Kidding season at the EB Ranch Farmstead started right on time and seems to be wrapping up fairly quickly. As of 4/2/2023 I am waiting on one more doe to kid. There are around 4 more goats that may kid, but just don't look pregnant. And two pregnant does will be traveling to the Miller Park Zoo in mid April as part of a San Clemente Island goat trade.
All the labor and kidding went smoothly. The only hitch was unseasonably cold temperatures at the end of March, as well as a snow storm that dropped a foot of snow. With cold temperatures, and a trend of early morning kiddings, I had to do a lot of night time checks. Bringing kids into the house to warm up quickly before putting them back with their mothers. This prevents the kids from getting too chilled where it would prevent them from nursing.
All kids were born at very respectable weights, and the mothers were are very protective of their kids this year. Average weight of a San Clemente Island goat kid can vary quite a bit. I have had healthy 1 pound babies, but more average is 3-4 pounds. Many of the kids born this year ranged from 5-7 pounds. Good mothering instincts and easy kidding are wonderful traits to have in any livestock breed.
Many of the kids born are reserved, while another group of kids born carry high Tepper lines that are for preservation breeding only. Line preservation is a project myself and a handful of other breeders are working on. Line preservation can help strengthen diversity within a breed.
To learn more about the Tepper Preservation Project click HERE. As kidding is wrapping up, there will be more blog posts and updates soon about this project.