[Joseph]

Our kids are due in Just over a month, and my 2 girls are practically dry now. We are hoping to milk again as soon as the colostrum ceases.  I see some books suggest separating after four days to hand rear. I am just curious though, how do other manage their kids, if they want to get milk too and to have tame kids.

I have no idea how many kids we will have with our 2 pregnant does, but clearly need to work out an accommodation solution for them and a room for the mothers to kid in.  We currently have a single 12x8 goat shed, with a large garden where the girls spend most of their time when it isn't raining.  The garden is fenced with electric fencing tape. I hope the kids will learn soon enough to stay away from the tape fence.

My next concern is going to be protecting our saanen x tog or boer kids from London's urban foxes...

That is a lot to consider over the next couple of weeks..

[plumseverywhere]

My first Nanny goat came accompanied by 2 kids. They were still feeding off of her. One of them, Reggie is still here - he is the tamest, dopiest, loveliest goat you can imagine!

My pregnant girl, Puffin, is due to kid (EDD was yesterday so literally any time now). I'm having similar dilemma's about kid management. Current thoughts are this - boys will need to be taken off at 3 day's following good feast of colostrum as that's the day they go to their new home (because I can't rear my own meat I am selling any boys to a lovely man who keeps goats for meat once they are old enough)
Girls - will be fed by mum. I will shut them off of her at night as they get older so we can have some milk for soapmaking.

I think you have to introduce them to the fencing when they are of a certain age (ie. not diddy newborn?) so they respect it. From what I was told anyway.

Our paddock is also home to foxes/badgers/buzzards.  Ours will be shut in at night and only going out with mum during the day and while they are tiny I shall be out there too. This is the plan currently 

now we just need Puffin to get on with delivering her kid(s)

[jaykay]

I have two adult does, both of whom are in kid.
I have two separate pens in the goat byre, plus a communal bit. The pens are next to each other with strong but open mesh between them.

Each doe has her own pen at night and when she kids, she'll be in here with her kids for the first few days. Then they'll come out one family at a time for a run around. I'll mix them up when I know my bolshy doe won't attack the other one's kids. Until they're 3 months old they live with their mum full-time.

At 3 months, the mums go in their pens overnight and the kids are together in the communal bit. I milk in the mornings only and then the kids spend the day with their mum - by now they're going out into the goat paddocks, one per family, double height stock fencing with an electric strand inside to prevent standing on the wire or sticking your horned head through the wire and getting stuck 

[katie]

I'm still feeling my way with this - our first kids were born just over 2 weeks ago. Each doe has her own pen which she shares with her kids. They are on her full time as i don't want the milk/ bottle-feeding at the moment. I will separate them at night at 3 months. The does and kids go out together in the day but I shut them in at night for the moment.
Because the kids are not bottle-fed, I am doing lots of socialising - ie they think I am a kid climbing-frame - and they are getting very friendly.So far, so good.

[plumseverywhere]

Katie - what age did you start letting them go out during the day with mums?  (something I've been pondering last few days in preparation)

[Joseph]

Thanks for your for those thoughts, Katie, how big are your family pens?

[Lesley Silvester]

I have a 7ft x 5ft garden shed for my girls.  Both times there was only one kid so she/he stayed with Mum and I milked once a day.  I don't have room to separate them atm though that is due to change.  The make kid was ringed at three days when he was disbudded.

[Joseph]

So they kidded and  stayed with mum in the communal shed? Is that an option? I could really partition a section of the "goat byre"  (lovely word, thanks), for the kids at night which will give us some milk and will still allow the kids some family time during the day.

[katie]

The pens are about 6ft square. I let the kids go out after afew days once the day had warmed up a bit.

[little blue]

So they kidded and  stayed with mum in the communal shed? Is that an option?

Ours do


depends on the temperament of your goats of course, ours are soft as a brush!

[jaykay]

Mine start going out into the paddock during the day at about a week old, depending a lot on the weather, which can be evil here. The paddock has a shelter, but even so!
I always bring my goats in at night to the byre and shut them in.

I have to keep my families separate because Ellie is such a bolshy madam and would butt Rowan's kids badly if she could get at them. Once the kids are old enough to be running around the gill then they all go out together as there's plenty of space to keep apart.

[Anke]

My goats share pens in family groups (5ft x 8ft, max 3 aqdults per pen), but everyone goes out together most of the time (some pregnant ladies may have separate grazing sessions to make sure no butting etc from the bossy and this year non-pregnant goats occurs). Kids stay with their dams until 4 days, after which they will go on the bottle and I milk twice a day. Initially they have a part of the (kidding) pen sectioned off and once taking the bottle well, mum will rejoin her family group and all the kis will share a pen. I don't let mine out until about 6 weeks old or so, as a) they have to go into the same field as mums and I do not want them to start to suckle again and b) by then they are well used to eating greenery (as well as milk).

Everybody is shut in at nighttime, so no issues with foxes etc here, although both foxes and badgers do a nightly patrol through the paddock (footprints in mud!).

My fencing is sheepnetting with top electric wire, and the kids normally test it a couple of times, and then no issues anymore. I have used horse tape to subdivide the field, but kids were then about 5 months old. After one test they respect it well. But it will need a fairly low tape (to make sure no wriggling under) and then again one to make sure no stepping across bottom tape, plus one as high as possible. Mine are pretty docile though... the other day I let them out, came back from school run (about 30 mins) and saw that the bottom gate (easy access to road. but minor) was wide open... goats hadn't even noticed....

[Lesley Silvester]

Mine also had access to the yard from day one.  I left mum for a week to just suckle then got a pint a day from her in one milking.

[Joseph]

Thank you all, I will try what Anke says. My human kids want to bottle feed them anyway,



This is a snapshot  I just took from my goat cam, I intend to partition a small section at the back for the kids. But I don't lock  my girls in at night. I just hope a fox won't come in through  the open door to get the kids. My does do not allow foxes into their paddock normally, I'm just worried that a fox will persevere when if it sees the kids. Mary tends to sleep inside, so I'm hoping she  will protect her kids in the next pen.

[Anke]

Unless you have got urban foxes I would be surprised if a fox would go into the shed. WE lamb outside and I have never had any problems with the (rural) foxes here. We only rarely see them (other than footprints, or just during/after the hunt has been through), and I have never thought it to be a problem.

The nannies will protect their offspring I am sure. If you are worried leave the radio on during the night, it will disturb the fox for a while...

PS.: Water bucket on the floor - looks like my goat shed....

Mine get separated on return from disbudding, which my vet does at 4 days.