Post Delivery
So the kid is out. Now what?
She may stand to start cleaning off the kid, do not interfere but you can assist with cleaning out the babies nose or mouth with bulb suction, if needed.
She may remain laying down to deliver another kid in which case assist as needed. If she has multiples it may depend on how close she delivers each. Sometimes she may deliver one or two, stand to start cleaning them off for a bit then lay back down to deliver more kids, or the afterbirth.
It is okqy to help clean and dry off her kid, but do not remove it unless you plan on raising it yourself. She will bond with the baby by licking and cleaning. The kid should be trying to stand and nurse within the first 30-60 minutes. The colostrum is necessary for newborn kids. It is thick, yellow, nutrient and antibody rich. The doe will produce this for a few days post delivery. It is vital for the newborn to receive a minimum of 15% his birth weight in the first 48 hrs. Preferably 50 % because those immunities are passed on to protect them until their own immunity kicks in at about 7-8 weeks of age. We keep a bag of colostrum in the freezer or use a colostrum replacement formula from Manna Pro.
Doe Care:
The placenta (afterbirth) should be delivered within 24 hours although best case is in a couple of hours. You will know if it hasn't been delivered by the bits hanging out of her vulva. Never pull on birthing tissues, doing so can cause uterine prolapse or worse, uterine tear.
If it gets long and dragging, you can tie it up which allows the weight of itself to help the body to expel it. If after 24 hours she hasn't delivered it you need to call your vet.
Most does eat the afterbirth, it is a natural and instinctive process. If multiple births there may be multiple mini bubbles in between each kid. Then one larger one at the end.
Clean up the pen so they have a nice dry spot.
A bit of molasses in warm water is a nice boost for her. And a nice bowl of grain.
She will need extra nutrition to produce healthy milk. She needs a high quality hay or pasture free choice. Then she needs twice a day grain that has 16-18%protein.
If you are dam raising, allow doe and kids penned together to help with bonding. You will hear her being very vocal “talking” to her kids. She also will continue licking and cleaning the kids frequently the first few days.
The doe will bleed lightly from her vulva off and on for a week or so.
KID care
If the baby seems weak, especially if it's cold out, check a rectal temp. Normal kid temp is 101.5-103.5.
If the temp is below 101, they need to be warmed up quickly.
Don't try to feed until temp is normal.
Ways to warm a cold kid:
* Towel off briskly
* Place kids body in a plastic bag and submerge in a tub of hot(104degrees) water. You will need to add additional hot water to maintain the hot temp.
*Cover kid with dry bath towels to make a little cocoon and use a hair dryer to fill the space with hot air, NOT blowing directly on the kid, as you can burn or dry out eyes.
*Some people give an injection of BoSe to a weak kid. Most of the time for us it is related to hypothermia, especially if winter and or multiples are born.
*Neonatal kids instinctively search for food. You may have to help position them so they can find the teat. Ironically most kids resist the teat placed in their mouth!
*Kids butt their dam’s udder to promote milk letdown.
*A wagging tail means the kid has the teat and is filling their belly
*A contented kid will eat and snooze
*A hungry kid cries,noisily suckles alot or fusses with his dam’s udder. You may need to bottle feed this one.
*If you have multiples, you may want to weigh each kid daily until you are confident that mom can handle feeding them all. We seem to have large litters and try to supplement with at least a daily bottle.
Our barn is somewhat drafty so we use kidding barrels to help keeps the kids warm. These can be easily and safely used. Introduce the kids to it soon after mom has finished drying them off. They also serve as a nice safe place for them to hide when they graduate from the kidding pen.