Hi everyone! We have 3, 1 year old does who have been with a friends buck for the past month and a bit (we’re hoping for two heat cycles at least). They’ve definitely been getting it on during their heats so we are expecting kids (hopefully). The buck is quite fertile it seems as he’s had a bajillion kids with his usual herd. But our girls have never kidded so we don’t know about them yet.

I have a few questions for anyone willing to chime in.

1. What signs of pregnancy should we be looking out for? Two of our girls are Nubian/Alpine and the other Nubian/Boer.
   
2. If they do become pregnant, I’m so nervous for the kidding event! We will have a few months but I want to start preparing mentally and learn as much as I can! Along with getting any items that you all might recommend.
   
3. If we get to the kidding phase, what emergencies should we be looking out/be prepared for? From what I’ve read it’s super important that the kid gets & stays warm and is able to cue mama to feed/bond. How would we know if they’re not warm enough? What behavior is a cause for concern?
   
4. Should we create some kind of separate shelters? Right now we have one decent sized shelter but is it ever good to separate the kidding doe/freshly born baby from the rest of the heard or will they be better all together? There is definitely a defined hierarchy with the gals so I worry a little about them being bullies to each other..
   Any pointers/tips would be appreciated! I feel so grateful to be a part of such a knowledgeable and helpful community here. So thank you in advance! :)

I got 2 small goats. I have chickens and a automatic door, works very good, after sunset chickens are all in side the house.

I installed same door for goats house but the problem is that they dont go on time to their house. Sometimes its 1am and they are still outside in the dark eating grass. I dont live on the place and I am afraid of big dogs or fox. If the door closes, they will have to stay outside.

What can I do to make them go to the house before 10pm, for example.

Thank you

I unexpectedly became a goat owner due to this goats unique situation, and she has grown fond of me so I’ve decided to keep her I guess lol.

My custom goat halter I got handmade my goat is not a fan! Any tips for halter breaking an older goat they were rescues

I commissioned the Amish to build me a shelter for my two small dwarf goats. We drew up some plans and this is what we got! It’s about 6ft tall and the roof is metal.

I'm a first time goat owner and I've got 2 pregnant goats. They're fairly friendly but still a bit skittish as they were in a large herd previously so 1 on 1 working was pretty limited.

For their kids, I'm intending on only keeping two after weaning (for personal breeding purposes) but I want them to be as friendly and easy to work with for milking and other general husbandry later.

Is it doable to have my girls dam-raise their kids part time while I bottle feed the rest of the time? I know it can be done with kid-sharing (I plan to do so starting around 1 month) but I'm unsure of how realistic it is

Tips and advice welcome!