Kidding Season has begun!
Good evening everyone!!!
We're writing to let you know that the kids have arrived...well, two of them have! Sante Fe (daughter of Martha), one of our stellar breeding does born on our farm in 2007, kidded around 10am this morning. Despite the frigid temps today, the kids are doing quite well and Sante Fe is being a good dam (goat mom).
As you may recall from one of our previous newsletters, the goats instinctually breed during a time of the year that will produce kids 5 months later in colder temps. In colder temps, the kids have less parasitic challenges (since many parasites are dead or inactive at low temps) and it helps to give them a good solid start.
The does typically begin to go into labor during sudden changes in barometric pressure like we saw between yesterday and today. We have also noticed that once one mother kids, there is a hormonal switch that seems to trigger with the other goats that are bred and they soon go into labor. Today's birth no doubt starts that clock for all of our goats and for our watchful eyes as well. During temps like we've seen today, we have to keep a close eye on the mothers that are not smart enough to kid in a protected area. On a night like tonight, kids can turn hypothermic really quickly, as we know all too well. Saving them from hypothermia is not always successful. Depending on the conditions of the mothers before we go to bed, sometimes we have to do a barn check in the middle of the night.
The attached picture you see here is Laura holding the two new kids. The goat that has the white blaze on its head is a buck (boy) and the one with the chocolate brown head without the white blaze is a doe (girl). You can also see Sante Fe popping her head up to see what is going on with her screaming kids. She is always a great mother.
These kids born this winter will be with us for the next year or so depending on their quality as it relates to the breed standard and how they grow. In the spring, they will be sorted. The bucks will be castrated and/or separated from the does and they will go to a separate grazing/browsing site to prevent any unwanted pregnancies. Historically, our breeding bucks have often thrown a 50/50 buck to doe percentange. It will be interesting to see how our new buck faired this year.
We will continue to update you on our kidding season as we are able! If anyone wants to visit the farm to see the kids, we will be happy to be available to show you around!
Jay and Laura Young
Young American Growers
