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
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.