Wasn't sure really where to start this discussion.
How many of you keep your does together during gestation and after kidding?
Do you move them to separate pens right before birth or still keep them together. I'd love to have all babies and their moms in one pen. Is this wise?
I've had a small herd with only one pregnant at a time. Now I have two bred and need advice, please.
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Anywhere from a few days to a week after the kids are born, I put 3-4 does together with their kids in a pen. Number of does depends upon how many kids they have and how big the pen is.
Tammy Lee Birrer said:
After all the kids are born, do you think the 2 moms and kids could be in the same pens together?
This is the first year I had two and kept them separated for the first week or so. However, that was more because my senior doe had so much trouble with kidding and I was very concerned about her health. She was in the kidding pen and I did not move her out. My FF had her babies the next day (several days early) so she didn't ever get separated and they all shared space with my yearling. Neither doe would let the other's babies near her when I did let them be together so I basically kept them separated most of the time for about a month. However, if kidding had gone well for all, I don't think it would have been that way. Maybe each time is different. ???
I prefer to separate for kidding, and a few days after, until the kids are up and on their feet. My does seem to prefer the other goats not be able to get too close right after kidding, so keeping them in a separate pen helps with that. I use cut cattle panels, so that the does can see the rest of the herd, and I use plastic "construction" fencing along the bottom to keep tiny kids from slipping out through the holes.
Thank you. I do have two pens side by side made with pipe corral and hog panels. They could each be in one. But I also have an 8 month doe as well. She is by herself but with the livestock guardian dog in one of those pens. So I guess I could move her and the dog...hmm decisions, decisions!
The older does are fine together usually but I've had the one in with her baby because the other slams that baby(8mon). The older girls are each with a buck which I'm ready now to take the bucks out. They've been together 6weeks.
After all the kids are born, do you think the 2 moms and kids could be in the same pens together?
When we only had a few does, we kept them all together. Now we have kidding pens. It's really a matter of personal preference. I never had any goats injured when they were all together -- other than the one poor yearling that had goats slamming into her belly when she was in labor. But that was happening long before she was in labor and was probably the reason she had her kids two weeks early. Sometimes a goat is on the bottom of the totem pole, and there is nothing you can do about it. I like the kidding pens because the does are kidding in a place that is completely clean, and the kids have a chance to get really good at walking before meeting other goats. When you use kidding pens, the does should still be able to see each other, or they'll get very upset about being alone, because they're herd animals. Our kidding pens are made with pig panels.
Replies
Anywhere from a few days to a week after the kids are born, I put 3-4 does together with their kids in a pen. Number of does depends upon how many kids they have and how big the pen is.
Tammy Lee Birrer said:
This is the first year I had two and kept them separated for the first week or so. However, that was more because my senior doe had so much trouble with kidding and I was very concerned about her health. She was in the kidding pen and I did not move her out. My FF had her babies the next day (several days early) so she didn't ever get separated and they all shared space with my yearling. Neither doe would let the other's babies near her when I did let them be together so I basically kept them separated most of the time for about a month. However, if kidding had gone well for all, I don't think it would have been that way. Maybe each time is different. ???
I prefer to separate for kidding, and a few days after, until the kids are up and on their feet. My does seem to prefer the other goats not be able to get too close right after kidding, so keeping them in a separate pen helps with that. I use cut cattle panels, so that the does can see the rest of the herd, and I use plastic "construction" fencing along the bottom to keep tiny kids from slipping out through the holes.
The older does are fine together usually but I've had the one in with her baby because the other slams that baby(8mon). The older girls are each with a buck which I'm ready now to take the bucks out. They've been together 6weeks.
After all the kids are born, do you think the 2 moms and kids could be in the same pens together?
When we only had a few does, we kept them all together. Now we have kidding pens. It's really a matter of personal preference. I never had any goats injured when they were all together -- other than the one poor yearling that had goats slamming into her belly when she was in labor. But that was happening long before she was in labor and was probably the reason she had her kids two weeks early. Sometimes a goat is on the bottom of the totem pole, and there is nothing you can do about it. I like the kidding pens because the does are kidding in a place that is completely clean, and the kids have a chance to get really good at walking before meeting other goats. When you use kidding pens, the does should still be able to see each other, or they'll get very upset about being alone, because they're herd animals. Our kidding pens are made with pig panels.