I bred 7 does this year. They started having their babies on Sunday, 18 February, and were all finished by Friday, 23 February. There are 9 (2 moms had twins) kids - 5 does and 4 bucks. All moms and babies are healthy and doing well.
It can be a challenge at times for the baby goats to get on their moms and nurse for the first time. Angora kids are not very hardy and you need to ensure they get quickly dried and stay warm. My procedure is to help the Mom as needed, get some milk/colostrum into a bowl and put it in the baby’s mouth with my finger, and then help guide the baby onto the mom’s teats. Two of the mom’s did not have a lot of milk the first day and I had to supplement their babies with a bottle. I keep the mom and their baby(s) in a small pen for 3-4 days to bond and them put them together in a larger stall. Right now I have 3 groups in different stalls. In a week I will ear tag them, give a vaccination and give them names.
The baby goats are very curious and like to play. Following are some pictures and videos. Visitors to the farm are very welcome to see the baby goats and interact with them.
New baby doe with onesie to help stay warm