Nubian Kids - the Fun & the Challenges

We have been generously blessed with 10 healthy Nubian goat kids so far this kidding season. We still have three does due to kid in the coming weeks.

During the cold, rainy days we had late last week, Glory and Surprise each kidded with a single kid.

Glory kidded first with a beautiful, heavily spotted buck kid. Baxter was born just as the storms were starting and the cold winds were blowing hard. Even with our efforts to keep him warm and protected from the driving rain, he had trouble regulating his body temperature effectively. Ultimately, we brought Baxter into the house and got his temperature to normalize. Over the next few days, we combined bottle feeding with regular visits with his mom to nurse. On Saturday, once the weather improved he was reunited with his mom full-time. He is now happy and thriving with the rest of the kids in the pasture.

On Friday, in the midst of another round of cold blowing rain, Surprise kidded with a beautiful little doe kid. We moved Surprise and baby Shasta to a protected area with a warm heat lamp. Once again, we faced problems with a baby not being able to stay warm enough. For about 24 hours, Shasta joined Baxter in the house with regular visits to her mom for nursing. She, too, was reunited with her mom on Saturday.

After kidding with triplets on March 7, Ophillia developed mastitis on one side of her udder. We proceeded to treat with a combination of massage and anti-biotic shots of OxyTetracycline. (More information can be found at Fias Co Farm). After 5 days of anti-biotics, the infection seemed to be better, but we still had some problems with milk flow on the affected side. Following the much appreciated advice provided by Irene Ramsay's website, we follow-up the anti-biotic treatment with several days of "own milk". We are relieved and ecstatic to report that Ophillia is now doing markedly better!

We have already completed the dreaded deed of disbudding all the boys (except Baxter); we will do the girls and the remaining boy this coming weekend. This is, truly, our least favorite job on the ranch.

In the end, there is nothing like watching all the happy, healthy kids bouncing merrily around in the pasture enjoying the sunshine. Were we totally exhausted from several sleepless nights? Definitely! Is it worth all the work to make sure they are and will stay healthy? Absolutely!