from Amy>I've read many lists telling me what items to have on hand at the birth. You posted in the newsletter what you were gathering for kidding. What do you consider essentials?

An incubator barrel in one corner provides a warm, safe, dry place for newborns clean bedding ... avoid heat lamps ...A small water bucket in another corner ... don't use 5 gal buckets... kids can fall in and drown

About 1-2 weeks before: a white thick mucous plug is often noted as it is passed . Udder is filling out. The tail gets that pump handle look. Fetal heads can be felt through sides of dam.

About 1 week before: udder feels full and firm (usually) Back end gets looser and longer. Moms lay around more often grunting with respiration.

About 1-3 hours before: Keeping off by herself. Making "mommy noises" (calling for their unborn kids). Clear mucous discharge. Udder tight. Pawing at the ground. Restless (up and down)

The most usual presentation is two forelegs and a nose (the divers position). The most common assist necessary during this kind of delivery is when the shoulders wedge behind the cervix (often seen in first time moms or small moms). The best way to do this is to (using one of your towels, because this baby will be slippery), grasp one foreleg of the baby and pull gently and firmly... then grasp the other foreleg and pull gently and firmly... alternating pulls until you feel the shoulders ease past the cervix. This usually takes 2-4 pulls. Pull with and not against contractions. Once it "pops" past the cervix the rest of the baby will delivery easily and quickly.

Use your towel or the bulb syringe to quickly remove membrane and amniotic fluid from the nose and mouth of the baby, then allow the mom to help you clean and dry the baby. Pay special attention to ears, hooves and testicles in extra cold conditions. You may want to use a hair dryer in very cold weather. Once they are dry, you can put a sweater or a coat on them to help retain body heat.

If the umbilical cord is still attached after delivery, leave it that way to make sure all blood transfer is complete. It will break when the mother rises a few minutes later. A ragged break is actually better than a clean cut, but you don't want it dragging on the ground, so "clip" it at 2-3 inches from the belly.

I usually let the mom take over for 5-10 minutes before I dip the dangling umbilical cord in strong iodine, but don't forget this important step. Put a small amount of iodine in a tupperware type cup with lid. Dip the cord into the cup , then pressing the cup up tight against the belly of the baby, turn the baby over so that the entire area around the cord is saturated. This will help dry the cord quickly and prevents bacterial invasion via the open umbilicus (navel ill).

Then turn to the mom. Make sure the waxy plug from the end of the teat is strip-ped away... make sure you can squirt colstrum out of each teat. Flip the mom over if necessary and clip away wool from around the udder so the baby will find it quickly and easily and does not waste time and energy sucking on wool tags. If she has very large teats, milk her out alittle so that the kid can get fit the teat in its mouth. Be SURE to save that first milk... it is liquid gold. Label and freeze it in small containers.

Monitor your newborn closely to make sure that it gets up and gets a drink within about 30 minutes. Angoras sometimes take a bit longer than dairy or meat goats. Lambs are usually up pretty quickly. If they do not eat within an hour they will begin to lose body heat and can die.I like to put sweaters on any very small goats and/or all angora kids. Do not put it on until after they are dry, but it will help them maintain their body temperature in those first crucial days.

Newborns sleep alot, but a happy baby is one that when awakened , will arch its back and stretch like a Halloween cat. If you put a finger in its mouth, it will feel warm NOT cold. It will not lie flat on its side... that is a dangerously COLD baby.

At HMFF, mother and baby (s) are kept in a small pen in the maternity shed for 3 days... then transferred to a mixing pen with perhaps two other mothers and babies for another couple days. Babies are ear tagged and tails are docked before they are turned out into the larger world at day five. I leave the sweaters on for about 2 weeks... sometimes longer.

$12 includes postage. Lasts for years! Easy to spot those kids in these bright colors. Machine washable and dryable. Helps to retain body heat. hmffarm@fidnet.com