My two cents on caring and feeding your pregnant dairy goat

 Pregnant Zinnia going for a walk - this picture was from last year; however, we are once again going on walks, and once again, Zinnia is this pregnant. She is due in a few weeks. Think D flower names, Dahlia, Daisy, Daffodil, not Delphinium:)

This post is intended for new and learning goat owners, wannabe goat owners or folks with other dairy animals. The rest of you will probably want to skip this one. 

Seven years ago we brought up four doelings and two bucks to start our Lamancha dairy goat herd. As of this week, we are down to five does and one buck, and it feels as though we've come full circle. I have learned sooo much, and yet as always, am ever learning. This spring will be our sixth kidding season. In this post I'd like to share some of the things I've learned to pay attention to and provide for our bred does. Exercise, clean environment (clean enough that your does aren't laying in poo or wet bedding or mud etc.), quality hay and fresh water should be givens. Then there are more complicated issues that we should be aware of, but as few of us are scientists, we know a little but never enough, such how to know if we are feeding the correct levels of vitamins and trace minerals or protein, all of which can cause problems especially during pregnancy if goats are fed too much or too little. I'll just be touching on the surface of some of these issues, but if you have bred does you should be aware of them and have a contingency plan.

1. Caring for and feeding your pregnant Dairy goat

• Health at time of breeding and a note on hoof trimming
• Is your goat pregnant?
• Living quarters and herd dynamics
• Milking and drying off
• Feeding hay, grain rations and alfalfa
• Feeding other supplements such as BOSS, Alfalfa pellets, kelp, molasses, flax and herbs etc.

Obviously your goat should be in good health when she is bred. How can you tell if she is healthy? Shiny coat, clear alert eyes, active and moves with ease (no limping, hobbling etc), no lesions or skin sores or wierd growths. If your doe is in milk, her milk should taste mild and creamy and not overly sweet or goaty - nor thin (otherwise her nutritional needs are not being met - or possibly she just has really poor milk making genetics?) Most people breed to kid in the spring and then re-breed the following fall/ winter or "milk through" till the following year, with two years between kiddings. The first few months after a doe has kidded tend to take quite a toll on the doe's weight and health, so I would recommend waiting at least six months if not more before breeding again.

If you are breeding a "first freshener" how old is she? This is a highly controversial subject between goat breeders. I've read that you can breed once your doeling is eight months of age or eighty pounds. I relied on this advice my first year and my two bigger boned does came out of kidding just fine but the other two had leg problems during the final weeks of the pregnancy and then it took a while for their legs to straighten out after they kidded. Since that year I've waited until their second fall to breed them, but this can have it's downsides as well; most notably that your doe can get too fat, and then fail to ovulate or come into obvious heat in the fall - I've had this happen once. So, know your goat, do your research, look at their body type. If they were born in February, they are probably going to be ready for breeding come next November/December. If they were born in June, probably not.

Regardless of her age your doe should be in good health when you breed her. You'll want to keep her hooves trimmed throughout her pregnancy. I usually trim my does hooves in October before it gets too cold, then again whenever we have a warm spell in December, and then usually we have another warm spell sometime in February or March. Even if her hooves look ok. I give them a quick trim about six weeks before she is due, and then plan on not messing with them again until after she kids, as she will get awkward and heavy towards the end, and she'll have a hard enough time getting around as it is.

How can you tell if your goat is pregnant? Don't think you can tell by looking, during the first couple months at least. At thirty days you can however, draw blood and mail it in to BioTracking and have it tested for about six dollars a pop. I have a vet that will come up and ultra sound the herd with her portable ultrasound machine, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this. For one it is expensive, the price of a vet visit and more, and two, there is some controversy about ultra sounds in general and how invasive they are - certainly not a holistic approach.

At about three months I can start picking out who is most likely pregnant, some more obvious than others. You are supposed to be able to feel kids during the last couple months. The rumen is on the left side of the doe and the kids on the right.  I suck at feeling for kids. I've been sure I've felt kids and then the doe turns out to not be pregnant.

If you breed earlier in the season you'll have a better chance of catching your doe if she comes back into heat. It's always a good idea to keep track of her heat cycles on the calendar and of course when she is bred. Then you can keep a closer eye on her a few weeks later to see if she comes back into heat or not. It's always nice to be fairly certain that your does are bred so you know who to feed extra supplements and grain to and then you can save money on the slackers who didn't take, as well :)

A few considerations to think of, hopefully before you have a very pregnant doe getting beat on by her herd mates and no place to isolate her; early planning is key, like back when you are breeding. If you breed four does, but only have one extra kidding stall, you can't breed them all at once, unless you plan on building another barn or at least buying portable panels to further divide up your barn. You need to plan on giving each doe her own stall ideally for the two weeks prior to her due date to two to four weeks after depending on the doe. Then you'll still need pens for the kids where they can be safe away from the herd until they are stronger. Ideally your doe will have her own stall with a hay rack and hanging water bucket as well as a closing door to the outdoors with her own pen. It might take her a couple days to get use to being on her own, but once she realizes she doesn't get pushed around any more but can still see and hear everyone, she'll probably be thankful.

If your doe has a companion, sister, daughter, mother, who she is inseparable with, you might keep them together for a while, but I'd give the doe her own stall for the week before her due date. Most likely she will stop tolerating the other does company as her time gets near. Under no circumstances would you want another goat in with her doe while she is kidding, nor in the week or two after kidding.

When to dry off your pregnant milker: I think that most goat breeders would agree that a pregnant doe should be dried off during her third month, leaving her last two months to grow babies and not produce milk. If you have other milkers, you may want to dry her off earlier. If she has other health issues, is dropping in production or in milk quality, then dry her off earlier.

Feeding hay, grain and alfalfa: Hay makes up the quantity of your goat's diet, and should be of good quality. The better the hay, the less you will have to supplement your goat's diet with other additives. Aside from making sure your hay is mold and dust free, leafy and not stemmy, and that your goat likes it, I'd recommend testing it so that you know how good it is or isn't. However, I have to say that I have not ever had our hay tested, but I have intended to for some time, and will, one of these days. I do know that in general, that our hay grown in the interior tends to be high in Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium because hay farmers use fertilizers with these three major nutrients, and rarely use fertilizers with minor nutrients or trace minerals. I assume that our hay is low in selenium, copper, magnesium and calcium among other things. And as a result we supplement.

Alfalfa hay is like candy to goats. They know what is good for them. Alfalfa is a legume, and as such, is much higher in protein than our brome hay. It is also mineral rich, and provides significant levels of calcium. If I were to recommend feeding one thing in addition to whatever hay you have, it would be alfalfa. I notice a big difference when our does are getting alfalfa and when they are not. Feeding alfalfa to your pregnant goats prevents hypocalcemia which is one of the big well known complications that can happen after a doe kids, when her nutritional needs are not met. Alfalfa hay is outrageously expensive here in the Interior, $56 for 90-100lb bales last I checked. We have brought up truck loads from Anchorage and saved significantly, but we also feed alfalfa pellets (12$ 50lb bag at Walmart, $20 some at the feed store) I feed about two cups of alfalfa pellets once a day to my bred does and milkers. I especially try to feed alfalfa hay to my does during their last couple months of pregnancy and into their first month or two after kidding. Ideally I'd feed a few pounds of alfalfa hay a day to each doe, although some might say that is too much?

As far as grain goes, if you have a junior doe, you will want to be gradually increasing her feed, so that by the time she kids, she is getting as much grain as she will need to produce milk, enough grain that you can milk her out before she finishes :) The books say to feed one pound of grain to maintain good body condition, and an additional pound of grain for every four pounds of milk your doe is producing (hope I've got that right - it's been a while). So, if I'm milking once a day and getting four pounds of milk, and the kids are taking the rest, I'm guessing at least four pounds of milk, I'm going to be feeding about three pounds of grain. However, the grain or goat feed you are feeding complicate matters, and if you are soaking it and it expands... and whatever else you are feeding and how your doe is looking... There are a lot of factors.  I feed my doelings and bred does just a couple handfuls of grain up until they are half way through their gestation. Then during the third month I start gradually increasing depending on how the doe looks. For the last two months of gestation I feed about four to eight cups of sprouted barley, oats and wheat (3,2,1 in ratio), which started out as just three to six cups - which is less than a pound. So, I'm feeding less than the recommended amount, but I play it by ear and I watch my does closely.

Which brings me to other supplements: As mentioned way above, if you know you have quality hay, you won't have to feed as many supplements. Because I have not had my hay tested and because I mix my own grains and I'm not feeding a "goat feed" nor am I relying on inject-able vitamins, there is always the question in the back of my mind as to whether my goats nutritional needs are being met, and I probably over compensate by feeding supplements, which may or may not be necessary, but as I have not had pregnancy toxemia or hypocalcaemia or weak kid issues, hopefully that means I'm doing some things right. Some of these supplements I have fed from the beginning whereas some I've gone back and forth with and these include: a general vitamin mineral supplement, kelp, molasses, BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds), olive oil and dried herbs;  I feed very small amounts of supplements to the bucks and kids, and larger amounts to the does. I have at times fed beet pulp and nutritional yeast which I do not feed now, they both have their upsides and downsides. A lot of my decisions are based on what we can afford, so if money was not a consideration, I would feed Diamond V nutritional yeast.

We feed Sweetlix loose vitamin and mineral dairy goat supplement. We free feed it to all the goats in pvc pipe feeders. Sweetlix is the brand our feed store carries. I'm sure there are other brands out there and probably some that are better. Wherever you are hopefully you can find a loose mineral supplement for dairy goats. It is important that it not be for sheep, as that will not have copper. Also, be sure that it is not mostly salt, but rather vitamins and trace minerals.

Kelp is a super nutrient dense plant. It is high in calcium, iron, iodine and other trace minerals. My holistic doctor discovered that I was crazy low in Iodine, and she had me start taking kelp and my minor health issues were quickly resolved. After which we looked up some information on iodine and milk production and mammary systems, and I came away thinking that as long as I can go to the feed store and buy kelp for my dairy goats, I will. All kelp is not created equal. Our feed store use to just carry kelp for garden supplementation, and I bought that and fed it to my chickens...and still do sometimes. But mostly I buy the animal grade kelp. There is better kelp out there, and maybe someday I'll do the research and decide it is worth the extra money. I feed a couple teaspoons to a tablespoon of kelp on top of my bred does and milker's grain once a day.

Black oil sunflower seeds are high in healthy oils, vitamin E and B6, as well as selenium. I feed between a half cup and one cup per doe. I've gone back and forth feeding olive oil. It is undoubtedly good for the girls, but also expensive. If I have a doe who is having a hard time putting on weight or looking decent, I'll start giving her a tablespoon of olive oil on her feed. If you give them too much they'll get the runs.

Back to soil deficiencies, as a solution to dealing with copper and selenium deficiencies in the soil and hay it has become common for goat breeders in Alaska and elsewhere to give their does copper boluses, which is a slug of copper that goes down the does throat and into her stomach where there it rests and releases copper over time. The other trend is to inject goats with selenium every six months to make sure that your does have the proper levels of selenium. I'm not a huge fan of vitamin pastes, injectable vitamins, nor boluses, (but this doesn't mean that I won't go that route if my current methods don't work). I find these treatments more invasive than I'd like to be. Also, I have my suspicions about nutrients, vitamins and trace minerals that have been formulated in a lab, or overly processed (I know- I feed sweetlix) I read something in my research, I believe it was by Katherine Drovdahl, where she had written about copper, and that copper that comes from pipes or from a lab does not provide that vitamins and trace minerals that come directly from a living plant source, nor will it be as easy to absorb or use by the animal. I have been search for the quote and can't find it now. Also, I've read that selenium can be highly toxic in large amounts, so if I can feed it daily as opposed to injecting it twice yearly, I will. However, it makes sense to me, that the best sources of selenium and copper would come straight from living plants that are high in these minerals. So, I've been taking note of plants and other natural copper and selenium sources and feeding them.  First, high selenium herbs include: alfalfa, kelp, slippery elm, raspberry leaf, pao d'arco bark, milk thistle, catnip, BOSS, couch grass and black strap molasses. Foods and herbs that contain significant levels of copper include: black strap molasses, hops, sesame, sunflower and other squash seeds, dried basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley and thyme. Fir Meadow sells a copper selenium supplement called kop-sel that I've been feeding for the past year. You can purchase it on the Fir Meadow online site.

Black strap molasses is one of the supplements I fed for a while, purchasing five gallon buckets through Azure Standard, and then got tired of the goopy mess and stopped for a while. After reading recently about how great it is, I'm getting back on the band wagon. It is high in B vitamins and trace minerals. I was feeding a quarter cup and stirring it into grain for four does when I was last feeding it in the fall. Buying it in bulk is the way to go- and yes it does have to be Black Strap!

I am feeding a variety of herbs I harvested this summer, red raspberry leaves, nettles and comfrey. One of my goals in keeping less does, is to be able to make more of an impact in their winter diet, with herbs and plants that we grow or forage for, in addition to someday growing our own grain, hay and root crops for animal feed.

There are a few pregnancy related illnesses that are nutrient related. I do not have personal experience with any of these. I do however, have a contingency plan. And the reason I feed the supplements I do, is hopefully to prevent the following issues:

Pregnancy Toxemia/Ketosis called toxemia when the doe is pregnant and toxemia after she has kidded, is caused by an energy imbalance and usually occurs during the third trimester. It happens when a doe can't take in enough nutrition to meet the demands of her body and the growing kids. Her body starts to dissolve body fat for energy, but as it does this toxins and ketones are released into the bloodstream and cause the doe to feel nauseous and go off her feed. The remedy for a doe already exhibiting signs of toxemia or ketosis is to feed large amounts of sugar (60ccs of sugar, molasses, agave nectar, honey etc. warmed until runny, and then followed up with 30ccs three to four times a day until they are eating again) to stop the body from processing the toxins and ketones.

Hypocalcaemia, also called Milk fever: happens when a milkers calcium needs are not met. It happens more frequently with does who are heavy milkers and does who go off their feed for other reasons like ketosis. It can be prevented by feeding alfalfa to your does while they are pregnant and then continue while they are in milk. I have heard that does go downhill really fast if they have milk fever and quick intervention is necessary. A vet would probably put the doe on an IV and administer high doses of calcium. Katherine Drovdahl has a section in her book where she has an herbal plan to treat this as well.

White muscle disease is another complication that kids can have if their dams nutritional needs were not met during pregnancy. It usually shows up in kids when they are born or in the few weeks after kidding. Their muscles are not able to properly form in utero, and as a result they have weak hearts and other muscles. A deficiency in vitamin E and or Selenium are the culprits to blame. So, weak kids could mean you need more vitamin E or selenium.

Pre-natal goat care topics I can't write about because I know nothing about include vaccinations. I'm sure there is plenty of information on the topic out there for you to google.

If you don't already have Katherine Drovdahl's livestock (goat) herbal, you should own it! I have several other herbals for myself and the critters, and this is by far the most goat orientated and the most helpful.

Otherwise, feed good hay, feed alfalfa in some form in addition to herbs or supplements with trace minerals, or go the conventional route and give selenium shots and copper boluses, at least that will take the guess work out of it. Spend time with your goats, plan ahead and have contingency plans. All feed changes should be made slowly. Pregnant does and does who have recently kidded should be monitored closely, especially their eating habits. Putting your doe on the stand or feeding her grain and hay in her own space will help one to know if they are eating well or if they are going off their grain or alfalfa.

Most of all have fun, enjoy your goats and learn from your mistakes. I would love to hear what the rest of you are feeding your goats and what supplements you give them when they are pregnant.

March kids and goats

The daylight is waking us up around seven a.m. The sun is pouring into the house all afternoon and into the evening. It is so bright outside, that I've been needing sunglasses on while outside doing afternoon chores. The kids and I have been getting out most afternoons for a walk. We've been choosing a select few goats to come along as well. Two does get left out as they've taken to butting Avery and Noah when given the opportunity. Rose and now Zinnia are getting left behind because they are too uncomfortably pregnant, and while I thought a walk would still be good for them, Zinnia complained, bawled the whole way on her last walk- poor thing.

Avery got this new snowsuit - Thankyou Grandma! As you can see it is cute if a little impractical. Avery is getting opinionated about what she wants to wear these days. She is into pink, purple and pockets. I do not recall Noah being choosy about his clothes when he was two.

Noah has been enjoying the freedom of walking on top of the snow, venturing away from the driveway and trails. We had some serious winds a while back that seemed to compress the snow.

This is Zinnia on her last walk for a while. She has two due dates, as I bred her once and then she continued to act like she was in heat for the following week, so I re-bred her six days later. The due date I put on the calender for the goats is 150 days from when they are bred. They tend to kid a few days earlier. Zinnia's first due date was this Friday, so we started checking on her at night and throughout the day last Monday. Of course, once you start watching goats constantly, they act totally suspicious and like they are about to go into labor at any moment - at least the first doe of the season does- most likely I'm just overly jumpy. Zinnia is so uncomfortable right now, she paces, paws at the ground, nudges and nips at her belly, scratches her head with her back hoof, paws some more. Then when she tries to lay down she stops half way so she is sitting on her hind haunches unsure of how to lower herself down any further, before rising and pacing some more. She shifts her weight, grunts, huffs and begins chewing her cud again, but only after staring off as though she is closely paying attention to something internal, eyes glazing over as I wonder if she is having an early labor contraction - nope.

Zinnia is either at day 151, or more likely, day 145. She and her mom are in their own stall and pen. We can monitor them on the "goat cam" which is a security camera in their stall which is wired to our TV. This makes late night checks oh so much easier. I just get out of bed, turn on the TV, watch for a few minutes and go back to bed, rather than getting dressed in under and outer layers, boots, gloves, hat and headlamp to trek down that slippery slope and disturbing a bunch of sleeping goats. We've been going to bed and getting up early. Last night the alarm went off too many times, I think every 4-5 hours should suffice. Although, when the overly pregnant goat is pacing late at night instead of sleeping, you've got to wonder if she knows something you don't.

This is Zuri. Hard to believe that she is due in just two weeks, but she is! Her udder is just starting to take shape. So far she is keeping up with the un-bred doelings, running, jumping, letting them know she is still boss. Yesterday I moved three does up to our extra top pen, reserved for breeding and this time of year, when we need to weed out any extras who aren't close to kidding. So Xoe, who is bred but not due till May, and her daughter'sYin and Asia are up next to the bucks and not too happy about the arrangement, but everyone else is. Now, Zuri and Xan, the next does due, won't be picked on. The doe pen is peaceful and calm, for the moment.

Kidding Season and Prenatal Doe Care

Kidding season is on the horizon. We have five does bred -(I hope). Four of which are due in March. It has been a while since we've had first timers kidding. This will be the fourth kidding season for our original three does. We have two does, Zinnia and Zuri, who will be two this spring and this will be their first kidding. Zinnia and her dam Rose are due in four to five weeks. Zinnia's udder is just starting to take shape - very exciting! She is looking great. Much better than her dam, who is probably carrying two and maybe three kids. We got the does out for a walk today, and while Zinnia is still running around and quite frisky, Rose was lagging behind everyone, slowly trudging up the hill. She had three bucklings last spring!

As far as prenatal care goes, I suppose the most important thing is to know when your doe was bred and when she is due. Or, I suppose diet tops that. Diet is extremely important for bred milking does. Building kids and making milk puts enormous strain on their bodies. I'm not going to go into great detail on the different kidding related "diseases" in this post, other than to say that the big ones that are diet related are Pregnancy toxemia and Ketosis. The first happens during pregnancy and is caused by inadequate feeding or an excess of grain. Ketosis occurs shortly after kidding, due to the demands of producing milk and most likely not enough grain or feed. Here is a link to a reliable source on signs of these diseases and how to treat them.

So far we have been fortunate to have healthy does and healthy strong kids through all of our doe pregnancies so far. We did have one disaster two seasons ago where we lost two kids, but I see it as operator error rather than a component lacking in prenatal care. We had a doe that had three kids that were not presenting themselves in the correct position and we waited too long before going in and pulling them out. You can read about it here.

Our does get as much brome hay as they can eat, twice a day. They like leafy green hay. They do not like fine hay, stemmy hay or brown hay. Contrary to the myth that goats eat anything, goats are in fact extremely picky. The goats have constant access to a loose mineral supplement which is specifically for goats. As far as grain goes, I'm feeding the pregnant does between a half of a pound and a pound (depending on the goat's body condition) of COB, rolled corn, rolled oats and rolled barley. Other options would be to feed goat chow, a pelleted feed containing various grain by products and other supplements which increase the protein content of the feed. I feed a large handful of alfalfa pellets and one of black oil sunflower seeds to the bred does, and a light sprinkling to the dry does. The alfalfa pellets provide a source of protein and most importantly calcium. Sunflower seeds provide vitamin E, and a healthy source of fat and protein. Feeding hay, grain and supplying a loose mineral supplement to pregnant goats may not meet all of their calcium needs. When does don't get enough calcium during pregnancy a condition called Hypocalcemia occurs. I've thought that feeding some alfalfa hay or alfalfa pellets throughout pregnancy should solve this problem. I've been told not to feed calcium during the last few weeks of pregnancy. I've also read to do the opposite. Here is the most recent article I've read on Hypocalcemia, according to this article, I'm not feeding anywhere near enough calcium. Hm.

I've always purchased Molly's herbal pregnancy tonic to feed the goats during their last five or so weeks of pregnancy. In it are the same herbs you'd find in any pregnancy tea for women; fennel, raspberry leaves, alfalfa, cinnamon and nettles. I've also purchased and fed her herbal dietary supplement year round to everyone which has spirulina, alfalfa, dandelion, nettles and flax seed in it. I've been meaning to feed flax seed and kelp, both of which we buy in fifty pound bags for the chickens, but I've been slacking. We did harvest and dry our own wild raspberry leaves, nettles and dandelion this year. I've just one gallon of each dried. I've been saving them for this time of year. So the pregnant does are getting a small handful of each on top of their grain each morning. This isn't as much as I'd like to have, but it is something. Hopefully next year we can harvest two to three times as much of each of these herbs.

The only other supplement I'm giving the goats is selenium. Some soil in the interior is deficient in selenium. So there is a good chance our hay is low in selenium. I guess the mineral supplement may not have enough selenium, so it is recommended that goats in low selenium soil areas be given additional selenium. So I buy the selenium/vitamin E gel. About seven weeks before kidding I give the does a dose, then every couple weeks till kidding.

Other care ideas for pregnant goats is trimming their hooves 5-7 weeks before kidding. The does may have a hard time balancing for hoof trimming closer to their kidding date. If their hooves are too long it will make walking around that much more difficult. And of course exercise is also important for all of us, including pregnant goats. It makes sense that pregnant goats will have healthier kids, less complicated labors and suffer less from the stresses of pregnancy if they get regular exercise.

Shortly before kidding I give the does a hair trimming around their tail and udder area so that they clean up easier after kidding. About a week before the goat is due, I start putting the doe in her own stall at night and feeling for her tail ligaments. I'll write more about kidding as we get closer. 

If feeding pregnant does sounds complicated, it kind of is. When you start reading about mineral deficiencies in goats, it does get kind of scary. We would like to think that feeding quality green leafy hay, the right amount of grain, providing fresh water and a constant mineral supplement should be enough to keep goats in healthy condition. However, the reality is that goats were not meant to be confined in small pens and fed dried hay and grain. They are browsers. If you let goats out to pasture in a field of hay, they will look for the weeds, or the browse on the side of the field. They prefer the bark, leaves and branches of trees, the tender tips and buds of shrubs. If you think about the root systems of trees and shrubs, they extend deeper into the ground than hay and grasses, therefor are absorbing higher amounts of nutrients. The standard diet for feeding goats is not their natural diet, and therefor extra measures are needed to make it work.

If you are new to goats, getting into goats, and especially if this is your first kidding season, I strongly recommend Molly's Fiasco Farm site. I consider her the online goat care bible. She has a comprehensive section on goats kidding and what to expect.

This year is the letter B for goat names with the American Dairy Goat Association. My favorites so far are Bella, Blue, Bernadette (Bernie), Bridget and Bridie. I've got a disbudding iron and instructions for building a kid box ordered. Other than that I suppose we are ready for kids. I'm enjoying sleeping through the night and not looking forward to waking up for midnight doe checks. Our farm helper will be helping with goat kidding this year as she has been working with the goats regularly since last spring. I'm looking forward to having fresh milk. I don't know why I do this to myself, breed all of our goats and not leave someone in milk to get us through. I figured it was only seven weeks without milk and I had some milk frozen - but it is not the same. I'm looking forward to making pudding and having cream for my tea.

Pregnant Does and Kidding Season

I took these pictures about a month ago and at the time thought the does all looked obviously pregnant, especially from behind and above. The brown doe looked like this last spring at kidding season, but her udder never filled up and she never kidded. She was huge though, just as she is this year, so we won't be certain she is expecting until her udder starts filling. Both the white doe and the black and tan are filling their udders already. The black and tan doe pictured in the last photo is Xoe. She is due any day now. Gestation for goats is 145-155 days. Xoe is on day 146. The last two years she has kidded on day 149, so my guess is that she will kid on Friday. She had two kids her first kidding and three for her second, so I'm guessing three kids again this year.

We have had nothing but trouble with Xoe's kidding, but I can't blame her completely so this is her year to come through for us. We bred her too young in our eagerness for milk. Her front legs started to buckle under the pressure of her pregnancy but I was able to wrap them for support. She was fine after she kidded. Except for the fact that she rejected both of her kids. We had to keep her kids separate from her and hold her so they could nurse. After a couple weeks she finally came around to them. Last spring we were attending Xoe's labor and it didn't seem to be progressing as it should. We finally went in and it was just a mess with all the kids tangled inside. After hours of struggling and pulling and turning we finally pulled the first guy out, then we had to pull the next kid out which was a doeling that never started breathing, and a very weak buckling who died that night. This was our first kidding of the season last year. Needless to say my anticipation dimmed and was replaced with caution and dread. After such a traumatic kidding, Xoe rejected her kids a second time and again we had to hold her for the first several days so her son could nurse.

Xoe is easy to work with and has a great disposition. I would like to keep her in the herd. It was not her fault that her kids were tangled. For both of our sakes I'm hoping for a smooth kidding and a good relationship between dam and kids this year. In the world of dairy goats, it is common place to separate the kids from their dams at birth and raise the kids by bottle with pasteurized milk as a method of preventing the disease CAE. We took great lengths to start our herd with CAE negative goats. For a dam to reject her kids when we are trying so hard to have dam raised kids, is.....ironic. In our experience the does udders fill out completely to the point of a shiny tightness, painful to see. The other sign which I am just starting to get a grasp on is feeling for their ligaments which when they disappear means that kidding is hours away. Xoe's udder is not filled out completely and I can still feel her ligaments, which means I should have a couple days, but I'm still keeping a close eye on her.

I have been debating on whether to pen her up on her own or not. The three pregnant does are on their own. They have been sleeping outside the barn in a covered area near the feeders. I want her to be comfortable and to be able to come and go as she likes. In my experience when a doe is in labor and in obvious pain, the other does want nothing to do with her. However I would worry that if the kids were on the ground the other does then may want to check them out and they aren't gentle with other does kids. We are checking on the does at bed time and again in the morning and throughout the day. We have a security camera set up and wired to our TV so we can keep an eye on them inside. As Xoe gets closer I may put her in a stall, or more likely, I'll just turn on the TV every couple hours.

I try and get the does out for walks a couple times a week. Lately the trails have been treacherous, slippery as can be. I've been hesitant to let three awkwardly pregnant does out on the icy road for fear they'd slip. But I got them out today and as I watched them trudge along I was reminded, that they are goats, sure footed even during their final days of pregnancy.

Rose and Xan, white and brown doe, are due in a couple weeks. We won't know until everyone kids who we'll be keeping, if anyone, and who we will be selling.

As far as advice to anyone entering their first kidding season, I would say BE THERE, no matter what. Our first kidding season we had four does kid, one of those does had her son come head out and get stuck there. We were present we just were not experienced and had trouble getting him out, finally the vet came through and pulled him out. If we hadn't been there Xanadu would have died. Last year Xoe would certainly have died if we hadn't been there. That is two of our four senior does in the space of two years would have died in labor if we hadn't been there to assist. These complications were not caused by feeding practices, but I believe that goat breeders have focused on looks and milk production and not hardy goats that kid easily. I don't know enough about goats in history to know how much better their kidding rates would have been. But I do know that by assisting births and continuing to breed does that consistently have complications in labor, that we continue the cycle. I for one admit that when I purchased my does I was shopping for looks, quality genetics, good looking udders, high milk production, high butterfat levels. It never occurred to me to ask how their dams did in kidding and how often they had complications or needed assistance. It is now my responsibility to be there for my does.

Spring is here at last

It is April first and I can easily say that spring as sprung here in the Interior and it is here to stay. Our days have been reaching into the forties, well above normal, and the trend is expected to continue over the next several days. Before we know it all the snow will be gone. We have had the easiest, shortest and warmest winter I can remember. We have been remarking on our good fortune all winter long, hardly daring to believe that the harsh cold days could be over. We are now in the safe zone. We could easily get snow and below zero temperatures this month, but chances of extreme cold are long past.

Bare ground is starting to show on our heavily used trails. On my morning walks the snow crunches under my boots. In the afternoon it is almost too warm to be slippery, boardering on slushy, by late night watch out, slip bam before you know it.

I can not emphasize how elated I am knowing that spring is finally here and the days are only getting warmer and lighter. We are receiving more than twelve hours of daylight and gaining over six minutes each day. The kids have been spending a lot of time outdoors. They get dressed to go outside, coats, hat, mittens and boots. Then they get outside and play, eventually get bored because there are not too many toys outside yet and they are mostly confined to the back porch or the driveway, hands get chilly etc. They come in and get all their clothes off. Get bored indoors and before I know it are headed back out. I can hardly keep up. I think the outside layers got put on and taken back off about eight, maybe ten times today. By the end of the day Avery's outside clothes were all wet, but she was still insisting on going out and that was all I had to put her in. There was a while today where the sun was so intense that D was on the back porch in a t-shirt and the kids were hat and mitten-less. I shopped around town looking for rain (muck/farm/ all purpose) boots for Avery today without much luck. She has tiny feet and the smallest kid sizes were too big and finding rain boots for baby sized feet is not easy, at least in this town.

The pace is picking up. By the time we get up the sun is already shining, the kids are wanting outside before they've gotten out of their jammies. The days have been filled with all those things (indoor cleaning, organizing, projects we've put off all winter) we'll never make time for once the ground is thawed.

Twenty-four chicks have moved out of the house and into the chick section of our chicken coop. All peepin and going strong.

Three awkardly pregnant goats are lounging around enjoying their final days of peace and solitude. We are counting down the days. We've got about two weeks until the first kids are due.

Tomato, herb and pepper seedlings are growing. I'll be starting more herbs and flowers soon. Today I dug my hands into the thawed soil in the greenhouse. I think I might start some cold hardy greens and brassicas in the greenhouse and cover them with an extra layer of glass or plastic for extra protection.

We killed two roosters and a drake this week. The roosters were not yet a year but I noticed the meat was not near as tender as the Cornish. At first I made a quick stir fry but the breast pieces were too chewy, the dog was happy though. Then I made an Indian curry and the drumsticks and thighs were thankfully tender enough to enjoy.

I've been making most of Chana's dog food. I had tried my hand at making dog food for her a couple years ago, but eventually went back to the convenience of store bought dog food. Well, I have been re-inspired so I'll be sharing the basic recipe at some point. I've also started just making extra for her when I cook our meals. I make more scrambled eggs on purpose now, and slather a piece of homemade bread with peanut butter when I'm making the kids sandwiches. At one point in my life I actually believed that store bought pet food was the healthiest diet and I felt like I was breaking some law feeding table scraps. I've read enough to realize that maybe the average American diet is not only unhealthy for us but yes also unhealthy for our pets. However, for those of us cooking from scratch with wholesome ingredients, that is another case entirely. So I'll write more on this topic.

As far as this weekend goes, I'm preparing a ham that we bought with our half a pig last spring to take to an Easter brunch with friends. Later in the day we are headed out to my folks for a leg of lamb, brioche, asparagus soup and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. I am making some sort of salad with my version of shredded duck confit from our duck. I think the salad will have blue cheese, toasted pecans, pears and sherry shallot vinaigrette. Today I made a cheesecake for my mom's birthday which we are celebrating tomorrow. As requested it is a baileys cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust and caramel topping. With a weekend full of cheesecake I am surely doomed as I've been having completely unpredictable dairy sensitivities especially when consuming pasteurized, ultra homogenized unorganic dairy products. Ah, such is life, on one side of the scale is cheesecake and on the other a runny nose and lots of sneezing...

I have ambitions to write some informative helpful posts with pictures included in the following week. I'd like to write more about prenatal goat care, making dog food, grain mill and baked goods and the list goes on. I know if I don't do it soon it isn't going to happen because my time is about to be all consumed by goat babies followed by a planting frenzy. For now, I hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings. Well happy spring everyone! So long dark slow cozy days, hello bright frenzy!

March Ramblings

I've had a head cold the last few days so I haven't been up for much. I am hoping to get some photos up of our trip to the ice park along as well as some pictures of my new grain mill, baked goods, awkwardly pregnant goats, seedlings etc. All in good time. Here are some various ramblings about this and that:

Chickens: The chicks are all doing fine. Our Welsummer hen did finally kick the bucket about a week ago in case you were wondering. She died after being inside and dropper fed for almost two weeks. If I had been more adventurous I might have opened her up as I sure would have liked to know what was wrong. The same day she died we discovered our last Brahma hen dead. Then we noticed a sick Ameraucana hen, who died shortly after coming to our attention. I don't think the deaths were related as they had different symptoms. We have had a few chickens over the year with serious external injuries, (dog bites, head injuries, not able to walk for weeks). They have all recovered with a little pampering. Usually once we notice a hen with no obvious injuries who is sick and droopy, it is already too late. So I was pretty surprised that the Welsummer hung in there that long, I may have just been prolonging her suffering by nursing her along. Chickens die unexpectedly sometimes and for this reason I like to keep more than we really need. We still have seventeen layers and the Ameraucana pullets are starting to lay more eggs. The two Welsummers are laying as well as the Sexlinked hybrids which is quite impressive - although they were about four months behind in starting.

We have three very pregnant looking does due in mid April. They are beginning to lay around much more. I reported recently that Xoe's udder has been filling out. Soon after, her two year old daughter Yin started nursing off her again. We had this problem last year when Xoe kidded as well, so much for Does drying their kids off on their own. Yin waits until Xoe gets up on her hind legs to reach they new hay on top of the feeders, then she darts a quick suck before her mom comes down and buts her away. It is so wrong, as Yin is actually bigger than Xoe who probably has three kids inside, and is trying to produce all the colostrum and good antibodies that her kids will need once born. We were looking in Hoegger goat supply at an udder cover that would prevent Yin from being able to nurse.

What we really need is that second doe pen we were hoping to have by kidding season, but is filled with deep snow and fallen trees that need sawed up. So last night we decided to take a gamble and move Yin along with the two doelings up into the vacant pen next to the bucks, risky business indeed. They have a low ceiling hovel in adjacent to a partially complete stall that just needs another wall and a door. It has been warm enough that some of the does have been choosing to sleep outside as it is so we decided they would have access to both protected areas in addition to the pen. The risky part is that they share an interior woven wire mesh fence with the bucks. It also has a couple strands of electric fence, but the snow is so deep that the fence is hardly four feet off the ground.

We tried to breed Yin this year yet I believe she remains dry. I'd prefer that the doelings wait till fall to breed, however, they are almost a year old. I doubt that they will be coming into heat this late in the spring as Lamanchas are seasonal breeders and we are pushing the end of the season. If a buck gets over the fence and the does get bred, we decided it wouldn't be the end of the world. The doelings are about a year. Worse case we might have a fence to rebuild and some August kids. The benefits are that the three awkwardly large pregnant does get to lounge around and enjoy their final weeks of pregnancy without their daughters taking advantage of them. Once the kids are born there will be less chaos and more room for moms and kids as well.

Seedlings. If you live in Interior Alaska, now is the time to be starting your tomato and celery seedlings, along with slow growing herbs, onions if you grow those from seed, and any flowers that say to start eight to ten weeks ahead indoors. I've got some herbs started. My plan was to start tomatoes, peppers and celery today if I can sum up the energy.

In the Kitchen: I've used my new grain mill four times now. This last time I wore a handkerchief over my face as previously I was sneezing and blowing my nose all day after grinding. I guess I'm sensitive to the fine particulates in the air. So far with success I've baked 100% whole grain bread, cinnamon rolls, pizza rolls, savory wheat thin crackers, graham crackers, pita, biscuits and pizza dough. The secret seems to be in soaking the wheat overnight in buttermilk. Not only does it improve the digestability of the whole grains, but also does wonders for the texture of the final product. I've been very impressed with how soft and light everything has baked up. I recently bought Peter Reinhart's book Whole Grain Breads which is where I found the pizza and pita recipe. Both the bread and the wheat thin like cracker recipe came from Annette's blog; Sustainable Eats . Thanks Annette for some great recipes and the inspiration to begin with!!!!!