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Kids: Coccidia

Coccidia are a protozoan internal parasite, that most goats have, in small numbers. In adults, this is generally not a problem, but if kids get an overload of coccidia, it can cause diarrhea, intestinal scarring, and ultimately death, if not treated.  The first line of prevention for coccidia in kids is to keep their areas clean. This may seem like an unreasonable expectation--it's a barn, for all love--but what this means is essentially making sure the kids have minimal access to poop--they pick up coccidia from mouthing poop, soiled straw, etc. This can mean cleaning out the pen every day, or it can mean adding a new layer of straw once or twice a day, or even both. A good criteria (picked up from Deborah at the Thrifty Homesteader) is that you should be willing to sit down in the stall. Then, it's clean enough for kids. If you're not willing to sit down (while wearing "barn" pants. Not wearing a fancy dress, for instance) it's not clean enough for kids.  In
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Breeding: Doing the Deed

 So you're on the way up to the breeder (or maybe just trying to learn about what it'll be like), and you're wondering what's going to happen. Legolas, I know you know what it's like, sort-of, but there may be some details you missed. 

You'll get to the farm. The breeder may not be right there to greet you--they're busy people! So wait a couple of minutes, and if they've not come out yet, send them a text to let them know you're there. Do NOT get the doe out of the car until you've said hi, and they've explained how things will work.

Both doe and buck will be on a leash, but where that will be is up to the farmer. Some do it in their actual driveways, some in empty fields, and some right outside the buck pen. Up to them. So get the doe out of the car, and take her over to the designated area. Sometimes, before getting the doe out of the car, the owner will want to check the pedigree to make sure you've brought the right goat...so bring the pedigree just in case. 

The buck is going to be gross. He will blubber, rub his head on the doe's "lady parts", smell her pee and flehmen, pee on his head, and smell absolutely vile, like acrid rotten goat cheese, more or less. (I actually don't mind the smell--but everyone else I know tells me they hate it.)

After more or less "wooing" on his part, he will get up his courage and do the deed. If he's successful, the doe will "tuck", or pull her back legs close to her front ones, as he dismounts. Generally, it's good to have the buck do this at least twice, and most people let him do it three times, just to make sure. Some bucks take longer between tries, so two tries is fine if it's taking forever! 

After breeding, you'll pay the buck owner, and get your doe back in the car. She will smell rather rank! It's normal for opaque creamy material to drain from her "lady parts" for a little while (a couple of days to a week) afterwards--this is the "leftovers", and generally an indication of successful breeding.

However, even if the buck bred her successfully, that doesn't mean she'll necessarily get pregnant, so watch for heats for the next 21 days. In general, if a doe didn't get pregnant, she'll come back into heat 21 days later as usual. However, in some cases the doe "bounces", or comes back into heat sooner--after 5-18 days or so. This is also normal, and simply take her back to the buck!


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