Some of you who are new to goat raising must wonder why, when we 'older goaters' try to answer questions we include so many words such as 'most, usually, generally' etc.

I have been raising goats for about 19 years and have been trying to help answer questions on this forum. Some very recent ones concern how to tell when a doe is ready to kid. What I want to say is, I don't care how experienced you get, they will figure out how to fool you. We have two does who were due to kid Feb. 6th. One Nubian, one Boer/Nubian. Both 2 yr. olds. We bring the goats into the grain feeding area twice per day, and check on the ones who are within a week of their due dates several times per day besides that. Last Monday evening, we put the first doe into a kidding pen just because she didn't dash forward with the other goats when I fed the alfalfa. She had just entered the barn, and remained standing by the door - unusual behavior. None of the obvious signs of ligaments loosened, etc. I could easily have missed it. She delivered without so much as a whimper about 2 hours later. We had the intercom on, and our first clue was the sound of a baby goat. The other doe stayed in the goat shed the next morning when all were called for breakfast. We found two just born kids with her. She also was four days early, no loosening ligament signs the night before, etc. Over the years we have had some whose ligaments start loosening way ahead of time, as in weeks, and we spend half our time checking on them only to have them deliver right on the due date or a day or so late. I just wanted you to know that experience doesn't always matter.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), February 12, 2002

Answers

Great post Dianne! If those does could just keep them babies quiet! We had a Togg/LaMancha doe Scotia. She would disappear into the thick underbrush to have her kids. I even tried penning her, oh she stayed in the maternity pen, eating hay and grain by herself, then jumped over it to escape to the woods to kid! She came into the barn at milking time with a full udder, so that was my first clue that she had kidded :) so I milked her out, and then waited. She would walk out through the pasture and then look to see if I was looking, and simply wouldn't go to her kids with me there. So I grabbed her collar and sat with her, letting those babies get nice and hungry. I then walked with her through the woods, and sure enough, from beside a large oak, a sqeak! Being Togg colored I could have stepped over them and missed them. Brought them back to the barn :) The biggest thing in goats to learn is that they are smarter than you! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

Just nice to see another 'Dianne'

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), February 13, 2002.

Oh, thank you! I feel much less idiotic!

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), February 13, 2002.