Just Kidding and Raising Kids

Guide to Pregnancy, Kidding, and Newborn Care

We've Moved!

CLICK HERE

to join us in our new space!




Deborah's kidding course is well worth taking to increase your comfort level and confidence in providing the best care while your goats are giving birth. Knowing when you can sit back and watch the natural process take place or when to call for back-up is very helpful and appreciated. Took the course last winter and when kidding afterwards in March, had to call the vet. C-section was done and still lost momma, but kid survived. The course helped me to determine that I wouldn't have been able to handle that case on my own and the vet was called much sooner.
Karen Desjardins -- Field & Forest Acres, Ontario

I’ve been raising goats for about 10 years and kidding season is always an anxious time of year for me. I have dealt with many difficult deliveries and learned by experience what to do and not to do. It is very encouraging to me to see by your videos where I’ve done some things right and some things wrong. So thank you Deborah for making this course available. It was truly helpful because just when I think I’ve seen it all, one of my pregnant does will prove me wrong 😊
Mary Johnston -- Texas

The main thing I can describe--which isn't quantifiable--is a general sense of calm while I'm waiting for a presenting kid to emerge. The course helped develop a trust in the process and patience during the active pushing phase. I also started timing, which might seem counterintuitive, but I did this because I knew my mind was speeding up time spent pushing. By allowing myself to look at a clock, I could be objective and understand that things weren't actually taking as long as they felt.
Naomi D'Andrea -- Indiana

I love your goat courses and I think it is awesome that you add to them occasionally. I also think it is really awesome that you reply to all the messages and emails we all send with our questions and pictures. You have helped raise my confidence level tremendously and I greatly appreciate all you do for all of us.
Denice -- Missouri

The course was so helpful. I love the balance of written material charts, articles etc. with lots of videos. By the end of the course I felt really confident and well prepared and I know my goats have benefited from this already. Thank you.
Clare Clovis -- Ontario, Canada

Just watching the actual process really gave me more confidence I could handle it!
Chris Edson -- Missouri

I have had lots of time recently to get through a few videos! And my children LOVE the birthing videos. The cost of the course was worth just those to help prepare my children for what it looks like. We have cattle but we've never actually seen them give birth, so this has been great! I'm also obsessed with human birth, so it has been really good for me to see the differences between humans and the goats. I'm also an information junkie, so I'm loving the details you cover in the lecture videos too. It's all very well done! Thank you!
Katie -- North Dakota

I have absolutely loved the Thrifty Homesteader Academy's "Just Kidding and Raising Kids" online course. After purchasing the series of video lectures, they are always available for viewing at your convenience day or night. I am able to go back and view them again and again. I felt like I was standing in Deborah's barn right next to her as she was demonstrating and explaining every step of the birthing process and the raising of newborn kids. The videos answered just about every question and concern I had and really helped a new goat owner like me feel confident when the time came for my goats to give birth. Deborah also continues to add new content which is made available to everyone who has purchased her course. And she personally contacts each customer via email and is so willing to answer any more questions you may have as they arise. I highly recommend ALL of her courses...they are well worth the price!!
Laura Severt, Barneveld, WI

I strongly recommend Deborah's course for anyone who wants to learn more about the birthing experience. The variety of topics was excellent and comprehensive. I will be able to implement what I learned immediately. This course was just in time for me as I am about to have my does begin kidding. I'm sure the knowledge I picked up will save some babies lives and help me be able to raise stronger, healthier kids.
Lynn Brown -- Ohio

Deborah’s videos are extremely informative and well worth the money! I have learned so much from Deborah, and being able to go back and watch the videos over and over, I pick up on something each time that I missed the time before. Keep the videos coming!
Teresa Cole - Tomball, Texas

Even though I had read 3 to 4 books on raising goats before purchasing our does and buck, it was a relief to find someone who was so knowledgeable about goats. It was a relief to find Deborah since she does so much research and give lectures about taking care of your goats. Not only does she do all this, but she actually has acquired a lot of her knowledge from her own goats that she has had for many years. In other words, like she said, we get to learn from her mistakes. Personally, I have learned a lot from her and continue to consult, bug, pester her whenever I need her advice. She has never given me bad advice to this day. Please find and watch her kidding course. There’s so much helpful, and definitely needed information for you. She has other helpful videos about goats you will be glad you’ve taken advantage of.
Deborah Eddelmen - Illinois

The kidding course was extremely useful and helpful. First, the videos and their progression (from easy to more complicated births) were really useful. Second, your calmness and reassuring and matter-of-fact attitude and the emphasis on not over helping was something I remembered during our own kidding (kids coming out with one hoof and one bent back: it was perfectly fine). Another super helpful thing: Thanks to you I finally was able to ‘get’ the ligaments disappearing! Thanks again!
Angelica and Aurora - Upstate New York