6 Best Goat Kidding Supplies For Assistance That Prevent Common Issues
A smooth kidding requires the right tools. Discover the 6 essential supplies that help prevent common birth issues and ensure a safe, successful delivery.
Nothing on the homestead is quite like the anticipation of kidding season. It’s a time of incredible excitement and, let’s be honest, a good bit of anxiety. The difference between a smooth delivery and a frantic emergency often comes down to what you have on hand before the first push. Being prepared with a few key supplies doesn’t just make you feel more confident; it actively prevents common, and sometimes tragic, issues.
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Essential Prep for a Smooth Kidding Season
The most critical kidding supply is a plan. Your kidding kit should be assembled and waiting in a clean, accessible spot weeks before the due date. Scrambling to find towels or a heat lamp while a doe is in active labor is a recipe for stress and mistakes. This isn’t about having a veterinary operating room; it’s about having the basics ready to go.
At a minimum, your kidding stall should be deeply bedded with clean straw. Your kit should contain old towels for drying kids, a trash bag for the afterbirth, and a reliable heat lamp with a protective guard. These simple items handle the majority of straightforward births. The specialized supplies we’ll discuss are for when things don’t go perfectly, turning a potential crisis into a manageable problem.
Jeffers OB Sleeves for Hygienic Assistance
There are times you have to intervene. A kid might be tangled, breech, or simply too large for a first-time mom to pass easily. When you need to "go in" to assist, hygiene is everything. Your bare, washed hands are not clean enough.
Shoulder-length OB sleeves are non-negotiable for any internal examination or manipulation. They create a sterile barrier that protects your doe from bacteria being introduced deep into her uterus, which can cause a serious infection called metritis. These sleeves are cheap, disposable, and one of the most important tools for preventing a post-kidding infection that can threaten her health and future fertility.
Priority Care Lube for Easing Difficult Births
If you’re putting on an OB sleeve, you need lubricant. Lots of it. A difficult birth is often a dry birth, where the doe’s natural lubrication isn’t enough to help the kid pass smoothly. Attempting to reposition a kid without ample lube is difficult for you and can cause tearing and trauma to the doe’s sensitive tissues.
Keep a large bottle of non-spermicidal OB lube in your kit. It’s not just for major interventions. A little lube applied around the vulva can help ease the final push for a tired doe, even with a normal presentation. Think of it as an essential partner to the OB sleeves; you should never use one without the other.
Triodine-7 Iodine Solution to Prevent Navel Ill
Once the kid is born, your first job is to prevent infection. The fresh umbilical cord is a direct pathway for bacteria from the ground to enter the newborn’s bloodstream. This can lead to a devastating infection known as navel ill or joint ill, causing painful, swollen joints, fever, and often death.
This is almost entirely preventable with one simple step: dipping the navel. Use a 7% iodine solution like Triodine-7, not a weaker tincture from the pharmacy. Pour some into a small cup or an old film canister and hold it firmly against the kid’s belly, ensuring the entire umbilical stump is submerged. This single action cauterizes and disinfects the tissue, closing the door to dangerous pathogens. Do not skip this step.
WICHEMI Aspirator for Clearing Newborn Airways
Sometimes a kid is born with a sputtering cough and fluid in its nose and mouth. Clearing the airway quickly is vital for that first critical breath. The old advice was to swing the kid by its back legs to clear the fluid, but this is a dangerous and outdated practice that can cause brain injury or internal damage.
A simple bulb syringe or a specialized aspirator is a far safer and more effective tool. You can gently suction fluid from the nostrils and the back of the mouth without jarring the newborn’s delicate body. It allows for precise, controlled clearing of the airway, helping a weak kid start breathing properly within seconds. It’s a small tool that solves a very big problem.
Nutri-Drench for a Post-Birth Energy Boost
Labor is a marathon, and it leaves the doe exhausted and depleted. A quick recovery is essential for her to stand, clean her kids, and let them nurse. A high-energy supplement like Nutri-Drench provides a fast-acting boost of glucose, vitamins, and minerals that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
This isn’t just for the doe. A weak or chilled kid that is slow to stand or nurse can benefit immensely from a few drops on the tongue. It can provide the burst of energy needed to get up and find the teat. Having a bottle on hand can be the difference between a kid that thrives and one that fails to get started.
Manna Pro Colostrum Supplement for a Strong Start
A newborn kid has no immune system of its own. It relies entirely on the antibody-rich first milk, or colostrum, from its mother. If a doe dies during birth, has no milk, or rejects a kid, you have a very short window to get this life-saving substance into the newborn.
Having a high-quality powdered colostrum supplement is your insurance policy. It’s not a perfect replacement for mother’s milk, but it’s a very effective bridge that provides the critical immunoglobulins a kid needs to survive the first few weeks. If you have a kid that can’t nurse within the first couple of hours, a warm bottle of colostrum replacer is a true lifesaver.
Post-Kidding Care: Monitoring Dam and Kids
Your job isn’t finished once the kids are dry and nursing. The 48 hours following birth are a critical monitoring period. For the doe, you’re watching to make sure she passes the entire placenta. A retained placenta can lead to a serious uterine infection. You’re also watching for signs of weakness or staggering, which could indicate milk fever (hypocalcemia), a metabolic issue that requires immediate intervention.
For the kids, confirm that they are all nursing successfully. Check for full, warm bellies. Make sure they are active and stretching. A kid that is hunched, crying, and cold is in trouble. Your preparedness with the right supplies gets you through the birth, but your attentive observation is what ensures everyone thrives in the days that follow.
Kidding season will always have its share of surprises. But by assembling a kit with these essential supplies, you replace panic with a clear plan of action. You empower yourself to handle the most common issues hygienically and effectively, giving your does and their new kids the very best chance at a healthy, vigorous start.
