Assemble Your Kidding Kit – Items You Need Before Your Goat Gives Birth

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You’ve been waiting for almost five months and now your newborn goat kids will be arriving soon! Or maybe, you’re planning ahead for when you can get goats or breed the does you have. Either way, being prepared with a goat birthing kit, and learning a little about newborn goat care is a good idea.

A collection of items we keep on hand for the birth of newborn goats. — This is our kidding kit; a collection of supplies we keep on hand when we’re preparing for newborn goats.

Our first Kinder goat kids were born in the spring of 2016. At the time I assembled a few basic supplies in a tool bag to use for a kidding kit. We’ve added a few items over the years and I’ve outlined our favorite supplies, along with how to use them when caring for your doe and her newborn kids, here.

Items to Gather for Your Goat Birthing Kit

When you assemble your kidding kit, there will be two categories of items to include. The first will be regular supplies for typical, uncomplicated births. These are items you use most of the time – unless your doe decides to surprise you with clean, dry kids when you arrive in the barn or pasture!

Our regular kidding supplies include:

Puppy training pads or old towels
- Puppy training pads or old towels are great for wiping mucus off of noses and helping clean up kids if your doe is delivering multiples.
Dental Floss
- Sometimes when the umbilical cord breaks, a kid will end up with a long cord still attached to their naval. This is dangerous for the kid if they, or one of their siblings, step on it and pull. In this case, we tie a piece of dental floss tightly around the cord an inch or two from the kid’s belly. Once the cord is tied off securely we can cut off the excess without harming the newborn.
Scissors or a Pocket Knife
- Scissors are a useful tool to keep in any vet kit. They can be used to open packaging or cut a long umbilical cord.
Naval Spray
- No matter how clean your kidding stall may be, it’s still a good idea to use a naval spray or dip on a newborn kid’s umbilical cord. The goal here is to help fight infection and dry the cord more quickly. You can also use betadine and dip the cord if you prefer.
Nutri-Drench
- We prefer Goat and Sheep Nutri-Drench with the pump lid. Once you’ve sprayed their naval, giving a newborn a single pump in the back of their mouth helps get them up and looking to nurse more quickly. This is especially helpful if the kid has had a difficult delivery.
Molasses
- After a doe has delivered all of her kids; we give her a small bucket of warm water and molasses. I pour a small amount (roughly 1/4 cup) into the bottom of a bucket and add warm water. The only time a doe will drink the molasses water is right after giving birth. The molasses gives her a quick energy boost after working hard to bring her new babies into the world!

The second category will be emergency items. These supplies rarely get used unless there is a problem. Unfortunately, when do you need them, it’s not a convenient time to make a run to the store. For emergencies, it is always a good idea to have a good, existing relationship with your local veterinarian, and a goat mentor or friend who could help. Regardless, keeping a few emergency supplies on hand will give you a place to start.

Our emergency kidding supplies include:

OB Gloves
- When you need to assist with a difficult delivery – pulling a kid, or helping straighten their position in the birth canal, you will want a clean, new pair of OB gloves. I prefer the long gloves that reach my shoulder. You can buy different size packages, in a size that fits your hands.
Lubricating jelly
- Lubricating jelly goes hand-in-hand with the OB gloves. If you’re using one, you will want the other!
Calcium Drench
- Calcium drench is a vitamin supplement that can help a doe get back on her feet after a difficult birth. It is advertised as a supplement that can or should be used with every kidding, but we’ve only found it necessary for does who have experienced an extremely hard delivery. Whether calcium drench counts as a regular or emergency supply for your kit will depend on how you prefer to manage your herd.
Selenium & Vitamin E Gel
- Selenium & Vitamin E Gel is a supplement that is used for weak kids who are struggling to stand. If you are aware that your feed tends to be low in selenium, you can give your doe a preventative dose of the selenium gel a week or two prior to kidding.
Baby Bottle
- Even when you plan to let your doe raise her kids, there are still situations when you end up bottle-feeding a newborn. Regular baby bottles work well for goat kids, just look for a nipple designed for older human babies because they allow milk to flow more easily.
Goat Colostrum – fresh, frozen, or powdered
- Colostrum is the first milk produced by a doe after kidding. It is essential to helping newborn kids develop a strong and healthy immune system. If your doe cannot nurse her kids, it’s a good idea to have colostrum available to feed them. Fresh and frozen colostrum are best for the kids, but the powder keeps well and will work if needed.