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Make an adult goat stomach tube with plastic funnel attached and PVC pipe to thread the tube through; see my article on Stomach Tubing on the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. This is a big "must do."

Save 16 oz or 20 oz disposable plastic soda-water bottles with screw-on caps.

Accumulate a supply of plastic bags such as those that WalMart uses to sack purchases.

 For YOU:    Mueller adjustable back support with lumbar pad         and velcro closure or similar product.   In 2017, about $20.00 on Amazon.com.    Through the coming years, you will regret it if you don't buy and use this item.

From your vet:

•     Banamine injectable  ( generic)
•     Nuflor or Nuflor Gold  injectable
•     Excenel RTU injectable
•     Lactated Ringers solution
•     Dopram V    (your vet may have to have this  medication compounded; BUY  it)
•     Oxytocin injectable
•     Lutalyze injectable
•     Dexamethazone injectable
•     Epinephrine injectable
•     Vitamin B 12 injectable
•     Thiamine (Vit B 1) injectable
•     Sulfadimethoxazine with Trimethoprim oral solution (kids) and tablets (adults)
•      Dimethox 12.5% oral solution    (I do not  recommend CoRid)
•     Mineral Max or Multi Min injectable
•     BoSe injectable
•     Gentamycin sulfate injectable
•     Gentocin spray
•     Meloxicam 15 mg tablets
•     Baytril 100 injectable*

NOTE: Some of these items may be restricted for use with goats, depending upon the ultimate purpose for which they are being raised. In some areas, slaughter-bound goats must be medicated differently from breeding stock, pets, and show goats. Consult your vet for local requirements.

When these items are needed, you won't have time to  get them. Buy them now.  Designate a refrigerator  for goat supplies that require refrigeration. Select cabinets or shelves for medications and supplies that can withstand normal room temperatures.Storing medications in a barn is a good way to ruin them.  Store medications at recommended temperatures and away from sunlight even if refrigeration isn't required.   Set up a workspace, including sink, electric hot plate,  and running water. Get everything organized and properly labeled. I sticker all medications with date purchased, from whom, and price.   Be prepared for your first kidding emergency because it will happen.

PREPARING DOES FOR KIDDING

If abortions have been an issue in the herd, I inject each doe with Oxytetracycline 200 mg/mL (dosing at 6 cc per 100 lbs bodyweight SQ over the ribs with an 18 gauge needle) before placing them with a buck and again every 30 days thereafter until each doe gives birth. There are  articles on www.tennesseemeatgoats.com dealing with abortion diseases and how to handle them.  No abortion vaccine for any other species works with goats.

Six weeks before the first doe is expected to kid, I orally de-worm all pregnant does with a liquid dewormer.  Do not  use the white-colored  dewormers.  I  also boost the does'  and bucks' CD/T and pneumonia vaccinations. Kids are  born without functioning   immune systems; the  boosters  given their dams both protect the pregnant does and pass immunities to the kids (in colostrum and milk)  which usually last until their kids' immune systems start minimal functioning around one month of age. I clean the does' systems of coccidia parasites by dosing them orally individually for five consecutive days with either Albon or its generic equivalent Dimethox 12.5% oral solution. CoRid is another product for this purpose but it inhibits thiamine production, so if you have to use CoRid, also administer Vitamin B 1 (thiamine) injections. An added advantage to using Albon or DiMethox 12.5% is that both contain an antibiotic to handle secondary infections. If I decide it is necessary, I also give does  a sub-cutaneous (SQ) injection of Mineral Max or Multi Min. This product is a chelated (slow release) formulation of zinc, manganese, selenium, and copper which minerals are   vital to the doe's health and her ability to deliver healthy kids.

If time permits, trim hooves and tail webs. Hoof trimming is a good management practice. A doe with hoof rot or hoof scald cannot forage/browse well enough to produce adequate milk for her kids. A hairy tail web retains feces and placental matter after kidding.

I do not   "flush" pregnant does with extra feed immediately prior to kidding because I don't depend solely on  on forage/browse in sparse and dry West Texas to feed my goats.  My nutritional program was developed with the help of my goat nutritionist for my specific location.  If your herd is fed mainly on forage/browse with minimal supplemental feed, then you should  begin  a light grain feeding at breeding and  grain should be very gradually increased during the last month of pregnancy  when fetuses are growing rapidly.  Consult a goat nutritionist; this doesn't mean the person who runs the feed store or your neighbor who mixes his own grain but has no nutritional training.  Overgraining or improperly graining a  pregnant doe can cause  serious pregnancy diseases  (ketosis, pregnancy toxemia, hypocalcemia) that can kill the doe and her unborn kids. Offer top-quality grass hay on a free-choice basis. Feed grain  before noontime,  especially in very cold weather,  and take up any that has not been consumed in 15 minutes. Do not  feed extra grain at night. Instead, make grass hay available on a free-choice basis. As fetuses grow, the size of the doe's rumen decreases. The doe must have sufficient top-quality grass hay to keep her rumen functioning and still permit some room for fetuses and grain (not just for protein but also for energy).  The long fiber in grass hay stimulates rumen wall contractions and  creates  heat to keep the goat warm. Feeding grain properly can be a tricky balancing act in managed herds  and particularly to heavily pregnant does.  I do not feed alfalfa or other legume hay during the last four weeks of gestation.   Legume hays (alfalfa and peanut) are high in calcium. As parturition approaches, the doe's body must release calcium from her bones as she makes milk. If she is being fed a high-calcium diet, calcium release from her bones will not happen and Hypocalcemia ("milk fever") can occur. Hypocalcemia is a life threatening illness for the doe and her unborn kids  and is caused by improper nutrition.    Pregnancy diseases are causing by improper feeding.

A pregnant doe needs protein but she also needs energy.  Energy comes from calories.  Read my article on pregnancy and energy on my website.  Getting this right is critical.

Don't forget the importance of exercise to the pregnant doe. Fat does can easily experience dystocia (kidding problems). The time for extra grain is when the doe has kids on the ground and is making lots of milk (lactating).

With shelter and sufficient space in place, proper hay and grain and minerals available, supplies at the ready, and does in top condition, let the kidding begin!

Suzanne W. Gasparotto ONION CREEK RANCH, Texas        12/1/17