How far along do you think my pregnant doe is? Newbie here!

[Picklestix7866]

Hi guys! Here's the story:
We had one lonely goat for a while and we decided he needed a friend. I have been searching all over looking for the right goat. I finally found a little Pygmy close by with horns (cuz Cody our original goat has horns) and she is just the right size. I had been emailing this lady back and forth and decided to go out and look at her. Well, me and my dad show up and they have her on a leash and they go "Oh, by the way, we just realized she's pregnant." Lol. Well, we couldn't pass her up. She is so cute! Anyways, now I have a whole bunch of questions about caring for a pregnant doe and her babies.

Is there a special diet for pregnant does?

How do I know how far along she is?

How do I know when she is going to pop? Because before she does we want to split the fenced area in half so Cody can't get at the babies. We are a little worried about him because he can be a little territorial.

Is is normal for the goats to head-butt each other at first?

Here is a pic so you can see how wide she is

 

[Chatychick]

Well from the pic she dont really looks to far along. They are PG for 5 mths or 145 days. You can tell when she gets closer as her udder starts filling up and gets tight. I would start feeding her either alfalfa hay or pellets. What was she eating at her other house? Wethers usually dont bother does when they are kidding or the babies after, well mine dont. Yes its prefectally normal for them to butt heads for a while as that is them saying to each other Hello I only separate when it gets bloody, and sometimes it does. she might be maybe 3 mths pregnant so looks like from the picture you have a while. Babies are fun...

 

[Picklestix7866]

I'm pretty excited. Baby goats are so darn cute.

 

[Picklestix7866]

Oh, and I guess the last time she ws pregnant she had twins, and she was a twin so there is a good chance there are two in there. Lol I got three for the price of one.

 

[MissPrissy]

It is possible on a 2nd or 3rd kidding to increase by 1. She could have 3.

You don't have to do anything really special. Give her a small ration of goat feed twice a day, lots of hay or if you have plenty of browse now that spring is greening up and good clean water.

 

[Chirpy]

Does the previous owner have any idea of when she was exposed to a buck?

Yes, the head butting is perfectly normal and ALWAYS takes place when new goats are put together. What I'd be concerned about is if Cody starts to butt her on her sides - that can cause an abortion. So just keep an eye on that. One of my does literally slams a new goat into the fencing for a few days. You don't want a pregnant momma being slammed against a fence.

I would also start to give her a small amount of grain/feed (something like Klassy goat) daily; start with about 1/2 cup a day and slowly work up to about 2 cups. If someone with more experience with Pygmy does comes along .... listen to them. I have had only full size dairy goats freshen thus far.

My wether was just fine when my doe gave birth overnight in the same stall with him. And, I think, that is the norm. However, I have heard from two people that their wethers actually ended up stepping on new kids so I would personally divide them if you can... just to be safe. Plus, having just momma with her kids for a few days or a week is good to help the bonding process.

Oh, you're going to have so much fun now!

 

[b.hromada]

She's really cute! Congratulations!

 

[Picklestix7866]

b.hromada :

She's really cute! Congratulations!

Thanks.

You have an opossum??​

 

[Picklestix7866]

Can you show Pygmies in 4H?

 

[Picklestix7866]

When do you think she will have her babies? I'm so excited!