Yesterday, being 4 weeks from the due dates, with the help of some volunteers, we proceeded to get all the senior does ready for their kiddings. We got the milking stand out and hooked up the extension cords. First thing we weighed each doe with a dairy tape, it's this neat little thing you wrap around the does ribcage behind her elbows and it'll give you a rough estimate as to how much she weighs. My does were all much larger than last year and the two biggest weighed in at about 230 pounds each! Holy tamale, that's a big goat! Granted they ARE pregnant, but still! Next we calculated all the medicines based off their weight. First was a multi-vitamin B-complex shot. Second was the other half of their Bo-Se shot (Selenium & vitamin e). Since the margin of error is so small with Selenium, I do half of the does dose a month into pregnancy and the other half a month before the due date. This spreads the shots out and makes sure the does have it in their system at all times. The last shot we gave is the CD&T Vaccine, this is just 2 cc's for each goat and is the vaccine against Enterotoxemia and Tetanus. After the shots, we trimmed the hooves, and when that was done we got out the clippers and shaved the back of the legs, back end, tail, and udder. This helps make for a cleaner birthing as well as helping to keep hair out of the milk when we are milking. =) And that was it, we let that doe off the stand and put her back and grabbed the next one. We did all five senior does, and in the beginning of April we will also do this to all the junior does that have been bred. Hopefully they all settled! The only thing I have left to do for the senior does is their copper and mineral bolus and that's it! We also have to finish the fencing for both baby goat yards! Hope to have that done before the babies get here! ♥
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