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Nubian doe High Reaches Opal is a first time mother. She is verya ttentive to her little doe kid-most of the time. Yet this was the little girl lost out on the hills.

Giving practice time for a young kid in keeping up with the herd is popular with the kids. This little Nubian doe kid, now found, is out for a couple of afternoon hours with the herd. First she must find the herd.

Fencing Question

After her kid was a few days old, Opal wanted to go out to pasture. If her little kid was awake and active, Opal stayed in the barn lot crying as the herd went out.

That evening Opal came in with the herd. She had let herself out. How? Was there a hol in the fence? I couldn’t find one.

This was the pattern for several days. As soon as her kid settled down and went to sleep, Opal went out through? under? over? the fence and joined the herd.

The herd is moving away. The little Nubian doe kid runs to catch up.

Opal’s Little Girl

This is one lovely little doe. She is black with frosted ears and nose, polled and lively. Opal has trouble keeping up with her and has since she was one day old.

All the kids were out playing on the goat gym. The little girl got tired and laid down on the bottom step. Opal stood guard as the herd went out. I went to the house to put the seedlings out on the porch.

Hearing Opal calling, I looked up hoping to see where she was getting out. Instead I saw her leading her kid across the bridge to pasture. Now her kid is barely two weeks old, far too young to be out on the hills.

Kids and adult goats run in leaps and bounds. This little Nubian doe kid is still racing over to the herd.

Little Girl Lost

Although I hurried, I don’t run any more. By the time I got to the bridge, Opal and her kid were across the hill pasture. When I got to the south pasture, Opal and her kid were out of sight.

I caught a glimpse of them going up the hill at the far end of the south pasture. They were gone when I got there. No Opal. No kid. And no herd of goats.

Poor Nubian doe High Reaches Opal has a hard time keeping up with her little doe kid. The kid isn’t concerned. Mother will catch up.

After an hour climbing the hill, I found the herd. Opal was there. Her kid wasn’t.

Little girl lost, any little kid lost is panic time.

It took a lot of searching by us and a friend to find the little girl. I like happy endings and got one this time.

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.

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.