fence as compared to other livestock, it isn’t as big of an issue as what some might think. However, the right type fence, energizer and training is important. It is often one of the most common barriers for raising goats – having the right fencing. 
 
When we decided to raise goats, we knew that fencing was important, and it needed to be done right. Our perimeter fence specs were developed by a USDA – NRCS conservationist / grazing specialist with some consultation from a well-regarded fence installer who has experience with fencing goats and sheep. We didn’t want to lose our goats, nor did we want to be in a situation where we weren’t on good terms with our neighbors. 
 
Our goat perimeter fencing is about 47 inches high and is high tensile woven wire with a strand of hot high tensile wire about 6 inches above the woven wire to keep predators from jumping or climbing over and keep the goats in.  At the bottom, a few inches below the woven wire and a few inches above the ground is a strand of barbed wire to deter animals from digging under, specifically our livestock guardian dogs and predators, like coyotes. Fence posts are spaced about 16 feet.
 
The woven wire opening is 6 inches wide and starts at 3 inches tall openings. Each opening going up to the top gets a little bit bigger, with the top opening at 7 inches tall.   The majority of our goats are horned. On occasion some of our younger goats will get their heads stuck in the fence, trying to eat grass outside the pasture. Usually if there’s enough to eat in a paddock (a section of the pasture) this isn’t an issue. Older goats typically can’t push their heads through since their horns are large enough to stop them. If a goat continuously gets stuck, we may put a “crown” on her head temporarily to help train her to not stick her head through. This is a piece of flexible pipe about 8-10 inches long and then duct taped to the horns. If the goat tries to push her head through the fence to eat, the pipe will stop her. It’s a safe way to train her to stop this habit. Goats that are stuck in fences may be more susceptible to predators or bullying from more aggressive goats.
 
Traditional high tensile wire can be used as well. It’s recommended that if you go this route to use a 5-wire set up. According to Randy Cutler of Cutler Fence, who did our fencing installation, goat and sheep fence should be 36-48 inches high with the bottom wire at 6-12 inches above the ground. Woven wire should be 14 gauge, with the spacing at 4x4 inches up to 12 inches between the verticals.
 
Our pasture gates are traditional pipe gates with cattle panel mounted on them with hose clamps. We’ve found this option to be more durable than the gates with wire mesh built in. 
 
Do our goats get out? On occasion a kid might sneak out through a fence opening, between a fence post and a gate, or under a gate. But, as soon as they sneak out, their moms are calling them back and back they go.
 
Since we practice rotation grazing, we use portable fencing to divide our pasture into paddocks. The first few years we used electronet fencing from Premier 1 Fencing (ElectroStop 10/42/12). It worked well. However, we were grazing three different groups of goats and our pasture was old overgrown CRP land with lots of brush and trees. It got to be cumbersome to move that much fence and it would often get tangled on brush or tree stumps. The last three years we’ve been using Gallagher’s Smart Fence and I love it. It is easy to put up and take down. It’s also easy to transport. I can put several fences in the back of my gator, along with other grazing gear and there’s no issue with the fencing getting tangled. 
 
To create paddocks, we have a short temporary fence set up running down the middle of the pasture built with t-posts and step in posts strung with poly wire. Then, we set up two Smart Fences running from the perimeter fence to the center temporary fence to create the paddock. Then an alligator clip connects the portable fence to the top hot wire on the perimeter fence. 
 
Our energizer is located our barn and is a M1500 Gallagher (15 stored joules, up to 160 miles, 900 acres). We had a M120 (1.2 stored joules, up to 15 miles/60 acres), but upgraded it this grazing season so we could continue to run more portable fencing and keep the fence hotter. 
 
The video below is one I made a few seasons back explaining the Smart Fence and why I like to use it on the farm with our meat goats.

​​Watch for the next blog post on fence training goats in this grazing goat series. Sign up for our online community here so you don’t miss the next post and to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat. 

On the farm we work to be as low stress as possible when it comes to handling our meat goats. It’s easier on their health and for us as farmers too.  One of the best goat handling tools we’ve added to our management system is a crook. Yes, that’s right a crook.  
 
We use the Kiwi Crook from Premier 1 Fencing. It looks like a long fiberglass cane, with a traditional crook opening for the head at one end and a self-locking lever to catch a leg on the other end. It’s named “Kiwi” since it was created by a New Zealand sheep family. 
 
You might wonder how is the low stress? If you don’t have a formal animal handling setup designed to move animals through safely and calmly, you’re in a situation where you are catching your goats by hand. The first one or two might go ok, but after that the rest of the goat herd will likely catch on to what you’re doing. Then you’ll be in a “goat rodeo” situation where the goats will be running away from you, causing them stress and putting yourself at risk for falling, tripping or getting charged by an animal. Using crooks greatly reduces the stress put on the herd since you can quickly catch the goat at a distance. As soon as I have the goat, I’ll release the crook and then work with the goat from there. 
 
We use the crooks on pasture and also in the winter in our barn pens. They’re handy for quickly catching a goat that might need to be given a closer look over for health reasons or even treated depending on her symptoms.
 
We like them so much, we have two crooks, a his and hers. That way if my husband is helping me out with some animal health work, we both can work quickly to catch the goat(s) we need to work with. I even gave one to a fellow goat farmer friend of mine as a wedding present. 
 
While in the future I would like to set up a formal goat handling facility, this crook will still be useful when I need to work with an individual goat here and there, especially while out on pasture. 
 
If you're interested in learning more about more of my favorite goat things and how we’re raising meat goats on pasture, join our online community for raising goats for meat here.

Here's quick overview of the components of our goat pasture. During the summer our meat goat herd is on pasture 24/7 using rotational grazing practices.

• Livestock guardian dogs: Provides protection 24/7 from predators on the ground and in the air
• Portable goat pasture shelters: Provides temporary protection from the rain and shade in heat
• Pasture mix: Provides a diverse nutritional mix to feed the goats throughout the grazing season
• Goat fencing: Woven wire, topped with a strand of high tensile hot wire and on the bottom a strand of barbed wire, all to keep the goats and working dogs inside and predators out of the pasture
• Seasonal waterline, water tanks and hose: Provides easy access to water anywhere on the pasture. Portable tanks and hose connect to the water line, eliminating the need for hauling water.
• And, of course, lots of goats!

What would you like to know more about raising goats on pasture? Let me know by commenting below or sending me an email at leslie@cylonrollingacres.com. I'll share more on what I'm doing with our goats in future blog posts. 

If you're interested in learning more about our goat pasture management and rotational grazing, join our online community here to get updates on what we're doing on the farm grazing meat goats on pasture.