06/16/2026
The intent behind this page is to share our family farm experiences, to promote our farm in time, and to educate. With so many people removed from where their food comes from, misinformation abounds. I think that it is vital that the farming community educate where we have the time and energy to do so, to counteract this. My way of doing this is to share as I, too, learn.
Suzie Q kidded Saturday: as I have mentioned previously, I wait until a newborn is three days old to breathe a sigh of relief.
If a baby has not received sufficient colostrum, in my experience they will decline and die by day #3.
Goat kids take three days or longer, to be able to regulate their own body temperature correctly.
Bonding and maternal instinct can take up to three days to stabilize and fully kick in.
A doe with a retained placenta will likely be symptomatic by day #3.
Three days is an important mark in my experience, and after three days, you have a good idea through observation of where you are at, in all manners relating to doe and kid.
We are at three days, today 🙌
Suzie Q has fantastic maternal instinct and is a great producer for us, milk-wise. She is a good homesteading goat. You never have to worry about her kidding or watch her round the clock, she maintains great condition easily, she is well trained on the milking stand and easy to handle.
A little recap of the last few days:
Last year, Suzie Q had a single who preferred to nurse off of one side in particular - a risk with singles that should be mitigated, because it makes an udder sort of lopsided and can have permanent effect (combined with genetics and other factors). Mammary tissue develops as a result of:
Genetics: genetics establish the template or foundation and peak potential
Number of pregnancies or freshenings: mammary tissue continues to develop with each lactation cycle, until it reaches a sort of peak or plateau, and then eventual decline. First fresheners can be (relatively) crappy producers quantity-wise, but should improve significantly through their first three freshenings and even into their fifth freshening.
Hormones
Nutrition
Milking and milk removal: regular milk removal helps maintain milk production and supports the existing secretory tissue. Chronic overfilling can contribute to stretching and reduced efficiency over time.
Age and number of lactations
Suzie Q is in her fourth freshening and is a 5yo doe, so likely still not at her peak. I am not super excited about her udder conformation overall and never have been, but it is okay for a homesteading goat and in that regard, a lot more than udder conformation factor into whether or not a goat is suitable to keep to feed your family, in my opinion. I may not keep any daughters from her, but ultimately she is a very nice goat to have and will make another family happy when it is time to replace her with my up-and-comers.
Back to last year: Suzie Q's 2025 doeling preferred one side and gave us a sort of lopsided udder that was not apparent again as Suzie Q bagged up for this kidding, but that was sure apparent yesterday! Continued monitoring and mitigation will say for sure, but I don't think this is permanent (thanks to good genetics and management). I think that this was also exacerbated by the fact both kids also experienced "nursing issues".
Silly me bedded their shelter with straw, because wet navels I wanted to keep clean, but I think it has presented as an irritant. Monday morning both kids presented with goopy eyes that were glued shut, limiting their nursing ability. The doeling additionally had a mildly snotty nose and was a little hunched up over her back. I had concerns that Suzie Q's doeling also had scours, but I think she simply had normal baby stuff going on - her stool was a mustard yellow (normal) and just slightly looser than normal. The 🚩 for me and what to watch for if you are watching for scours, was stool that had run down and dried onto her hind legs. This quickly resolved, but in more serious cases, it is imperitive to act quickly - a newborn with scours will decline rapidly. In fact, goats in general just love any excuse to die.
How I approached this: obviously we cleaned out eyes and nose on babies and checked tummies. The buckling in particular had an emptier tummy - you can gauge this by picking the kid up with one hand underneath his belly. The belly should "round out" (pic in next post). Next, we checked temps. A normal temperature is 102-103.5. Ish. The buckling was 101.9 👌 and the doeling was 103.4F. The doeling was still within normal range, BUT, if her temp does not decrease a little or it increases, then she will be medicated. This means monitoring temps every 24h.
Next course of action was to even out Suzie Q's milk bar and reduce teat size just a little, so that the kids could have more success nursing. While they appeared to be nursing well and to have fully tummies so long as their eyes were clear and open, I still wanted to a) mitigate Suzie Q's udder and b) increase chances of success by increasing ease of nursing.
Suzie Q gave me 12oz that was frozen and marked as 48h old milk from her with some colostrum in it, in case we need to boost a future baby with concentrated nutrition, or bottle feed a 2-day-old. It will not replace full colostrum in a newborn who requires it, but can still serve a lot of benefits and uses. It should maintain quality 3-6months in storage and can still be used next kidding season, albeit some quality will be reduced at that time.
Colostrum is absolutely vital to newborns, so we will milk some off of does in the future, in case.
All of the above steps should resolve all current issues. While snotty nose and goopy eyes frequently can read as a respiratory illness, in this case I am fairly certain simple irritant that will clear up is the issue, here. Your first step when observing a runny nose, cough, goopy eyes - all respiratory signs - should always be to check temperature. In a more serious case, my next step would be to auscultate lungs. If presenting with a fever, my next step is to medicate with an antibiotic and thiamine.
Throughout, I am updating and consulting with my vet. That way if a situation changes for the worse, my vet already has the information and context they require.
