What is wrong with my goat?

[Chickensrule69]

I need help i don’t know if my goat gabby (brown) is pregnant, fat, or bloated. Can someone please help me i compared her to my other goat Faye (tan) for reference. Maybe i’m just worrying too much but if you check my profile you can see her earlier this year.

 

[Stravager]

When did you get the goats, or do you have a male goat? Is there a reason to suspect that she's pregnant?
Have you had fecal tests done/dewormed them recently?
What have they been eating as a complete diet?

 

[sourland]

Looks as if she may be pregnant.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is her udder getting full? Looks pregnant to me, too. If she were that bloated she would not be calmly eating, she'd be in pain and miserable. If she were fat, she would be fat all over, not just in her belly area. In all honesty, the other goat looks pregnant, too, just not as far along. Hmm. Let's get @cherrynberry here, she knows of goats.

 

[Chickensrule69]

When did you get the goats, or do you have a male goat? Is there a reason to suspect that she's pregnant?
Have you had fecal tests done/dewormed them recently?
What have they been eating as a complete diet?

Around october last year. Yes there is a male. Possibly. No i haven’t dewormed them yet. They have been eating hay and a grain mixture occasionally

 

[Stravager]

Around october last year. Yes there is a male. Possibly. No i haven’t dewormed them yet. They have been eating hay and a grain mixture occasionally

Yeah, I'd agree with the others especially with a male around since they are super good at getting where they shouldn't be. They'll even commit the act through a wire fence if the holes are big enough. You might want to look into deworming but definitely make sure they're getting a good mineral with copper. If they are pregnant the last thing you want is birth deformities. And make sure they have hay with a high NFC (Non-fibrous carbohydrates) value - it's more digestible for them. Goats are supposed to eat a lot of broadleaf plants rather than grasses, so that's important, especially in pregnancy. Good luck with your goats!

 

[cassie]

She looks pregnant to me too. Stand behind her and look carefully at the rear udder where it joins the body. Changes in the udder due to pregnancy will be seen first here.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could be pregnant, but it's a bit soon to be showing the belly if she was bred in October. Goats carry the kids on the right side. You can eventually gently bump them and feel them there.

Pygmys and Nigerian dwarf can get fat easy especially when fed grain. They also can get a coat that makes them look bigger. I would feel along the spine to see how thick or thin she feels. Check the eye rims to see how pink she is and definitely check the thinner one. That will help determine if they need worming.

Also in winter when goats are eating hay the rumen will be bigger because it's digesting all that roughage. The rumen is on the left side of a goat.

I definitely would watch for mammary development, but you wouldn't see anything until late February and into March depending on when she was bred in October.

When bloated they will stop eating and drinking, and will stand hunched up, and usually vocalizing from the pain. It's best to always offer baking soda free choice to help prevent bloat.

 

[cassie]

Could be pregnant, but it's a bit soon to be showing the belly if she was bred in October. Goats carry the kids on the right side. You can eventually gently bump them and feel them there.

Pygmys and Nigerian dwarf can get fat easy especially when fed grain. They also can get a coat that makes them look bigger. I would feel along the spine to see how thick or thin she feels. Check the eye rims to see how pink she is and definitely check the thinner one. That will help determine if they need worming.

Also in winter when goats are eating hay the rumen will be bigger because it's digesting all that roughage. The rumen is on the left side of a goat.

I definitely would watch for mammary development, but you wouldn't see anything until late February and into March depending on when she was bred in October.

When bloated they will stop eating and drinking, and will stand hunched up, and usually vocalizing from the pain. It's best to always offer baking soda free choice to help prevent bloat.

Just a comment on bloat. The best thing I have found to treat bloat, and I have tried them all, is plain old GasX readily available at the grocery store. It is safe, fast and very effective. Goats suffering with enterotoxemia will often bloat. In that case the only thing that will save them is a dose of clostridium perfingens antitoxin. When I had goats the antitoxin and GasX were two items I ALWAYS had on hand. Bloat and entero are true emergencies and strike without warning. Keeping your goats up to date on their CD/T shots will go a long way to prevent entero.

 

[Chickensrule69]

it’s official she’s pregnant!!