# lost our babies



## silvergramma (Nov 9, 2009)

we had two girls lose their quads the two nights we had 35 below (45 with the wind chill) we had them set up to deliver under the brooder lights and they escaped and went to another stall in the barn that wasnt even set up.. for kidding..
so now I am gonna buckle down and ask if any of you folks out there have built kidding boxes..I've only heard them mentioned in a magazine about two years ago..I have an idea how I want to build them.. but would like to see other examples as well..
we want to use the reflective mylar on the inside walls as it is so good at keeping body heat where it needs to be.. without a spray adhesive we will use tacking strips to attach the bubblewrap mylar to the inside walls
again we had tipis and brooder lights.. two lights hanging down inside the tipis and it still wasnt warm enough so I made coats for the kids that were already a week old even though they lost their ears to frost bite..
they are doing good.. and jumping and hopping around having a good time..
even though the girls that had quards are small..both around 18inches high at the shoulder.. those tipis in my opinion arent big enough to house a mom with quads..someones gonna get stomped or rolled over on or left too close to the opening..
we figger leave the tipis for the adults to huddle down into and build kidding boxes for deliveries maybe use the tipis for when the babies are separated from mom at night after milking starts..
any pics and ideas or links would be appreciated.
both moms are hysterical still but are adapting well to milking..the first kidded on the last night of the full moon and the next one several nights later when the barometric pressure dropped again..


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

oh I'm so sorry  :hug:


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## Mandara Farm (Sep 12, 2010)

Oh I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your little ones! I dont know if this is helpful because it's not for a kidding box, but I'll tell you what we did: we have a metal shed (12x12) that's in use as our goat barn. My husband got it free on a job he was working on -- the only thing was that it had spray-on insulation inside, which the goats kept trying to eat. So DH put up metal sheeting on the inside walls to cover over the insulation. Up above, there are open vents for air circulation, but that shed stays really nice and warm, especially with layers of bedding hay. It was pretty easy to just screw in the sheeting over the insulation -- maybe you could do the same with covering the mylar or bubble wrapping stuff, or whatever you decide to use for insulation? We live in Colorado and get some pretty cold winters, but my goaties stay warm...


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## Frosty1 (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm so sorry...  :hug:


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Sorry for your loss. 
I am not familiar with what tipis are. 
Are the goats in a enclosed location or stalls with no walls? Sorry I am confused. 
Some use kidding pens and depending on your breed you would need different size kidding pen.


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## MAW (Oct 13, 2011)

So sorry to hear about your loss :hug:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm so sorry about your losses. How terrible. Unfortunately, I have no idea about kidding boxes.


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm very sorry to hear this


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## silvergramma (Nov 9, 2009)

they are in a barn (dilapidated at the time) where there are no stalls but there are plenty of posts to work with,, I dont want to build any stalls as we are renters so we use a lot of sliding plywood to partition off the girls when necessary but as the whole herd is together its difficult to keep some separated from others , tipis were something I found in a magazine ( forgot which one) think of a plywood pyramid with the point cut out and an opening at the bottom,, it was designed as a warmer for babies of bigger goats I believe but my Nigerian moms and their babies love it together as a cuddle box..we figgered it works use it for that purpose,, I believe there is a link to the design somewhere on the forum..
anyways,, I figgered if there were tipis out there someone had built kidding boxes as well cause I had heard of them also.. think of plywood boxes lined up side by side with doors you can open from a slanted top to check on the babies and moms..big enough for quads or quints and momma too as well as romping room till its warm enough for them to go out into the open space in the middle of the barn.. we want to use them end to end or as you would say side by side with brooder lights room for a good pitchfork full of hay a bowl of feed and possible a two liter bottle like a rabbit bottle 
will have to use 1/2 inch plywood sheets and some 2x2's and paint them with a primer coat
the tipis only take one sheet 
wish me luck..


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Oh no... I am so very sorry...how devastating...  :hug:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I am very sorry. :hug:


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I am so very sorry you lost your little ones. I would be devistated, as you must be.
I feel like it gets really cold here but actually, the goats do not mind; even when it gets down in the 20's. So kidding boxes are not something we have had to deal with. I would be freaked out by the temps you discribe.
Again, sincere condolences.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Sorry to hear this. We lost 1 baby this year due to mom laying on her while delivering the other. We have our barn set up with 4 pens made out of cattle panels with smaller wire zip-stripped to the bottom to prevent escapees. We then have heat lamps placed on the out side of the pens wired to the panels and pointed in. I don't have any pics but can get some later for you. We get pretty cold temps here in NW Kansas. Mom and babies lay under the heat lamps and it has really worked out well for us this year.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I can't post pictures. My puter won't let me. Here's the link to my facebook goat folder. Pictures of our barn set-up are on there. As you can see from the one picture our barn is absoulutely NOT weather proof. The wind can whip thru there pretty good. The only heat is from the heat lamps and only in the small area under them. While waiting for goats to actually kid, we make them sit in the cold and we sit under the heat lamps to keep warm. LOL http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... d90c6029cd


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## ItchingDuck (Jan 21, 2012)

Thats a pretty good idea. Cute goats!


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

I am so sorry about your babies. That must be very hard. :hug:


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

That is just dreadfully cold. I am so sorry you lost your babies. I hope the rest of your goats are all right. It got to -17 here last winter for a couple nights, and that was the coldest it had been since 1972. I can't even imagine -35. I hope you figure out a way to keep it warm enough. Or maybe breed for later kiddings. I had one January kidding (my first one) and it was balmy compared to what you have there, but it was too cold for me. I haven't done it since. The next year I had two June kiddings, and the flies were horrible and it was too hot. I only breed for kidding in March, April, and May at the latest. October would be all right. I know some people are timing for showing. It seems very hard to me. I hope the rest of your time is much better.


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## silvergramma (Nov 9, 2009)

I dont intend to show as it was never something I saw my self doing or even worry about evaluations .. just homesteading here if you'd call it that..the other doe that had the quads is from South Dakota her udder is really great compared to the tricolored blue eyed doe with moonspots that had the other set of quads.. she is so little that she barely has an udder..mostly fat in there I guess.. :whatgoat:


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## maryk (Dec 27, 2011)

Sorry about your loss. Wow that's pretty cold. What about putting insulation on the plywood then put another piece of plywood. It might help a little bit.


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## silvergramma (Nov 9, 2009)

we'd have to totally rebuild the barn before insulating it.. gonna build more tipis and build kidding boxes... possibly do a hoop house greenhouse made of pvc so they can be warmer and still have sunlight


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