# ? about full size dairy goats



## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Are there "fewer" birthing problems with full size goats? I have Nigerians...and have had a few of what DH calls "star trek adventures" during kidding. I'm getting better at it...but...I have Lucy Alpine now, and Sophie is an Alpine/Oberhasli. Do you think I'll have fewer problems with them? I've bred Lucy to my NGD buck...she should kid at 16 mo. old. She was a trip. So, I'm hoping for twins.

I didn't have too many problems with the Cashmere goats. I still was there at kidding, but, they were a little wilder. I think I had one stillborn during all that time with the fiber breed.

So, in 6 years, I've had 2 c-sections, I chalk those up to inexperience, and 3 cases where I was able to "rearrange" the tangle. Lost 1 of the surgery kids, and 1 this year. But, we saved all the does, and other kids. :shrug:


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I think with full size goats there is less chance the kids will get too big, it does happen, but I've had many goats kid over the years (boer and dairy) and haven't had to have a c-section done (knock on wood!). You do have kids malpositioned, but I think the big goats are easier to get the kids in the right position since there is more room.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

I have been growing more concerned about this as well. This I my first kidding season with goats and my girls arent due to start kidding for an entire month at the very end of March... But I have one doeling who will be 13 months old when she kids. She's probably 100 lbs and when I bred her she measured 80 which is what I had read was large enough. But she is still a month away and she is getting HUGE! I mean her sister was bred 1 week after her and she is not nearly as wide in the middle. Is it normal for a first freshener to double in width when she's still a month away from kidding? I'm just hoping the kids dont get too large for her/us to handle.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Any breed can have complications...they should be bred to the proper size buck.. in order to have kids.. that aren't to big....Also ..being careful not to over feed them at the end of their pregnancy... causing the kids to grow to big.... 

With the bigger breeds... it is easier to get your hand in there.. to help them.. if they have issues..... :wink:


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

Jaycee you could be looking at multiples. Two of nubians does had triplets as FF. One was 12 months old and the other was 15 months. I actually was pleased that it was multiples because I knew the babies would be a little smaller for her. What I am concerned with is I have a FF this year that will be 14 months when she kids and I am pretty sure we are looking at a single. She isn't getting very big yet, short bodied, but tall. Pregnancy was confirmed with ultrasound last week. They only saw one baby but they said that last year with my other doe, but their belly size is way different. 

I have only bred Nubians so I don't know about the different breeds and complications.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I agree with Pam. :thumb: I attribute kidding issues to nutritional problems, genetics, buck to doe size, kid position, etc. I wouldn't say full size goats have any higher chance of successful kidding.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Personally I have seen more kidding problems in standard dairy does vs my boer and angora does, simply because the dairy seem more prone to large litters (more than 2) and they also seem to have big kids at birth. My angoras and boers had little kids and usually only 1 or 2 (3 or 4 was much less common than in the dairy does)


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I don't know...but even if overall they _tend_ to have fewer kidding problems, ease of kidding (to my limited experience, and by what I've read) seems to be much more dependent on diet, genetics, etc. than on breed.
I have Nigerians, and in 3 kiddings I've had no trouble except having to pull a huge, late single. (That's only 3 data points though.)
I know a family with full-sized dairy goats and they've had lots of kidding problems. Their goats are pretty healthy, so I think it must be mostly genetics.
BTW, apple cider vinegar given during pregnancy reduces birthing problems significantly. The potassium in it increases blood flow. And...the goats love it!


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

milkmaid said:


> BTW, apple cider vinegar given during pregnancy reduces birthing problems significantly. The potassium in it increases blood flow. And...the goats love it!


Wow this is an awesome tip milkmaid, thank you. Do you just pour it in a pan and let them drink it? And at what point in the pregnancy do you start them on it?


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

You can add to feed or water, or if you want to give it free choice, they like it that way too. I start before breeding and feed all through the pregnancy.
Some people say that adding it to the water encourages them to drink more, which would be good for milking does. It also prevents UC in bucks and wethers.

http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/press/goat10.htm

This is a chapter from a book I have and really like. Find "Apple Cider Vinegar" on the page (about 3/4 of the way down), and there are a few paragraphs on it.

By the way, Pat Coleby says raw is better than pasteurized. I use pasteurized, but maybe I really should use raw. :shrug:


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Di said:


> Are there "fewer" birthing problems with full size goats? I have Nigerians...and have had a few of what DH calls "star trek adventures" during kidding.


"Boldly go where no man has gone before." lol. Sounds like your DH is a funny one, lol.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> "Boldly go where no man has gone before." lol. Sounds like your DH is a funny one, lol.


 :ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL:


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

:slapfloor: He is funny WarPony, he's a dentist, and I heard him use that phrase a couple of days ago, doing a "root canal". His patients love him.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

LOL :laugh: :ROFL:


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