From The Farm

Growing lots of flowers and a little food, homesteading with dairy goats and free-range farm kids.

What’s In Our Kidding Kit?

Written by Marie van Hulsentop

January 27, 2025

What’s In Our Kidding Kit?

Goat kidding kits vary a little depending on a farmer’s personality and the proximity of their vet to their farm. This is what we like to keep in our kidding kit and this is by no means an exhaustive list. By posting this here, I invite you to examine several different kits and consult with your veterinarian to find the right fit for you and your farm.

Our particular kidding kit has been designed in parts based on our experience with kiddings and in consultation with our veterinarians. Our kit is designed particularly to handle middle-of-the-night emergencies with the understanding that we are very near to our veterinary clinic and can call up for additional supportive medications first thing in the morning following a difficult or complicated delivery. We have done it this way to limit expenses on items that we need very little of or that we may rarely or never use before reaching expiry dates. Additionally, we work with two different veterinary clinics in our area that provide emergency call-out service for any serious situations.

Listed below, you will see that our kit is organized into two sections: “Supplies, Tools, and Medications” and  “Items Purchased As Needed”. This last section lists a few items that some  goat keepers like to keep on hand; but that we purchase as needed from our vet.

Supplies, Tools, and Medications

Many of these items can be found in your home or gathered from friends, grocery stores, and feed stores. If you are in Canada, you will need to obtain some of these items from your vet. If you haven’t already established a working relationship with a veterinarian, it will be beneficial to do this before you begin kidding!

Rubber teats for bottle feeding goat kids

Empty Pop Bottles & Teats For Bottle Feeding

Our kids tend to prefer Pritchard nipples; but its helpful to have a few different styles and sizes to try.

Stomach tube feeding kit of a stomach tub and large syringe

Tube Feeding Kit

It is important that you have a feeding tube and a large 60 cc syringe in your kit for stomach tube feeding kids. I like to warm the milk up in a glass pyrex measuring glass with tall sides and a handle. That way, it can hold the tube and syringe and keep them clean when I’m holding a kid.

thermometer for goat kidding kit

Thermometer

A rectal temperature reading is the FIRST information you will need to have to make a diagnosis on any goat. You NEED a working thermometer, keep a back-up just in case.

Small cup for collecting colostrum

Clean Small Jar or Cup For Colostrum

We tend to use a plastic kid’s drinking cup for this. We find them wide enough and tall enough to capture the colostrum without spillage while being small enough to easily hold in one hand. We position them right below the teat we are expressing.

Notepad and pencil for record keeping

Notepad/Book and Pencil 

We record the dam’s name, date and time of birth, and the sex, weight, and distinctive markings for each kid. We later record the ID tag that we put on each kid as well as their tattoo numbers when applicable. We also record any medications that were given to the doe immediately after kidding. All of this information is later backed up digitally. The point is to try to record as much information as possible. During a busy season, it is easy to forget little details! Why a pencil? Because pencil doesn’t smudge when it gets wet.

Needles and syringes for goat kiddings

Needles and Syringes

For newborns, we like a 22 gauge x  3/4 inch needle and for adults we typically use a 20 gauge x 1 inch needle. It’s helpful to have a variety of syringe sizes. We primarily use 3 mL syringes; but we also sometimes need 10 mL, 30 mL, and 60 mL. We also need 1 mL syringes, particularly for using on kids.

Surgical gloves for assisting with goat kiddings

Hand Cleansers and Disposable Surgical Gloves

It’s important to work with clean washed hands for assisting with deliveries. We tend to work with gloved hands (and prefer a snug fit); but it is also helpful to have a bowl of water and cleanser or hand sanitizer handy in the barn, just in ase. We don’t use it; but one such cleanser that you may wish to have is Hibitane. Don’t forget to trim your fingernails short to avoid scratching the doe.

A plastic baggie of saline.

Saline

We don’t often need to use this; but it is inexpensive and helpful to have in the kit for life-saving scenarios.

Ketone strips for testing pregnancy toxemia in goats

Ketone Strips

Ketone strips are used for testing a doe’s urine for pregnancy toxemia or ketosis. Learn more about Ketosis and Pregnancy Toxemia in Goats in this article by Purina Animal Nutrition.

Obstetric lubricant for goat kiddings

Obstetrical Lubricant (in a bowl of warm water)

This one is important. As we head out of the house to check on an active kidding, we’ll often already have a bowl of warm water mixed with PolyLube in tow. We use it every single time we need to check inside of a doe, whether we are just inserting a finger or an entire hand to feel for kids. If we are repositioning kids, we try to use as much lubricant on our hands as we can to keep limbs and noses and heads moving easily and without friction.

7% iodine for naval/umbilical dip for newborn goats

7% Iodine (and a shallow dish or container with a lid)

This is for dipping the newborn kid’s umbilical cord to prevent infection (joint ill). We like to use a container with very shallow sides (maximum 3/4″). We fill the dish and press it up against the kid’s stomach to dip the entire umbilical cord and naval area, holding for a few seconds. Watch how we do this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwbcAwQ26ug

Goat kid pulling tools

Leg/Kid Puller 

We rarely use these; but then there’s that one dicey kidding that is a struggle and its something we absolutely want to have in our arsenal. We have a couple of different styles; but our favourite is the soft rubber one that can be slipped over a jaw or leg to help us reposition stuck kids, especially when there isn’t a lot of room to work or when a head doesn’t want to stay where we put it. 

A baby nasal aspirator is a good tool to have for goat kiddings

Nasal Aspirator

Helpful to have to help clear air passageways if a kid is having trouble breathing in the first few moments after it is born. We get these from the newborn baby aisle of any department/grocery store. 

Weight scale to record kid birth weights

Weigh Scale

You can approach this a few different ways. For our first few years, our weigh scale was an inexpensive digital hang scale with hook and we used reusable fabric shopping bags to hold the babies! Now we use a grocer or butcher hanging scale that has a large enough pan to hold a newborn Nigerian Dwarf kid. 

Old towels are great for drying off newborn kids

Towels

Small hand towels are the handiest for wiping off newborn baby noses and mouths. We also like some larger towels to scrub off kids and speed up the drying process so that temperatures don’t drop too low when they are first born. Any old towel will do and its one of those things that when we ask around, people seem to have them in ample supply and are always glad to drop them off at our farm!

We use stethoscopes to rule out pneumonia in sick goat kids

Stethoscope

For checking kids or dams for pneumonia. Its helpful to have to rule out pneumonia as a cause when you have a lethargic kid or dam. If we find we have a kid with pneumonia, this is one of those medications that we call our vet to draw up the appropriate medication for us so that we don’t have to purchase an entire bottle. 

Kid Collars and ID Tags

We have tried various different tools to try to keep our kids identified for their first 8 to 12 weeks of life. Nylon cat collars of different colours can work if you don’t have many kids. What we have finally found that works best for us are coloured metal dog tags that we engrave with letters and numbers and hang on a fine chain that we clip around our kids’ necks with hog rings. For example, one particular litter of triplets might have blue tags with the codes ‘K1’, ‘K2’, and ‘K3’. 

Electrolytes for sick goat kids

Electrolytes

A few years ago, we went through a bout of E. coli with our kids, and we have never faced a kidding season again without a few bags of electrolytes on hand. One bag makes enough solution for many feedings at a dosage of 15 to 20 cc per kid every four hours by stomach tube. We keep the extra solution covered in the fridge and reheat it in our microwave.

Most goats appreciate molasses as a post-kidding treat

Molasses

A great treat for does that have just kidded as well as an energy and rumen booster. Most does love getting their bowl of warm water and molasses. We give about 1/4 cup of molasses mixed in roughly eight cups of warm water. 

Antibiotics and pain medication for does post-kidding

Dexamethasone 5 and Oxyvet 200 LA

This is what we keep on hand as a combination treatment to prevent infection and reduce pain for any kiddings in which we have assisted with delivery. This combination treatment was advised by our vet. I only include it here as an item so that you recognize you will need both anti-infection and pain relief treatments immediately post birth in some cases. Discuss with your vet what their recommendation is. These were chosen in part because they are economical choices and there may be equally suitable or even superior treatments available to you. One note on the Oxyvet – we also use this to do uterine flushes in the case that we have a retained placenta, kids born already dead, or other situations where we want to give a localized prevenantive for infection on top of the injectible treatment.

Items Purchased As Needed

This last section lists a few items that are commonly kept in stock by some goat keepers and that you may wish to discuss with your vet about their recommendations for keeping on hand. We purchase these items as needed pre-drawn in correct amounts by our vet clinic.

  • Vitamin B12 (Thiamine) injectable
  • Metacam
  • Antibiotic(s)

van H acres is not a veterinarian. Any information provided is based on our own experience and recommendations by our veterinarians or government issued publications. By using the tools and information provided, you are acknowledging that we have no responsibility as to your own care of your animals or results of any treatments that you should choose to give them. Do not use the medications listed or dates provided without consulting with your veterinarian. Do not use the information provided to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses in your animals without consulting with your veterinarian. Information and products suggested or recommended by van H acres have no guarantees and we disclaim any/all liability in connection with the use of the suggestion/recommendations of information and/or products. van H acres assumes no liability should you decide to follow our advice/suggestions/recommendations, nor do we endorse any of the medications/supplements that we recommend/suggest. van H acres is not a veterinarian and we assume no liability for any actions you should choose to take with your animals.

You May Also Like…

My Doe Just Kidded, Now What?

My Doe Just Kidded, Now What?

This article is going to assume that you are planning to have your doe raise her kids. So your doe just kidded! Now...

Caring For Your Wethers

Caring For Your Wethers

There are three main aspects to caring for your new pets that you should consider. Hopefully you are reading this...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *