Everything you will need to have on hand to assist your Mama & Baby goats during kidding season from normal, routine deliveries, as well as difficult births requiring intervention. We use holistic and conventional methods to ensure the best of both worlds for our herd.
Preparing for goat kidding season requires careful planning, and having a well-stocked goat birth kit is essential for ensuring a smooth and successful delivery. A properly equipped kit can help you handle everything from routine births to unexpected complications with confidence. For those who prefer holistic and homeopathic remedies, your goat birth kit can include natural options alongside conventional tools to provide gentle, effective support during the kidding process. In this article, we’ll outline the must-have items for your goat birth kit, helping you be ready for any situation that arises during kidding.
For more detailed insight into our kidding practices, consider purchasing our Breeding and Kidding Goats class, where we share expert tips, step-by-step guidance, and hands-on knowledge to help you succeed during kidding season.
We also have some short videos on our Instagram Story Highlights!
The Essentials- Do I really need this whole list?
If we were to bring only one thing to a birth, it would be clean towels. Our first and foremost goal during delivery is to get the baby breathing and dry. The very first step is to wipe the baby's mouth free of amniotic fluid and "slime". We then wipe the rest of the baby as clean as possible, usually using a semi-used towel or a disposable pee pad as the slime can be hard to get clean in the wash. On a clean pee pad, we present the baby to Mama to finish cleaning up and bonding.
The rest of these items are for helping the birth and recovery, of both Mama and babies, as smoothly as possible. We also include a list of items to purchase and have ready for the first few weeks so you aren't scrambling to get things like a disbudding iron!
Birth Kit List (Amazon Links)
We’ve included links to our curated Amazon lists for easy shopping, and we receive a small commission on sales made through these links. Non-Amazon items are linked separately and noted with an * .
See our other lists below:
Practical Goat Birth Kit Check-List
These are all items kept in bins in the kidding stalls for easy access during delivery.
Clean towels: for drying kids and cleaning up fluids
Large bin or box and cover for warming kids: Covering the warming box makes the kids also breathe in the warm air warming them from the inside and outside.
Scissors (sharp and clean) use betadine or Vetericyn to disinfect the scissors and trim the umbilical cord.
Betadine: cord dip as well as disinfect your hands if you need to reposition.
Hot water in a thermos - for washing hands and having ready for warm molasses water.
Flashlight or headlamp for low-light conditions.
Baby bottle & goat nipple - in your birth kit to feed babies colostrum
Clean wide mouth pint jar and lid: to collect extra colostrum
Tool Box - Keep your medications clean and organized within the larger bin or supplies.
Notebook and pen for noting birth times, weights, and other important details.
Trash bags - one for trash, one for dirty rags. Be sure to shake off as much dirt and hay from the rags so you don’t clog your washer.
Natural oil like olive or apricot seed for lubricating the vulva as the kids "crown", especially in first fresheners.
Nail Clippers (Trim your nails short if you need to “go in”.
Lubricant to help with difficult births (Use for thermometers as well as to lube up your hands or a stuck kid) Bulk size option.
Umbilical cord clips for cords that don't clot quickly.
Disposable gloves for hygienic assistance during delivery. (I don’t use these but it is nice to have on hand.) Arm length gloves
Nasal aspirator to clear mucus from kids' noses and mouths.
Using your own mouth to suck out fluid is more effective
Swinging a kid can also expel any inhaled mucous
Notes:
With the exception of 19-21, the items on this list are used every kidding season. 1-13 are used in EVERY birth on our farm. Items 14-19 are used multiple times during our kidding season for births requiring interventions of some kind.
We only use the rubber gloves when we suspect an illness (never has happened) or when we have used hormones to help dilate the cervix and do not want to absorb that into our own bloodstream.
The bulb syringe is used occasionally but we prefer to use our mouth to quickly and aggressively remove fluid from a drowning or choking kid.
The "kid puller" is a life saver for some but we have never been able to get it to work for us. Likely it is because I have small hands and have always been able to reposition kids without its aid.
Herbal, Homeopathic Remedies, First Aid, & Nutritional Supplements For Goat Birth & After Care: Holistic options for aiding in goat birth and recovery.
These items should already be in your general goat-keeping supplies. We keep drawn doses of B Complex in kid and mom doses, in our birth kit toolbox. The homeopathic tinctures and needless syringes are also stored in our toolbox. The other items are kept in our supplement storage in our milk barn as they are not usually needed in an emergent situation during the delivery.
B Complex: Pre-draw kid and mama doses to have ready
Needless Syringes- for dosing oral medications and remedies
Alcohol prep pads: to clean injectable medication lids)
Immune and energy-boosting herbs like chlorella & probiotics
Slippery Elm, Tincture & Powder: digestive upset and scour control
Replamin or other selenium supplement
CMPK or other calcium supplement (I mix my own with human-grade supplements)
Arnica 30C/200C - Aconite 30C/200C - Bellis 30C/200C combo: For traumatic births; this is a shock and injury remedy. **
Cimicifuga 30C (Black Cohosh) & Caulophyllum 30C (Blue Cohosh): Stalled Labor (DO NOT USE the herbal form of these remedies as they can be too intense.) **
Digitalis 30C: Inhaling of birth fluids (Do not use the herbal form, only the homeopathic.) **
Vetricyn Spray for wounds etc.
Goat Birth After-Care Practical Essentials List
These items do not need to be in the birth kit bin but should be stored within easy reach during kidding season.
Kid sweaters if temperatures are low.
Heat lamps and/or heating pads to keep kids warm if they struggle with body temperature.
Colostrum Replacer and Bottle-feeding supplies in case of weak kids or delayed milk letdown.
Milk Replacer (and/or frozen milk stash)
Herbal salve for soothing swollen lady parts on Mama
Vetricyn Spray for wounds etc.
Goat Birth Prescription Medications List
Medication Guide by Tennessee Meat Goats
Tip: Write the medication dosage and administration instructions on the box for quick reference. Consult your vet for access to these medications.
Banamine (pain/inflammation/scours)
Exceed or other antibiotic (for use after any aggressive repositioning)
Oxytocin (stimulate contractions/dilate cervix/pass placenta)
Lutalyse "lute" (to induce labor/abort unplanned breedings)
Dexamethasone (steroid for babies who inhale fluid/labor induction w/ lute)
BoSe - Selenium/Vit E injection (for kids with weak muscle symptoms)
Thiamine B1 (kids with weak suck reflex and/or can’t regulate their temp)
Antibiotic Eye Ointment
Helpful Tips:
Pre-draw B Complex, Banamine, Oxytocin, & Thiamine doses and have them ready to go in your birth kit toolbox. In an emergency, or in the middle of the night, I can quickly give a doe or kid what she needs and speed up the entire process versus making multiple trips to my tack room or the house (I keep my prescription bin in the climate-controlled house.)
Be sure to label each syringe and keep them in a clean container. At the end of the kidding season, I gift or dispose of what I haven’t used.
Kidding Barn Set-Up Must Haves - Complete Barn Set-Up Amazon List
Radio/battery baby monitor: must have in case of wifi or power failure
Heat lamps and/or heating pads
Bottle Baby/Weak Kid Supplies
Should you have full-time bottle kids, by design or necessity, these items will make your life much easier! We set up the play yard in a quiet corner of the house and put down an XL dog pee pad to protect the floor. The disposable pee pads down next to be changed throughout the day.
New Kid Care Kit: Birth to Weaning
Have these items on-hand before kidding season starts so you are ready to go in any situation. If you are not comfortable with banding and/or disbudding, talk to your vet and/or local goat breeders to find someone to outsource to. If you aren't sure if you should disbud your kids, please read our article on goat horns.
Bottle feeding isn't always in the plans but having goat bottles and milk replacers ready to go can be life-saving!! It's a small insurance policy that will prevent delays in getting those little ones fed in an unexpected crisis. Familiarize yourself with bottle-feeding practices.
Bottles - we do offer these for sale at $10 each for our customers.
Milk replacer: we recommend fresh milk when possible
Blue Kote spray
Arnica 30C/200C - Aconite 30C/200C - Bellis 30C/200C combo: For traumatic births; this is a shock and injury remedy. **
Coccidia preventative - Herbal* & Zuri Cox 5%*
Herbal flea and tick (lice & mite control)
Pregnancy Support Check-List
Stanchion - Even if you do not plan to milk, you must have a way to contain and examine your mama goats.
Preparedness Is Key
A well-prepared goat birth kit is an essential part of ensuring a smooth kidding process and being ready for any challenges that may arise. By including both conventional tools and holistic, homeopathic remedies, you can provide comprehensive care for your does and kids.
For more detailed insight into our practices, consider joining our Breeding and Kidding Goats class, where we share expert tips, step-by-step guidance, and hands-on knowledge to help you succeed during your kidding season.
We also have some short videos on our Instagram Story Highlights
*Indicates non-Amazon product link
**Pre-mix homeopathic remedies in a glass bottle and have a dedicated plastic syringe to administer.
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