Kidding Kit

We are in the heart of breeding season (some of you may already be done), so it's not too early to start thinking about putting together a kidding kit. Once you have it done, you can rest easy, and you won't have to run around trying to find things when the blessed event occurs.

You'll need a container to keep everything in, but it doesn't have to be anything fancy - in fact, you can just use a box. Here are some items that you should have available at kidding:

• 7% iodine for dipping cords
• A plastic film can or prescription bottle to put iodine in for easy dipping
• A flashlight (one of those lights you wear on your head will free your hands)
• Dental floss, to tie a cord if you have to cut it
• Sterilized surgical scissors for cutting cords
• Bulb suction
  
• Old towels for cleaning kids
• Betadine surgical scrub for washing hands
• Disposable exam gloves
• K-Y jelly
• Feeding syringe and tube for weak kids
• Empty feed bags to put under kidding goats (easy clean-up)
• Empty pop bottles and Pritchard teat, if kids have to be bottle-fed

- Raising Goats for Dummies, p 215-216

Check for goat safety hazards on your farm

In the past few months I have heard of several incidents of goats breaking their front legs. In all cases, the break was caused by a play structure that had been put in the pasture for kids to play on.

Knowing that your carelessness caused your goat to get injured is hard to deal with. So take the time now to investigate your barn and pasture for safety hazards. Some common ones that can lead to broken legs are:

• Wood pallets. If you are using wood pallets for your goats to jump and rest on, make sure to add a piece of plywood to the top to cover the slats.
• Wooden spools. Goat owners get these from telephone companies and other businesses. Goats love to jump on them, but they have holes on the top that a kid's leg can go through, causing injury. These also need to have plywood covering the holes in the top.
• Play structures. Play structures and playhouses can also be a favorite of goat kids. In a recent case, a farmer had one goat break a front leg and another break both front legs before discovering that the problem was a child's wooden cabin that had recently been added to the pasture. Before putting out one of these structures, check it out to make sure there aren't any cracks, holes or other areas where a goat's leg might get caught and fix the problems. Or consider using Little Tyke plastic play structures, which are a lot safer and can often be found at garage sales.
  

Raising Goats for Dummies covers making your goat area safe before you get goats, as well as most other subjects that new or veteran goat owners need to know. You can read reviews of the book at amazon.com.