[Anke]

Ridging up - yes you can put your funger/thumb round their tailbone at the base. Seems to be stronger in 2nd kidders than in goatlings. But usually not this early....

My 5weeks-to.go 2nd kidder gets three meals a day just now, from 4 weeks on I will give additional stuff late at night.

[cuckoo]

I learnt a hard lesson the first year I kept goats - I had a very nice GG called Prunella and she succumbed to what we believe was pregnancy toxaemia.  She stopped eating, scoured and despite our efforts - the vet did come out and she was rushed to the vets at a later stage - she died.  I now routinely keep Ketol in and any signs of scours are immediately treated with "white medicine" and rehydration fluid drenches.  I would also recommend keeping readigrass to hand too - none of my goats have ever turned their noses up at it - never mind how ill they have been.

[fifixx]

I had a vet "health check" last week as we are in the last month before kidding - not too expensive (he charged 30 mins, £50, although I am sure he was here for longer)

Definitely worth it as I have 8 in kid, 2 triplets, 5 twins and a single. They are all in the barn now until after kidding.

He has got me to separate the single while feeding as she is a biggie and he doesn't want too big a kid as risk of a cesarian so she gets 500g concentrate, the others have 800g twice a day of concentrate (I feed B and W feeds smallholder organic mix, they do non organic too which is cheaper http://www.bwfeeds.com/smallholder-range.php), and hay ad lib. I give them some chopped up carrots and sprouts occasionally and willow branches too for browsing.  i forgot to ask about the mineral lick which they have at the moment.

He wants to test the two fattest for twin lamb syndrome as overfed goats are susceptible and I had slightly overfed during the early stages of pregnancy, so I am going to test the herd for CAE at the same time.  i am also giving them a lambivac booster tomorrow.

His practice is doing a lambing day which he has booked me on mid-feb (£45 - 11-4, vet run, discussion in the morning, lunch and then practical with an artificial ewe and dead lambs to learn about difficult births etc)

As I'm organic I don't use many meds unless necessary and I am ok to pay these once-yearly extra costs so as to give the kids the best possible start.