The Goat Stork Flies Again

In 24 days, on February 10th, One Stripe is due to provide us with some new baby goats. Then in 25 days, on February 11th, Copper is scheduled to do the same. If you've been unfortunate enough to have been reading here for very long, you already realize how much I love baby goats and FRESH MILK. We have been long without our own fresh milk and really, really look forward to the day that we no longer need to buy milk from the store.

I have been slowly increasing One Stripe and Copper's feed ration during the last month of gestation when much of the kids' growth occurs. This will be the first time we've had kids since we changed up the feed ration and removed the corn because of GMO. Now the feed contains oats, sweet feed (for the molasses), wheat bran, sunflower seeds and alfalfa pellets. We feed a loose goat mineral ration free choice and try to keep some out all the time, especially while the does are pregnant. They all appear to be healthy and doing very well. Their hips are starting to spread and their udders continue to slowly fill out. I have been watching One Stripe extra close since she aborted a few weeks early last year. Even though she lost her babies then, in the past she has been an excellent, attentive doe with big, strong babies. She was never in ill health, so the vet figured it was for mechanical reasons. She got butted hard in the side by another goat, or ran into something hard enough to cause her to go into labor. This year, so far, so good.

When I bring One Stripe and Copper in to eat on the milk stand, it gives me an opportunity to check them over and see how they are doing. That's why I know their hips are spreading. I also check their udders to make sure there is no hardness or signs of mastitis. Copper has gone through some briars sometime recently, because she has some sore places on her udder. I have a salve I am treating her with to get everything healed up before the kids arrive. At this point in the gestation, I can feel the kids kicking. This always makes me laugh out loud and puts a big smile on my face, even though the dog is the only one to notice.

When the young does are about six weeks to a month from kidding, I will start bringing them in on the milk stand to eat as well. They won't like it for a while, and will dance and complain. But they will get used to it, especially since there is some food there to distract them while I train them to be milkers. I have found this makes the actual milking go much smoother. There is not so many new things all at once. After they give birth they will already know how to get on the milk stand, that there is some food there waiting for them, and that they are safe and will not be hurt. They will still be very nervous first time mothers, but will be performing a normal routine behavior. When I changed to training them to the milk stand before giving birth instead of after, it made it easier for them and me.

Our three young does are now half way through their gestation. They were bred the beginning of November and are due the first week in April. They will all be first fresheners, or what we call first timers, having their first babies this year. All three of them were born here last spring, and are developing very nicely. Our three young does will be 13 months old when they give birth. We'll see how they do.

One Stripe is our old lady goat. She will be seven in May. She is definitely in the waddling stage now. Her udder will be almost twice this big before she gives birth.

Copper is One Stripe's daughter, and this will be her second batch of kids. She was two in December. She has added a new twist to how she gets up on the milk stand. When I milked her last she would just kind of launch herself up from the side of the stand. Well, she still does that, but now she comes in the barn, twirls in a circle, then launches herself on the stand. It's kinda funny, really. She had a little mucous discharge this evening when we were feeding. It's not unusual for does to have some discharge off and on for a few weeks before giving birth. She also didn't finish all of her food tonight. That is not that unusual since the kids are taking up more and more room, but I will keep a close eye on her to make sure she is getting enough to eat.

Penny is Copper's daughter from last spring. She will have the same long body and slender legs her mother has. And she is a beautiful dark red color.

Cricket is filling out nicely. I'm already guessing she will have twins. She has a stockier build than Penny, and I think she will be the biggest young doe we have. We sold her mother Ivory back in the fall.

Lady Bug is Cricket's sister. She is about the same size as Penny, just not as long. For quite a while she was very shy and wouldn't have anything to do with us. Now I can pet her all over. She isn't as friendly as Penny, Copper and One Stripe, but I'm very glad she has tamed down. She is a beautiful fawn color.

I had a goat question today I would like to include here. How many days after birth should you start milking and how do you know when there is no more colostrum in the goats udder?

I start milking right after the kids are born. I do this for two reasons. One, I want to make sure the wax plug is removed from the end of the teat and the milk is flowing freely, making it easier for the newborns to suck. Two, when the kids are born, many times the doe's udder is engorged with milk making their teats full and tight. Sometimes the kids struggle to get the enlarged teat in their mouth. 
 

Helping a weak quadruplet 2012 kid get their first drink

I also want the does to start producing a lot of milk, enough for the kids and for us. The first time I milk them is in the birthing pen into peanut butter jars. I don't take all of their milk, but I do take a lot of it. It also gives me some colostrum just in case I need it for any reason. The next day I will start bringing the does into the barn to feed and milk them on the milk stand. I keep all of what I call the colostrum milk for five days and feed it to the dog, cats and chickens. They all love it. Five days is considered to be the standard time frame for the colostrum to pass. Then I will start keeping it for us. That means on or about February 15th we will be drinking FRESH MILK! You can't tell I'm excited, right? I hope this answers your question.

Soon!

The miracle of birth and life is always a fascinating thing to watch. I always hope to catch the does in labor so I can watch the whole process. It never gets old. I'll keep you posted.

Until next time - Fern
 

Milk Goat Training & Other Lore

Copper is the only first freshener I have this year, so she is new to the milking routine. The great thing about training her to milk is that she is very, very tame. Compared to some of the other goats I have trained she has been a breeze. There are a few tricks I have learned along the way that I want to share with you.

Begin training early. Bring your first fresheners into the area where you will be milking when they are young or at least a few months before they are in milk. Use patience instead of force to get them up on the milk stand. 

In the past, I would take a goat by the collar and tail and force them up on the stand. That was a lot of work and frustration for both me and them. Now, I will take a bowl of feed and gradually coax them onto the stand a little at a time, trying to increase their comfort level each time. It doesn't hurt to use their tail to help them make that final jump up onto the platform when they're almost there but are still unsure. It will usually cause them to jump, then they find themselves on the stand right at the feed bowl. After they calm down a little and find out there is a reward of a meal for climbing on this platform thing, they don't mind it so much. I talk to them a lot during this process as a means of reassurance. Scratching their shoulder blades doesn't hurt any either, they really like that.

Once your goat is used to the milk stand, you are ready for them to give birth. After the kids are born, start milking the doe within 24 hours. I find that my does will produce a very large amount of milk during the first 48 hours after freshening. I will milk them out almost completely about 12 hours after the babies are born. One, it makes them more comfortable, and two, it makes

it easier for the babies to nurse when the teats are not enlarged with so much milk. To do this, I bring the does to the milk stand. Some of them are a little anxious about leaving their babies in the birthing pen, but they are ready to have that extra milk removed. There have been occasions that a doe was just too anxious about leaving her babies. Then I bring the babies with her to the milk stand and work around them. It only takes a time or two, then the doe is comfortable with leaving the kids for a short time. I think this is a sign of a good mother, so it doesn't bother me at all. I don't keep this milk for human consumption since it is full of colostrum. This is kept in old peanut butter jars to be given to the dog, cats and chickens. Five days after kidding, I will begin keeping the milk for us.

The first time I brought Copper in after she had given birth I expected her to fuss and kick a little. She just stood there like I had been milking her for years. I was amazed. Then I thought, this is just the honeymoon period and she will put up a protest later on. She never did. She has been the easiest goat to milk I have ever trained. I attribute this to two things. One, she was very, very tame to begin with and I have been handling her a lot since she was born. And two, she was a single that had no other kids to play with for over a month when she was born, so she played with us. She has always been very trusting of us and very easy to handle.

One of the things I train the does to do, that makes it easier for me to milk, is to move their right leg out and back a little. It gives me more room for the bucket and makes it easier to reach both sides of the udder for cleaning and milking.

This is not the natural position they care to stand in, but it is not uncomfortable either. It is more of the stance they take when their kids are nursing. To get them to stand this way I used to take hold of their ankle area and move their foot to the desired position.

Then they would move it back, then I would move it again, then they would move it back, and so on. This got old and frustrating at times. Now I gently push against the leg just above the joint to get them to move the leg back.

They usually hold their leg up for a bit, then gradually let it down and it ends up where I want it instead of where they want it. After a while, I can just nudge them on the flank and they move the leg out of the way for me.

Many of the tricks learned during milking are specific to the animal. There are just small differences that come with each different personality. Basic techniques are used with all of my does, but they each have their own preferences as well. Take getting on the milk stand for instance. One Stripe will pause on the cement blocks and get her footing just right before she jumps on up, and she doesn't like to be hurried through this process.

 

Copper, on the other hand, avoids the block steps altogether and just launches herself up from the side of the stand, usually after walking in a circle. 

Here Copper and Ivory are trading places. Each doe knows when it is their turn in line and will usually wait their turn. I always find that to be fascinating. When Ivory comes in, she will use the block steps and quickly jump right on the the stand. But if I don't walk in right behind her fast enough for her liking, she will turn around and come right back down the steps, turn around and come right back up again. Each has their own way of approaching the stand, but once they are there, the behavior is very similar.

Once a doe is on the stand, I walk by pat them on the flank or side, and talk to them. As I sit down to milk, I pat them on the underside of their stomach and talk to them. Even if I am not keeping the milk and only milking into a peanut butter jar, I will massage the udder a bit

to them know I am going to start milking, otherwise they jump a little. The best thing I can do for successful milking is to keep a routine. I don't always milk at the same time of day, which is a recommended practice. If I did, it would increase the does milk production. But I do usually perform the task of milking in a very routine manner, which seems to keep the does relaxed and agreeable.

I enjoy milking my goats and I think that adds to the atmosphere of this task. If I didn't enjoy it, there are many little things that I would probably find very frustrating and annoying. But I don't. Milking early in the morning is a very peaceful, relaxing chore for me. I get to spend time with my animals, observing their behavior to see if there are any needs we should address. I get to listen to the world wake up as the rooster starts to crow and the song birds sing to the morning. For many years I have considered the song of the birds to be a gift from God. He bathes us with these beautiful songs, telling us how much He loves us and gives us a gift of peace. Stop and enjoy them. Listen. Be still. You are blessed.

Until next time - Fern