Hello,
I was wondering what you all do for birthing/kidding pens for Nigerian goats? Do you make separate stalls or do you make one large room and let the birthing moms and babies roam together? If you do separate penning stalls what size to do you make them? Like 4x4 ect?? How long do you keep them in there before letting them into the herd? We are preparing for out first birth in February and would love advice!
Replies
When we got started, our does kidded in a big barn stall with the rest of the goats. It usually worked fine, but every now and then, the goats would be mean to one in labor. We've had kidding stalls for quite a few years now. They are all either 4 X 10 foot or 5 X 10 foot. Personally I prefer the 5' wide stalls myself. The goats seem to be fine with either, but I'm cramped in the 4', especially if there is another person in there.
I like to keep them in the kidding pens for a few days, but regardless of how long it is, the mom will do some head butting to re-establish her place in the herd. The kids will try to nurse on other does and get knocked around a little. I usually wait until three does have kidded and then put all of them in together because that way the head butting gets spread around. If you just put one doe into a group, everyone is beating up on her.
I only kept them separated for 2 days, and part of the reason was that the other goats were upset about her absence. They kept calling to her and she called back. I only have 4 goats though, so it may be different in large herds.
Leah Miller said:
Ok, yes thank you both. We looking at building it inside the barn. It's way to cold here during that time of year
How long do you keep them separated from the herd?
I kept one doe separated and one gave birth right in the pen with everybody else around. Both were fine. I think a lot depends on how well your herd gets along, or if you have a bossy doe that might interfere with a new mother bonding with her kid(s). Sometimes does don't like to be separated from their herd mates, and some will go off by themselves.
I'd suggest for your first time that you have a separate stall till you know how your does handle the birthing process. It should be large enough for her to move around some, and for you to be in there with her. But it doesn't need to be anything fancy, they'll only be in there a few days. One important thing to remember though, is to make sure the doe's water is high enough off the ground so the kids can't get into it. If they get in the water, they could get chilled and possibly drown.
I only have two kiddings under my belt, but this is what I did for each one:
Once the ligaments started getting super soft, I put the doe in a 4.5'x5.5' pen.
She and the kids stayed in there for a week.
For at least an hour everyday I'd shoo everyone else out and let the new family out of the pen.
After the first week, and for the next three to four weeks, I let them mingle with everyone else during the day and then put them in the pen overnight.
Good luck!