Preggers Goat Bellies =) New Pics Pg 3

[Fudgie]

OK everyone, not to jump the thread but how do you KNOW they are getting close. I hae 2 nanny pygmy goats and one is like bigger than your first picture....She is getting very skiddish of us too and was always standoffish but now moreso than ever. We bought them November 15 and they were as big as helmstead's pics!

One of mine looks like Sugar and one looks like somewhere between Anabel and Emma...when are they due? How do you know!

By the way great idea on the dog collars, they don't chew them off each other?

 

[RickiHupp]

One way that has always been a dead ringer for me is the milk bag. It wont start to swell until the baby drops and she is ready to give birth.
Saying that...sometimes the bag swells up about 2 weeks before the birth but sometimes it is sooner. My pygmies will become very antsy and grouchy right before also. There will also be some mucas around her bottom.

 

[Fudgie]

Thanks Ricki, I have never had a preggo goat before so it is all new to us, I just know she like RUNS to get away from us and the others run TO us!! I am thinking she is getting her space defined! We did confine the animals down to a smaller space for winter time so it might let her get used to us better......Thanks for the info

 

[RickiHupp]

Your welcome

Thats always hard when you have a flighty doe. We have one too, last spring when she had her babies I SO BADLY wanted to be beside her and watch the babies, but because she was like that I chose to keep my distance because I think that I might have been stressing her out. Once those babies come out and she has them dried off, start petting them and being very hands on with them that way they will not be like the mom. Hopefully you are around at the time she gives birth, it really is exciting to watch, sometimes if they are having twins after the first one drops she may let you hold it and use a towel to dry it off while she is in labor with the other baby but if she starts to freak out its best just to let her do her won thing and once you know she is done birthing start touching the babies and talking to them. Good Luck!!!

 

[Fudgie]

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I am always a hands on person! She looks big enough for triplets. One of the reasons to pull them down to a smaller enclosure was so we can NOT have to chase her to catch her. That is totally non productive. DD messes with the other 3 and seeing the dog collars on the ones in the pictures, I am thinking I am going to do that and maybe start messing with her every day whether she likes it or not, it is hard to hold her without a collar of some sort. At least she knows we have the food and lots of times i do the "if you wanna eat, I get to pet you" trick...it works pretty good. I just have been letting dd do her thing for a while,.....She has a pretty good head on her. I just don't want her stomping the babies to get away from us so we really need to get her calmed down a bit. She is not mean just really skiddish!

 

[helmstead]

You all know I will post baby pics ad nauseum!

How do we KNOW? Well, most of the time I have due dates or at least approximate breeding dates. I say, over and over, you don't know until they're pushing. Also, I know my does like I know the back of my hand. Still - they often psych me out for 2 weeks before they actually kid (based of course on the well known Doe's Code of Honor).

Here's what I look for:
shiny udder
dropped hindquarter muscling
mushy ligaments
raised tailhead
posty legs
restless behavior, 'far off' look in the eyes, etc

 

[Western Chick]

I actually had a doe faking it on Sunday morning!

She's due in 21 days, so I thought she could have been bred a cycle before I thought she was. Crazy girl is bagged up. She was vocalizing like she was in labor and when I tried to check her out she ran away from me...usually she's cool as a cucumber!

 

[helmstead]

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Oh, so sorry for your losses. How sad!

 

[Fudgie]

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OHHH Good Info! I have been checking the ligaments, someone else told me that but that was all I knew about. I have raised horses and cattle and figure they will get soft in the backside but was not sure. I will keep this by the vet cabinet so we know what to continuously look for.... Like I said before we got them November 11, I would have loved to know when they were bred but the people could not tell me anything about when she could have been bred, they just dropped them off at the sale barn and left....I will try to get pics and post them so you can tell me your expert opinions...all are welcome! LOL Good idea taking them backside, and top side view. I would say ours has the restless behaviour, she is normally not so flighty. She will just move away but now she RUNS as fast and as far as she can from you. It is kind of humorous. But I have a sick sense of humor too! LOL

I am almost positive the tan one was not bred when we got her, even though they said she was. The bucks were all over her about 4 days after we got her...they were not the least bit interested in the one that DEFINATELY looks preg.

Do they come in heat even after they are bred or not.

 

[helmstead]

There is a 5 day heat that sometimes happens (5 days after they're bred). Some goats will accept a buck throughout pregnancy - hussies. I have one, Holly...who will do this. Also, in the last month or so, they release hormones that the bucks think are estrus...so again at this point they get the chase on...however usually a doe won't stand. This is the point when bucks really should be removed from does if they aren't already. Especially bucky bucks might flirt with a doe regardless, LOL...and any new doe, bred or not, is going to get chased by the buck in a flirtatious manner at first.

So, as you can see, much unlike horses, dogs, cattle...goats are not set in stone in any way shape or form. A little gut, a little luck, usually.