Pregnancy and birth

After joining, does should be managed so they have access to good feed and are maintained on a rising plane of nutrition.

Health and welfare of does

Maintaining the health and welfare of does during pregnancy will ensure that kids have a strong foundation leading to improve weaning percentages.

A doe's nutrient demand will increase as the foetus grows, with peak demand coming in the last six weeks of pregnancy. At this time, the doe will struggle to eat enough to maintain body condition. The nutrition available to the doe and the her condition will directly impact on the birth weight of her kid(s).

Ultrasound scanning can assist in determining nutritional requirements by identifying if does are pregnant or carrying multiples. This allows the herd to be divided into groups that will have different nutritional requirements such as:

• Empty or cull does
• Single-kidding does
• Multiple-kidding does

Appropriate husbandry and nutritional management activities can then be applied to each mob eg putting multiple-kidding does into paddocks with pasture that has a high nutritional value.

It is important to monitor kidding does carefully to detect signs of birthing difficulties, metabolic problems or reproductive diseases. Regular monitoring will make intervention more timely and successful.

Protection of kids

Goats are renowned for being highly fertile and often having two or three kids. There are several key threats to survival and a number of actions producers can take to help the doe raise the kids to weaning.

Exposure

Low levels of subcutaneous fat make newborn kids very prone to exposure. Paddocks for kidding should be selected to ensure suitable shade and shelter for protection from extreme conditions.

Misadventure

Kids are naturally playful and curious and prone to injury or possibly death from misadventure. Producers should plan to kid in paddocks with low risk of misadventure from obstacles such as:

• Uncovered or unfenced wells
• Troughs and dams
• Fence post holes
• Steep-sided drains

Predation

The propensity of goats to have multiple births, combined with a tendency to plant kids and often graze away for hours at a time, leaves kids vulnerable to attack from predators. Newborn kids are easy prey for predators. The main risk of predation is in the first week of the kid's life. To minimise predation, provide an adequate supply of easily accessible food and water as this will reduce the amount of time that a doe spends away from her newborn kid(s).

An on-farm control program can be implemented to reduce predator numbers. Some goat producers use guard animals such as Maremma dogs, female alpacas or donkeys to protect the herd - particularly during kidding. A compact joining period will in turn generate a compact kidding period, which reduces the time span over which predation will be an issue.