# Kidding temperature questions...



## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I was wondering what you all thought as far as the lowest temps you guys have had does kid in and how did the kids do?


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

5 degrees F in the middle of Feb! Brrrrr too cold! lol They did good but I had them inside the barn for the first week. I also used coat sleeve's to make coats for them. They wore them until they got too big for them. 

I wont have a Feb kidding again. Really too cold up here in new england.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I am thinking late March is when I want my first does to kid. Iowa is still cold in March but I will have them in the barn for a week or so and watch them closely... I worry about them too much!! :GAAH:


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

Like I tell my hubby....if I dont worry about them who will???? I too worry about kidding in cold weather. I use heat lamps so I dont worry too much....a think layer of bedding and a draft free barn with a heat lamp will do just fine im sure


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Heehee, I use heat lights (a special heater thingy) coats and lots of straw - in March here in NC :ROFL:


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## Ivy (Aug 9, 2008)

I tried the winter kidding and never again. The cost of electricity was to much.
I found summer is to hot and buggy.
Now I'll stick with April-May kids.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

the coldest kidding here was -37 farenheit, in march. but she was in a shed, with a heat lamp, in her shed it stayed around 50 so it was toasty. she kidded great and the kids are fine.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

It's been along time since I've been in Iowa in the winter. But, they usually have a "January thaw", that's almost "springlike". But, Feb is a killer. I think you are in a hilly area, that's good, it'll slow some of the wind. And you have a great barn. I would think later March is OK. You have the barn cam so that will reduce you having to run outside, thats the bad part, but your barn/garage is pretty close to the house, right?


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## Dover Farms (Oct 16, 2007)

I think it was down in the teens for temp a couple years back. The little girl almost didn't make it, but that was because we weren't out there and her momma covered her in straw and tended to her other two babies. I don't mind freshening does in Jan. and Feb., because we pull the kids and put them in the old insulated dog barn with a heat light until they are a couple days old. Then we move them out to the big barn with a light and sometimes a coat. As long as they are dry and and in a draft free area they can withstand the cold pretty well.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Alls I gotta say is I am never moving to Alaska :shocked:


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

We had a really really cold winter here this past winter. It hasn't been that cold or snowy for quite a few years!!! It seems like we are finally getting back to 'normal' cold winters here in midwest.

Our coldest kidding was at 20 degrees in the daytime, it was really really windy which made the windchill almost 0. This was in the hoop building which was colder than I anticipated for the first winter, we are making changes on the building hoping it won't be so cold this year. Caramel kidded with triplets, we were there, we got the kids dried off right away and under a heat lamp. We put coats on the kids and one did have to come in the house because Caramel rejected him and he was really cold. A shot of Bo-Se brought him around though but he stayed in the house for another 2 weeks or so until we had kids to put him in with.

A breeder friend who visited in May saw some kids that were just born the day before to one of the does I had bought from her. I had coats on them because it was chilly for May. She scolded me saying that its really not the best thing to have coats on kids because when their fur gets matted down from the coats is when they get cold, if they are all fluffed up, they are gathering heat. I'm going to try next year not putting coats on kids and see how they do.

We put heat lamps up in the barn, and these are probably the best heat lamps that we have found so far. These heat lamps have temperature control so that it it gets to a certain temp, 2 lamps will shut off and you can have it high enough so the goats don't mess with it, but it still gives off a lot of heat. http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/Pr ... tId=167288
We have tried several different heat lamps and these are the toughest yet. Premier sells these red and black 'heavy duty' heat lamps, please do not buy them. We have tried them and on 3 separate occasions they have caught goats on fire, I'm not kidding. We were there luckily enough and nobody got burned to bad, just a bunch of singed hair and the funny thing is, they were quite a distance away from the lamp! I've never had a problem with the four bulb lamps mentioned above.

I personally prefer cold weather kiddings, as long as you have the proper facilities to kid in so that your kids don't freeze. It always seems like my cold weather kids are always stronger, healthier and grow faster than my warm weather kids.

Its all personal preference and I see I've gone on rambling quite a bit here :lol:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The coldest I had kids born was Tilly's triplet does this past February 20th....warmish thru the day at 25* but when when the first "surprise" was on the floor at 5pm it was down to 12* by the time the last one came at 6pm it was 6*......needless to say, those babies were tiny the smallest was just over a pound and no I do not use heat lamps...ever....I dried them well and since my kidding stalls are smallish and boxed they were warm with mommy and I had bought puppy sweaters to put on them for a couple days. I do like to have kids born in March, they seem to do very well and my girls aren't miserable while preggy in the hotter days of late spring.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

we to get a January thaw. The coldest days are the end of February to the end of March. So I would venture a December kidding but never a February or March kidding. Late April to May is best for me.


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

We've had babies born in the winter but our winters are fairly mild, not much snow (if any - wish there was a little). Anyways, winter kids are no big deal for us. The coldest has probably been 16-20 at night. That's about as bad as it gets. We use heatlamps secured tightly so there are no accidents, LOTS of straw, and sometime baby coats, if the kids are particularly small.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I got one of those pig floor heaters. At first I thought "that's not very warm", but if you sit on it for a minute you start to feel pretty warm. The kids were always right there sleeping on the heater when I'd go out in the morning. Pretty soon the doe was right there with them! :thumbup:


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

I should try that out. Are they pretty spendy?


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Actually I don't remember, maybe $120., but I bought the large size. I think if I were to get another one I'd get the smaller one. But, last spring Wal-Mart put those "radiator like" heaters on sale (orig. $79. sale price $25.) so we got several. They don't have any "exposed" heat source, it's all enclosed, so I thought they'd be pretty safe too. They kiddies loved them, I put them on low because we had a cool spring, they were always cuddled up next to them too. I use a piece of PVC pipe to cover the cord so nobody chews it.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Those lucky little kids! Sounds like someone spoils them :coffee2:


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Yes, actually, it's Hubby! He was literally freaking out when it got a little colder. And when I said I was going to "turn them off" his excuse was they made it more comforable for him when he went out after work (in the dark cold winter evenings). This from a man who gets really "bent" when somebody leaves a light on! :shrug:


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

Hahaha. My dad is the same way! HE bought heaters and always makes sure they are turned on lol.


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

That is too funny! My dad is the same way! He is always worried that the goaties are too cold.  I think men like to put on that "tough exterior" but inside are just softies! It's too cute!  

We have one of those heaters like what Di described. . . . I'm thinking we'll use it this winter. We have a couple does due in November, one in December, and then several in January, so I think that's a good idea. I love the idea of PVC pipe around the cord, that's always the big worry for us.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

pssh! PVC pipe! why didnt i do that? thats a wonderful idea. i'm ALWAYS worried about cords. :idea:


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