The Thrifty Homesteader

your guide to self-reliant living

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Books
    • Homegrown and Homemade
    • EcoThrifty
    • Raising Goats Naturally, second edition
    • Just Kidding
  • Speaking
  • Events
  • News
  • Videos
  • Shop

Conducting a Newborn Check in Goat Kids

01.19.2015 by thriftyhomesteader // 10 Comments

Why a Newborn Check?

Shortly after each kid is born you should do an initial newborn check to make sure that each kid has all its pieces in the right places. In addition to checking for obvious things, such as an anus, you also want to know if a kid has any disqualifying defects so that you don’t offer it for sale or get your hopes up about its future in your herd.

What to Check?Goat Kid Newborn Check

Peeing or pooping is generally a good sign that the newborn’s plumbing is in working order. Although it is rare, kids are occasionally born without an anus, and obviously, they will not survive. If a kid latches on and nurses well, the mouth is probably in good shape. However, if milk comes out the kid’s nose or if it has difficulty latching on, run your finger along the roof of the kid’s mouth to be sure it doesn’t have a cleft palate.

Check that each kid—buck or doe—has only two teats. Extra teats are a disqualification in show goats, and they are not something you want in milkers. In addition to possibly getting in the way when milking, extra teats can also get infected if they are functional. If they are not functional, kids can get confused and try to suck on them and then not grow properly because they are not getting enough to eat. A buck with extra teats should not be used for breeding, so you should plan to castrate it.

You also want to be sure that bucklings have two testicles, regardless of whether you plan to keep them intact. If testicles are not descended at birth, the odds are good that they will not descend. A buck with only one testicle should not be bred, and it is impossible to easily castrate a buck with an undescended testicle, making it a challenge to sell as a pet. With an undescended testicle, he will still get stinky and act bucky. Most people will use a cryptorchid as a meat animal.

This is Part 3 in our series on issues related to kidding season. It is an excerpt from Raising Goats Naturally: The Complete Guide to Milk, Meat, and More by Deborah Niemann. Here is Part 1 and Part 2.

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter!

My weekly newsletter includes recipes and articles on homesteading, raising livestock, health, and gardening.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Categories // goats, homesteading, livestock health, Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Judy Bunch says

    January 18, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    Thank you so much. Very helpful advice. Great Site!❤️

    Reply
  2. Kathleen/ in Pennsylvania says

    June 28, 2017 at 10:07 am

    I had 2 kids born last night. They both looked very healthy and were up and eating easily. Today, I just noticed that the buckling has a yellowish, and messy bottom. Is this a concern? What could it be and how should I care for him. The doeling looks great.

    Reply
    • thriftyhomesteader says

      June 28, 2017 at 10:24 am

      Congratulations! Yellow poop is great news 12 hours after birth! 🙂 It means the baby has nursed enough to get enough colostrum to poop out all of the meconium. Yellow poop is normal for babies consuming mama’s milk. As they start eating and consuming hay and other foods over the coming weeks, the poop will turn to little brown pellets.

      Reply
  3. Vicky Johnson says

    March 21, 2018 at 11:38 pm

    We just had twins, is there anything that we should give them?

    Reply
    • thriftyhomesteader says

      March 22, 2018 at 8:32 am

      If they are up and nursing, then that’s great! Some people give a BoSe injection at birth, but that’s not necessary unless you have a selenium deficiency problem, and the med is by prescription from a vet. Selenium-deficient kids may not be able to stand and nurse. Here is more info on selenium:
      https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-selenium/
      Be sure that your goats all have a free-choice GOAT mineral available, as goats are not native to North America and have a greater mineral need than other livestock.
      https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goat-minerals/

      Reply
  4. Barbara Rondine says

    January 10, 2019 at 12:19 pm

    It’s fun to read of others having kids. I decided not to bred my doe this year after her having four kids and then, five last spring! We don’t need up here until Nov/Dec with our -30 and -40 winter temps.

    Best wishes to all those new kids
    Barb

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for anything in particular?

Visit us on Facebook!

Are your goats copper deficient?

Standlee Organic Alfalfa Pellets

Blog Archive

Deborah’s Books

Index

You can read more of Deborah’s writing in these magazines

magazine logos

Affiliate disclosure

Thrifty Homesteader is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. You pay the same price when you purchase through affiliate links as you would if you went directly to Amazon, and our site earns a small commission, so by shopping through our links, you are helping to support our blog so that we can continue to provide you with free content.

Herbal Academy Courses

Copyright © 2019 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in