What to do when kidding: Goats

Here are some things I do when a kid is born:

give doe/Mom warm water
give doe/Mom Grain
put kid on doe's teat and hope it sucks the colostrum for overall strength, health, and immune system
check to make sure kid milks from mother on its own or repeat process
hold doe still as needed so kid can milk and doe accepts this
dry kid's wet fur as needed since goats are generally born in winter
cut kid's umbillical cord to a short length so it does not trip over it - the rest will fall off on its own
do not pull on the doe's after birth - it will fall out however slowly on its own
provide clean bedding so a kid does not sleep in wetness or manure
close up holes in pen at low levels because kids will somehow crawl out and end up separated

This photo was taken at a small goat dairy in South Carolina - the kids are put together in a pen and given self feeding nipples on a bucket filled with milk...

Other kidding facts

does
-generally have twins
-5 month gestation period
-will clean their kid(s)
-will eat the after birth
does are protective of kids and do not like dogs in the barn during this time
kids
-are fragile but get up on four legs almost immediately
-can be picked up and hugged and placed down gently - Mom's dont seem to mind!

preparing for complicated births:

we had our first complication in 2013 - where the kid was coming out of the canal with legs back - this is when their shoulders get stuck.
Pictured below is the proper position for goat birth - photo courtesy of the internet:

With a complicated birth - here are the things you'll need - I am not an expert so see better information from experts on the web and books
- being in the right place at the right time  - or the  kid and possibly the doe will die!  
- gloves - never go into the canal without them for your own protection and the doe
- surgical sterile lube or vaseline of you dont have the other
- warm hot water - I use hot water in the winter since it cools off quickly
- soap - this helps to lubricate also

Unfortunately, I was not able to save the kid - but did save the mother.  Life is hard sometimes ...Thank goodness Mother Nature works very well most of the time ( the sun shines more frequently than it storms!)  We really like Mother Nature that way.  

I really did not want this doe to get pregnant this year and my instincts were right.  My planned parenthood did not work - sometimes the desire of both the bucks and the does to mate up overshadows my efforts to keep them apart.  I need to make this more full proof! 

here are some links ti learn more:
http://www.littlecudchewers.com/Difficult%20Birth.htm
http://fiascofarm.com/