Interactive lesson

Mating and kidding, step by step

Interactive lesson: getting the doe and buck ready, signs of heat, 150 days of pregnancy, the kidding pen and kit, kidding, colostrum in the first hour and kids until weaning.

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The whole lesson as text

1. Getting the doe and buck ready

No kids, no milk, and a good kidding starts a month before mating.

Condition score 3 — The doe goes to the buck at condition score 3, neither thin nor fat. She can be mated while she is still being milked.
Better feed — Better feed 3–4 weeks before mating (flushing): better grazing or 0.2–0.3 kg of concentrates.
Feet and worms — Feet trimmed, worms checked with a faecal egg count, vaccinations as agreed with your vet. A buck with sore feet won't mount.
The buck, carefully — A borrowed buck comes with health records and test results (CAE, CL, Johne's). You go in to a buck in the rut alone, with a stick, never with your back to him, and children never.

Why: A thin doe conceives less easily, and an over-fat one kids with more difficulty. A doe gaining condition before mating more often has twins.

Mate a young doe when she reaches roughly 60–70 % of adult weight. A doe that is too young and too small kids with more difficulty.
If you have 2–3 does, mate them 1–2 months apart, so they are never all dry at the same time.

2. Heat and mating

A doe comes into heat every 21 days, and heat lasts 12–48 hours.

Tail and voice — The doe wags her tail fast, like a flag, especially when she sees the buck. She bleats more than usual, loudly, for no reason.
Vulva and behaviour — Vulva red, a little swollen and moist. The doe is restless, eats less and looks for the buck, and her milk may drop for a day.
Hand mating — Lead the doe to the buck on a halter through a gate that closes behind you. 1–2 services, then repeat after 12 hours.
Write down the date — Write down the mating date. If the doe doesn't come back into heat 18–22 days later, she is probably pregnant.

Why: The season runs roughly from August to January, strongest from September to December. Everything is calculated from the mating date: return to heat, drying off and kidding.

Some does have silent heats. If you have no buck, watch the does for 10 minutes at the same time every day and write down what you see.
After working with the buck, change your clothes and wash your hands before milking.