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Saving Chilled Kids

I’ve always had my goat kids born in March as the weather had settled. No more. Now, even in March, I may be left saving chilled kids.

There are few things about raising goats worse than going out to find a doe had her kids on a frosty dawn and they are lying there, limp. It doesn’t take long for a newborn kid to die of hypothermia.

My Preparations

Before I go out to the goat barn on cold mornings, I start the fire in the wood stove. Wood heat is radiant heat. It warms you quickly, completely.

There is a supply of kid goat coats in the milk room. A few old towels are in another pile.

Next is checking the barn for new kids. Goats usually twin and I’ve been watching my does as I can usually tell whether they will single or twin. This is important as newborn kids can get separated.

saving chilled kids success newborn Nubian buck
Newborn goat kids are small and wet. They can not keep themselves warm for several days. That sets them up to get chilled. Hypothermia is an emergency to watch for and treat when kids are born in cold weather.

Saving Chilled Kids

If I find a newborn kid, the first step is to dry it off as much as possible. This is what the old towels are for.

A chilled kid can seem normal, but its mouth is cold inside and it doesn’t want to nurse. Such a kid is bundled up and taken to the house, put in a box bedded on old towels and placed near the wood stove.

If the kid is limp, I towel it off anyway. It may be alive and will move a little, usually trying to cry. The prognosis isn’t good, but this kid is also put near the wood stove.

Getting Kids Warm

It’s tricky telling when a kid is warmed up. They warm up on the outside quickly, but not on the inside. If such a kid is taken out to the barn, it will chill again.

A fully warmed up kid is up, active and asking to nurse. Its mouth is warm inside.

This kid gets a goat coat and taken out to the barn where its mother is usually delighted to have her kid back.

Cold, Not Chilled

Nubians talk a lot. The kids talk to their mothers. Sometimes a kid will have a higher, begging sound and call over and over.

If the kid isn’t hungry, it is cold. A goat coat will often warm it up.

Saving chilled kids isn’t always possible. But those that survive to run and play later on make the effort worthwhile.