By Mickey Nielsen, Liberty Farm Cashmere, Yakima WA
USA americancashmere@aol.com
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As a Cashmere goat breeder I work all year to get two things; a healthy fiber crop and live healthy kids on the ground each spring. Healthy kids start with the management of does before and while the does are pregnant. After five months of waiting no one wants to lose kids once they are on the ground. Here are some things to watch kids and environment for at kidding time to spot potential problems.
• Abnormal interaction between the doe and kid.
• Extreme cold wet freezing weather.
• Foreign objects lodged in mouth.
• Heat lamps that are to low or that can fall.
• Lame or weak within the first week.
• Low birth weight
• Loose panels or plywood.
• Lying in the same place.
• Lying on their side.
• Meconium
• Not up and nursing within one hour
• Sticky stools.
• Too quite or too noisy
• Watery or white colored stools.
• Weak; cold mouth and tongue.
Abnormal interaction between the doe and kid; any time a mother doesn’t clean up, bites or butts their kid indicates a problem. The goal is to not have any rejections; this is accomplished by culling out does with poor mothering instincts, and making sure your bucks and does are as healthy as they can possibly be at breeding time. That means CDT vaccinations, Bo-Se supplement shots, parasite control, good pasture, quality hay, a good mineral/protein block, and a little grain for the does.
The majority of the time cashmere does are very hardy and capable of kidding and raising kids with little to no intervention on our part. Extreme cold, wet, freezing weather happens at times here in the North, when the weather is extreme you need to have a plan. Having some jugs (small stalls 4’x 6’) to put your does and kids in with a heat lamp will save you hard losses in these conditions. If you find cold kids a warming box is a must.
Jugs must be sturdy and stable. Some does will be very protective and will demolish a jug if they can see a doe in the pen next to them.
Foreign objects lodged in mouth; such as sawdust, or bits of hay. The first year we moved to our highway house was pretty make shift for the animals, it happened to be a really wet year and the place we fed was turning into a swampland. We decided to bring in a couple loads of shavings to help get the animals up on something dry. It worked great for that but it sure caused us problems with the kids in the spring. We became very vigilant that year in watching for anything sticking out of a kid’s mouth or kids that don’t get up and run when you walk by. We really haven’t had a problem once the shavings composted away. But, I always keep a look out for any thing hanging out of a kid’s mouth.
With the extreme cold last year I discovered that turning a 50 gallon plastic barrel upside down, cutting a small doorway for kids and drilling a hole on the top I could make a kid nest with a heat lamp that the doe couldn’t get to. Just remember heat lamps are nothing to fool around with. Secure them with chains, check with your insurance company to make sure what they require for you to be insured when using a heat lamp.
Lame or weak kids within the first week; if you have a kid that can’t seem to get up to nurse or that walks with his hoofs curled under him, this can be white muscle disease or selenium deficiency. Giving your bucks and does Bo-Se shots is important in many parts of the country. I do this twice a year at minimum. I give 3-5 cc at 2 weeks before breeding and again at 6-2 weeks before kidding, then all the kids get ½ cc within the first 24 hours of birth. Plus all the goats have year around access to ‘Sweetlix’ meat maker block. Some kids just never can get up the strength they need if they are selenium deficient, you can try giving them more Bo-Se to see if that will help. Make sure the kid isn’t cold; always treat cold first. (Consult with your veterinarian before administering drugs to your goats)
Low birth weight is also a sign of selenium deficiency, poor nutrition or high worm load in doe. Our average kids’ birth weight is 5.5 pounds. By giving the does a little grain (about ¼ pound) while they are pregnant helps ensure the kids are healthy and keeps my does in top form for lactation demands. Having tried the “feed less for finer fiber theory”, it just made trouble for us; low birth weights, under conditioned does, dander in the fleece, sick goats, rejected kids, none of this was worth any effect it may have had on fiber diameter.
Loose panels or plywood that kids may get behind, out of, or that may fall over are a hazard for kids and adult goats. ALL panels and plywood must be securely attached to prevent goats from getting smashed. It happens oh so easily.
Kids lying in the same place too long or they don’t move away when you walk by is a sure sign of trouble. Unless a kid is sleeping they should always get up and run from you. If not, check their mouth for foreign objects, check for dehydration, find mom and see if she is letting him nurse.
Lying on their side and unable to hold their head erect is a sure sign the kid is cold and weak, this is also a sign of selenium deficiency.
Meconium is the kids’ first bowel movement. If a kid is born with a dark yellow to light brown type film this indicates the kid was stressed enough before birth to defecate. Normally they do not defecate until after they are born. Not up and nursing within one hour, signs of cold, weak and or selenium deficiency.
Sticky stools that become caked under tail have never taken the life of any of the kids but it sure makes a mess and can make their little bottoms sore which could become infected. If I see this happening I try to get it pulled off as soon as possible, the longer it sets up the harder it becomes to get off.
Too quite or too noisy can be signs of abandonment, hunger, weakness, cold.
Watery or white colored stools can be signs of coccidiosis, treat healthy goats first and then the sick ones to avoid spreading.
To improve your herds’ resistances to parasites you may want to consider culling goats that become ill with coccidiosis. It is important to treat as soon as you see signs of coccidiosis for best results. There are products that you can put in feed or mineral blocks to prevent coccidiosis.
Weak; cold mouth and tongue these kids must be warmed up first. A warming box works great for this.
Normally cashmere kids are quite hardy and do fine on their own, but it is good management practice and good for the bottom line to prevent needless lose of kids after birth. By watching kids and the environment for these simple things you maybe able to prevent the loss of a kid or two.
KID GOAT WARMING BOX
*****
Items Needed:
1 square plastic milk crate 1 cardboard box (bigger than the milk crate)
1 hair dryer 2-3 old towels
Cut a small hole in the side of the cardboard box. Cut the hole toward the bottom of the box just big enough to place the nozzle of the hair dryer in the hole.
Place the milk crate in the cardboard box with a small towel in the milk crate.
Place the cold kid in the milk crate on the towel. Use the second towel to cover the top of the cardboard box. Turn the hair dryer on med/low and let it run until you hear the cold kid who has now warmed up standing and crying for milk. This can take 30 minutes or longer. If the temperature in the box gets too hot, pull back the towel on top or turn the hair dryer down.
Do Not Leave The Warming Box Unattended.
A caution: If the kid is lying to close to the hair dryer the heat can cause burns, place your hand in front of the running hair dryer to check. You may need to hang a towel on the milk crate between the kid and the dryer. Check the temperature and the kid often.
This warming box works so well because the milk crate allows hot air to flow completely around the kid, bottom, top, and sides.
How do you tell a kid is cold and needs a warming box? Place your finger inside the kid’s mouth. If it feels cold to your finger, the warming box is needed. Warm the kid first, and then give warm colostrum.*
