Kidding Season

Kidding is the fun part, and the scary part. If you have ever been present at any birth, you know it is intense. We are supportive, present, and fairly hands off during our goat births. The does are the experts, and we are just there for moral support. This often means sitting up for wee hours with a doe that has a lot to say about her circumstances, just humming songs and telling her encouraging things and letting her put her head in your lap. It’s one of those funny things, but kidding always seems to happen during a cold snap or a storm or, once, during a large brushfire on a neighbors property. If a doe needs assistance, we are there in the moment to ensure she gets it, and once the babies hit the ground we are active in ensuring their health as well. We stay with the new family until all the kids have demonstrated the ability to nurse on their own, and we cry happy tears and take about a million pictures of the babies even though they are sticky and sometimes a little funny looking.

Each doe has a private kidding pen in which to labor and acclimate their kids. Does can have anywhere from 1-3 kids, typically, with twins being most common. We allow them a few days with their kids before reintroducing the mother and kids into the herd.