Breed a Goat and Raise at Least 1 Kid - PEP BB animal.straw.goatkid

Here is my submission for the Breed a Goat and Raise at least 1 Kid - straw - Animal Care BB.

This is from Spring 2019 when Sprinkles, an Anglo-Nubian milking goat, is preparing to deliver FOUR baby girls

To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following photos:
     - caring for a goat
     - caring for the pregnant goat
     - caring for the goat and one kid
     - one kid that is at least one week old

caring for a goat - munching on fresh-cut pine branches we cut to reduce fire hazard and let the goats enjoy before allowing to dry for kindling



caring for the pregnant goat (Sprinkles is brown and her daughter, Fudge, is tan)
Sprinkles remembers the grain she gets when getting milked


Watching as a newly born kid finds food:


Caring for the Goat and 4 Kids just a few hours after delivery on March 26:


Three kids that are two weeks old (April 9):

This is Nova. She's going to help me earn this BB.

Nova

Caring for the goat

Nova was 19-months old when she was ready to breed for the first time. She's in good health. Her coat is soft and smooth. Her weight is good; not fat and not bony. Her eyes are clear and bright. She's alert and interested in her surroundings. Her appetite and poops are normal. She's ready for her date with a buck.

Nova is in good condition

Breeding Date: Oct. 15, 2020
Estimated due date: March 14, 2021

Caring for the pregnant goat

Early pregnancy care (1st three months) is normal goat care. Good nutrition is important.

Morning feed includes grain pellets and sprouted whole grain. Evening feed is grain pellets with chopped greens and veggies.

Plenty of free choice hay.

Making the mineral mix, which is fed as a top dressing to her feed.

Late pregnancy care (last 2 months) is a slight increase in feed. She'll need more calories to make milk so adjustments to diet are gradual to let her rumen adjust.

Kidding Prep

Kidding pen

Kidding supplies.

Kidding watch means frequent checks!

Nova kidded two days early; twin girls.

Newborns!

Caring for the goat and one kid

Warm molasses water after the job.

Making sure each kid gets a tummy full of colostrum as soon as possible and knows how to find a teat.

Kids one week old.

We have mini fainting goats. Our tan doe, Fili, had triplet bucklings this past January 2023! And now one of the bucklings (black with a white spot and white tipped tail) is our herd leader.

Here is my submission. Kili is a black miniature myotonic goat that had one black and white buckling earlier this year.

Sabrina has been with me since she was a 6 day old bottle baby.  These are last years (2022) kids. She had triplets but rejected her doeling after about 10 days so the doeling (Soji) became a bottle baby. Now Soji is bred and due February 26th of 2023! But this is about Sabrina...

She is queen of the herd (in my eyes) but not really the dominant doe. She is a wonderful mother and all the kids (even those that don't belong to her) follow her everywhere. I don't know why she rejected Soji after 10 days but I was lucky that Soji took to the bottle really fast. I made a pact with Sabrina that I would feed Soji if she would still take care of her and let her be with her brothers. So, that is what happened! All her pregnancies (3) have produced 1 daughter each and I have kept them. Saffron (her first daughter) kidded this year so Sabrina is a grandmother. Saffron and Soji will kid next year and the following year, Savannah (who is her daughter from this years kidding!)  Notice they are all S names?