# Pregnant or just fat?



## mama24 (Feb 4, 2012)

This doe was in with a buck for only 1 day, and it was her dad. She is a very bad girl, and I can understand how her previous owner was unable to stop her from moving with her mom and about 15 other does into the buck pen when he was moving her and took a whole day to separate her back out. She is a brat, and an escape artist! But very cute! LOL. (she's the doe in my avatar. I love her! She looks like her mom, that's why I picked her. Very pretty orangeish brown with lighter and darker spots.) He told me he thought she was a little young and he didn't think she'd gone into heat yet, but there was a small chance she had been bred. That was in Oct, so she'd be due in a month. I was pretty sure she wasn't, but now I'm not so sure. She's a little piggy, and an escape artist, so this may just be the result of sneaking into the grain too often. She somehow squeezes herself through spaces my chickens have trouble with! I was waiting for pay day and need to find a goat proof way to store our feeds, but maybe I should ask for suggestions on that in another thread.  Anyway, here she is: Oh, the main thing that is making me think she is pregnant is that I thought she was in heat several weeks ago b/c her vulva was a little swollen. Well, here is is several weeks later and it is even MORE swollen, and it never went down in between. It's just puffy all the time. I have one other doe who is supposed to be pregnant, pretty sure she is, but her vulva is still normal looking. Here are the pics. I can get more later from other angles if you want them.


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## ksalvagno (Feb 4, 2012)

You could always draw blood, put it in an orange (red) top tube and mail it to BioTracking with the appropriate form and fee. That would be the easiest way to tell.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 4, 2012)

She doesn't look 4 months pregnant to me, Although I do see what you mean about her vulva. 

As far as the feed, We put ours in 55 gallon drums, It holds right at 325lbs of feed. We get the kind that you have to cut one end off of, and are food grade. Ours are blue plastic.  ONe thing nice about the drums, is they are taller, so unless you have a bigger goat it is harder for them to get into them.


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## Queen Mum (Feb 4, 2012)

She could be pregnant.  She looks it.  If she is 4 months pregnant, she would be developing an udder by now.  It would be tiny at this point, but it would look like a little udder.  Does she have one?  If she doesn't have one at this point,  even a small one, then she is probably not pregnant.


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## mama24 (Feb 5, 2012)

She does have a small amount of udder development, as much as my other goat has. Now I'm wondering if my other goat is actually pregnant! lol. I noticed last month her teats had gotten bigger, but I wasn't sure if that's normal for goats whether they're bred or not. I've had pregnant cats and dogs (my family took in every stray that turned up when I was a kid. Bless my parents! LOL) and I know they have nothing until late in pregnancy, but I'm new to goats! I talked to the friend I got them from yesterday and showed him the pics on my phone. He said it's hard to say for sure, but she looks pregnant to him, too, but he had really thought at the time that she was too small to go into heat yet, of course that's never 100%. His parents were sheep farmers, and he's delivered thousands of lambs and kids, so he knows enough to know he has no idea.  She was only in with the buck for 1 day, and that's only b/c she's a sneaky sneak and hard to catch! FWIW, her belly was much smaller on both sides today, so I definitely think she was bloated when I took these pics. But her belly is very round and low on the bottom, much closer to the ground that it used to be, much like her definitely pregnant sister's is. Oh well, I'm going to just forget about it for now. If she is, she is, and if she isn't, that was the plan anyway.  Not worth stressing over, and not really important enough for me to go out and spend money on blood tests, etc. They're mixed breeds, not fine breeding stock. I'll definitely call a vet if necessary, but not if I can figure things out myself with my friend's help. 

I'll have to see if I can find some of those barrels. But if they're too tall for the goats, it's very likely they're too tall for me! I'm only 5'3! I posted on CL I was looking for an old non working chest freezer, but no one ever got back to me on that. That would be ideal.


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## Valley Ranch (Feb 19, 2012)

If she was in heat when she was in with the buck she's pregnant. If she is, she'll show much more this next month.


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## mama24 (Feb 19, 2012)

Oh, she's definitely pregnant. She has an obvious bag now, and I have seen movement in her belly. Not huge like she's due any day, but it's obvious from behind now that she has a bag. My friend said if she is showing that much, he thinks she must have bred through the fence b/c none of his does are showing much yet, and neither is my other doe. She hasn't really grown much since I got her. I think she's just smaller than my other goat, and that's just how she is. Now that I think about it, her mom was also one of the smaller does, so I guess they're just short. So I'm hoping she wasn't too young/small and she'll be fine. She seems to be doing well. I've had a hard time keeping weight on my taller doe, but this girl has been fat since day 1.


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## Queen Mum (Feb 19, 2012)

Some girls are just easier to keep, ahem, healthy. If she's bagging up, she's momming up too.  PG, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.


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## Mzyla (Feb 23, 2012)

I have read somewhere on a internet (cannot find that page now), that when you touch their belly on a right side, on a front of udder and when belly is hard, they are pregnant. When belly is soft, not pregnant.
I don't know how truth or how accurate that is...


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## Queen Mum (Feb 23, 2012)

It's called typing, I think.  You can put both hands on the belly just in front of the 'udder' and feel the belly.  If it feels really tight and hard, there is probably babies in there.  If the belly is soft and mushy, probably she is open (not pregnant).


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## mama24 (Feb 23, 2012)

Her bag got twice as big overnight last night! Still not even close to some of the pics I've seen on here, but it's happening! I'm so excited!


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## Queen Mum (Feb 23, 2012)

Whoo HOO!


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## PotterWatch (Feb 23, 2012)

Can't wait to see baby pics!


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## mama24 (Feb 24, 2012)

How many do you think she'll have? I'm guessing 2, and I'm guessing in 2 weeks. I'm really guessing, she's my first goat.  I dont think my other girl is due as soon as she is.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 24, 2012)

Congrats, 2 weeks sounds like a good guess, I would maybe go 3 weeks. You said she was bred sometime in october,  Ofcourse, that would give you between march 1 and April 1st.  That first picture of her that you posted, looks a lot like one of my first fresheners that is due 2nd week of April. Hard to tell she is pregnant, but just showing a few little signs.    Swollen vulva, little rounder around the middle.


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## billyandtimmyplace (Mar 9, 2012)

Has she kidded yet?


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## mama24 (Mar 16, 2012)

Nope. She just keeps getting fatter and fatter. LOL. She lays around a LOT. Her udder got much bigger overnight that day I posted, but no change since then, and it is still not as big and full as the pics I've seen of does who are ready to go. I did notice she seemed to be leaking some colostrum the other day, though. My other doe who still has relatively small udders also had some colostrum dripping. Is that weird? I assume not, since I know plenty of women that happened to, so I figure goats can't be much different. They've both also had loose stools, but I think that's from eating lots of the new fresh spring green grass.


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## that's*satyrical (Mar 17, 2012)

Guessing triplets


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## mama24 (Mar 18, 2012)

Really?!?! She wasn't even supposed to be pregnant! Lol!


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## RareBreedFancier (Mar 19, 2012)

She's very pretty!  How old is she now? 

I hope you have some cute kids soon and it's and easy birth and everyone is healthy.


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## mama24 (Mar 19, 2012)

I think she will be a year old in April. So she's a little on the young side, but hopefully will be fine.


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## Queen Mum (Mar 19, 2012)

My girl, Brownie, just kidded this month, and she will be a year old in April as well.  She did fine.  She isn't the best mother every, but seems to be settling in OK.


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## mama24 (Mar 19, 2012)

I hope mine does ok as a mama! I don't want to bottlefeed if I don't have to! She's not very friendly and I am hoping to be able to milk her. Though if she does end up with trips, she may not have any milk left for us! LOL


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## heathen (Mar 19, 2012)

My Doe (Brittney) had twins today. We borrowed a Billy and wrote down the first date we caught them in the act lol and it was Oct 25 a few days after the Billy was introduced. So if yours was with the Billy the month of Oct and none of Nov I would b looking for babies any day now. It was Brittneys first time too and she did fine


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## mama24 (Mar 20, 2012)

Yep, should be any day now! My friend I bought her from told me she should have the kids this week or next at the latest based on breeding opportunities, though the bucklings she was in with shouldn't have been old enough, one of them definitely was. All of his "too young to breed" does seemed to have gotten pregnant this year. several aborted earlier in the month, and several are due any day like my girl. And my other doe went in WITH the grown buck after Oct, so she is due last week or March at the earliest, might be longer. Doesn't look like she let a buckling breed her. No surprise since she was the tallest doe he had, even taller than the moms when I picked her out. She's finally starting to look big. I would guess she's at least 2 weeks behind my huge doe.


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## autumnprairie (Mar 20, 2012)

mama24 said:
			
		

> Yep, should be any day now! My friend I bought her from told me she should have the kids this week or next at the latest based on breeding opportunities, though the bucklings she was in with shouldn't have been old enough, one of them definitely was. All of his "too young to breed" does seemed to have gotten pregnant this year. several aborted earlier in the month, and several are due any day like my girl. And my other doe went in WITH the grown buck after Oct, so she is due last week or March at the earliest, might be longer. Doesn't look like she let a buckling breed her. No surprise since she was the tallest doe he had, even taller than the moms when I picked her out. She's finally starting to look big. I would guess she's at least 2 weeks behind my huge doe.


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## mama24 (Mar 20, 2012)

Poor girl can't even find the strength to stay standing while eating or chase the thieving chickens away anymore! She has to be having these babies soon! There is just no way she can get any bigger and more tired! I'm pretty sure she was contracting while eating, whether they were BH or real, who knows. But she kept stopping and laying there quietly and then would get back to eating.


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## heathen (Mar 20, 2012)

I love her. She is so pretty. I will def b watching this thread for baby pics. She looks huge dont seem like she could hold them in much longer lol and with her markings I think they wil b beautiful. I will cross my fingers and send nanny thoughts your way and maybe she will have all nannies and when she does u can thank me later lol  I am so excited for u


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## mama24 (Mar 20, 2012)

heathen said:
			
		

> I love her. She is so pretty. I will def b watching this thread for baby pics. She looks huge dont seem like she could hold them in much longer lol and with her markings I think they wil b beautiful. I will cross my fingers and send nanny thoughts your way and maybe she will have all nannies and when she does u can thank me later lol  I am so excited for u


Thanks! I just love her, too! She is definitely NOT friendly. I knew that when I got her. They had plenty of bottle baby doelings I could have picked, but I really liked the look of my taller doe b/c she looked like a Saanen to me, I just thought she was pretty and looked like a milker. This doe, I picked b/c she had the same coloring as her mom, only lighter. Her mom is a darker version of her, just gorgeous! She's a skittish little thing, and after months here, still doesn't let us near her without us tricking her, but she's too cute, and always looks like she's smiling. My friend tells me a lot of his does who act like her end up being friendly after kidding, so I'm still hopeful she'll get more tame. If not, that's ok. She's pretty and is obviously a good breeder! lol


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## heathen (Mar 20, 2012)

This will probaly stir up a fuss as its probaly not the best thing to b feeding a goat but we have had a few that were lets say wild acting and we wanted them tamer. This has worked on several goats and my buddy had great success doing this too. We bought boxes of nilla waffers and a few times a day we would enter ther pen and offer each goat one or two. U may have to toss them to the shyer ones at first but eventually they begin takeing them out of your hands and then letting u pet them when u r giving them to them and eventually come around learn to trust u and become very tame. Just dont make any sudden movements or loud noises til they get used to u. Goats love nilla waffers. I have only met one that didnt so far. This method works very well some of our wildest goats have become the most annoying wanting treats now and who knows maybe it will make the milk taste sweeter lol


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## Mzyla (Mar 20, 2012)

Besides nice goat, you sure have nice chickens! 
Waiting - with you - for these babies!


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## mama24 (Mar 29, 2012)

Still no babies! :/ A friend of my friend came over with my friend yesterday. She used to raise a huge herd of Boers with her ex-husband. She told me she thought it was going to be at least another week before my little goat had her babies and probably a month or so for my tall goat!!! She said my little goat was having at least twins, maybe triplets.  I was really thinking I'd have babies by now. It's almost depressing how long this is taking. lol. Poor thing can barely walk. She's definitely doing the pregnant waddle. Her skinny little legs look like they're going to break from carrying her huge belly around!


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## anews77 (Mar 31, 2012)

OK Mama24...I'm gonna tell you how it goes...being the mother of four, you should know that babies come when they are ready...*S*  Waiting for kids (goat kids, that is) to be born is even worse!!!...I have been known to wait day by day for up to a month...and then, one day (after you've all but given up) you go out to the pen and there they are...right on schedule...good luck and please post as soon as they are born...


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## AdoptAPitBull (Mar 31, 2012)

Raisins, animal crackers, and just about any type of sweet fruit works well to tame unfriendly goats, too.

Hope she throws some nice doelings for ya!


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## mama24 (Mar 31, 2012)

anews77, I had my last 2 babies at home with a midwife, so you know I had no induction or whatever, but they were both born right ON their due dates!!! So I am not used to waiting! ROFL! I just feel so bad for her. She looks so miserable and uncomfortable. I am 5'3 and had 9lb babies, so I definitely feel for her! I cannot even imagine carrying multiples!!!

So far with taming her, I have tried Nilla wafers, the licorice flavored goat treats, oatmeal, dried and fresh banana peels, apples, and raisins. She sniffs at them and walks away!!! My husband gave her a leaf of Swiss chard one day on the other hand and she gobbled it down. Little weirdo. I think she just enjoys being difficult!


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## heathen (Apr 3, 2012)

Well has it happened yet?


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## mama24 (Apr 4, 2012)

Nope. :/


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## mama24 (Apr 4, 2012)

I should take a new pic. She is so huge now that she can barely stand back up if she's lying down! Her little legs are like toothpicks under a balloon. lol


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## heathen (Apr 4, 2012)

I have another one due Sat and its her first time too. Dont think she is gonna make it til Sat tho. She was bred Nov 9. I thought sure your girl would have birthed by now. Cant wait to see the kids so keep us updated please


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## heathen (Apr 4, 2012)

Nevermind she just had a little nanny. Will add pics to Virginias kidding thread later tonight or in morning. LOL that was quick


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## autumnprairie (Apr 4, 2012)

stopping by to say hi 
 on the doeling


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## mama24 (Apr 8, 2012)

Yesterday, I was sure little Shizune was going to have her baby/ies overnight b/c her bag was HUGE yesterday. OK, went and checked on her about 2 hours ago, and her bag was EVEN BIGGER!!!  I can't believe the size of it! LOL She can barely walk b/c her belly is so heavy, and now she has this huge thing between her legs. Poor girl. It's definitely going to be in the next couple days, though.  I also think Tsunade, my big white goat, might be having her baby/ies sooner than I'd thought as well. She's really started bagging up the last couple days, too, but not nearly as much as little Shizune.


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## autumnprairie (Apr 8, 2012)

Happy Easter
 I love babies


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## mama24 (Apr 8, 2012)

WE HAVE A BABY GIRL!!!!! We went to a good friend's house for an Easter egg hunt and ended up staying and ordering Chinese for dinner, came back and there was a little doeling! Just one!! She looks really big to me, but this is my first kid. A friend of a friend had a kid on a leash a few weeks ago, and our little doeling is a lot bigger than that one was, and it was a week old. I'll try to weigh her tomorrow if I can. I couldn't get any good pics since all I had out there was a red heat lamp, and I didn't want to change out the bulb just to take pictures. We used a flashlight, but my phone doesn't have a flash on it, so this is what I got.  Oh, might be hard to tell in the pics, but she looks just like her grandma, a much darker version of her mom. Orange with dark brown and white spots.  Now we just need a name!


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## Queen Mum (Apr 8, 2012)

Uh Oh, she has spots...  Don't tell Roll Farms.  She will come and hide her from you...  She is very cute...


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## SmallFarmGirl (Apr 8, 2012)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> Uh Oh, she has spots...  Don't tell Roll Farms.  She will come and hide her from you...  She is very cute...


Yes! Be very careful. Don't say anything about where you live. That roll is good at getting little spotted babies. 

 Joking rolls. I would do it too, SPOTTED babies!


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## autumnprairie (Apr 8, 2012)

I love her spots


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## heathen (Apr 9, 2012)

Congrats I love her she is beautiful. I just knew she was gonna have a pretty baby. So happy for u and glad she had a doeling. Tell momma I sd its about time! lol


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## mama24 (Apr 9, 2012)

I still can't believe it was only one with the size she was! But I guess she is a petite little thing, so she looked bigger than she really was.  I LOVE spots, too!


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## mama24 (Apr 9, 2012)

Weight tape says she is 11lbs. Not sure how accurate that is, though. Doesn't seem like it would be to me. Now I'm really wondering who the daddy is. She looks awfully Nubian to me. Mom is only 1/4 Nubian. She is 1/2 Kiko, and the only buck she was in with for sure, and for less than 24 hours, was her dad, the Kiko buck. But my friend thinks he had a precocious buckling since several of his other young doelings also got pregnant. So who knows. He gets a lot of bucklings from a local dairy farm, so it is entirely possible the dad was a Nubian buckling, and not the Kiko buck. Hard to say. What do you think? I have no experience, so me saying she looks more Nubian means nothing. lol

Still haven't seen the baby nurse. She butts her mom's bag, but I haven't actually seen her latch on. Should I be worried about that? She peed and pooped both while I was out there this morning, trying my hand at milking a little. Practice run. Especially after mama goat kicked the bucket and what was left of the about 2oz I'd milked got dirty. I'm trying to get some colostrum for a friend's fawn rescue. And then I want milk for the family.


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## AdoptAPitBull (Apr 9, 2012)

She's a monster! Guess she got all of mom's nutrition all to herself!

I'd try putting mom on the stand and hold the teat for baby. Sometimes the teat is too large for their mouth, so they can't get a good grip. Milk a little out and give her a bottle for now just until she gets the hang of it. If she's not getting any nutrition, she'll go down fast. You want to make sure you see her poo and pee, too, because that will give you an idea of how much she's eating. You'll see much more pee than poo since she's only drinking milk, but it's still important to see some of each.

Good luck!


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## that's*satyrical (Apr 9, 2012)

Pretty baby! Congrats!!


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## mama24 (Apr 9, 2012)

AdoptAPitBull said:
			
		

> She's a monster! Guess she got all of mom's nutrition all to herself!
> 
> I'd try putting mom on the stand and hold the teat for baby. Sometimes the teat is too large for their mouth, so they can't get a good grip. Milk a little out and give her a bottle for now just until she gets the hang of it. If she's not getting any nutrition, she'll go down fast. You want to make sure you see her poo and pee, too, because that will give you an idea of how much she's eating. You'll see much more pee than poo since she's only drinking milk, but it's still important to see some of each.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks! I'm not going to bottle feed if I can help it. I don't think teat size is an issue. She has really small teats. When I was trying to milk, I could only use my thumb and 2 fingers, makes it awkward. Hope they get bigger! But for now, it's probably good for the baby that they are so small.


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## anews77 (Apr 9, 2012)

Congratulations Grandma...*S*  She is very pretty...I wouldn't be overly concerned about her drinking from mama...mother nature has a way of caring for our animals...


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## mama24 (Apr 9, 2012)

My son and I were just watching them talking about how we've never seen her nurse when she let loose a flood.  So I'm going to leave them alone. Shizune is very skittish and not friendly. I don't want to bug her too much if I don't have to. I'll milk twice a day this week and poetically start 3 times a day after that since I'm letting her nurse. Hopefully she'll get better about milking soon.


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## mama24 (Apr 9, 2012)

And the baby started nursing just now.


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## anews77 (Apr 10, 2012)

yaaaaa.....I'm sure they will do good...all of mine are due in early May....


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## Mzyla (Apr 10, 2012)

She is beautiful and I'm so glad that she started nursing, because for a moment I was worrying about her....
Congratulations!


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## mama24 (Apr 10, 2012)

Baby girl is so stinkin cute! She's already bouncing around on her wobbly legs and then falling into a heap! Her legs are so long! She's also trying to climb! So cute! Shizune, little mama, is very protective of her. Our puppy got into the pen yesterday and she stood over her baby with her hair all on end and kept her horns pointed at the dog. Then our big goat, Tsunade, realized what was happening and actually went and chased the dog! Good girls watching out for each other! That pup is on my last nerve! I love her to death, but she's 12 weeks old now, and at the peak of obnoxious puppyhood!

Shizune is also already getting better about milking. She's not happy and still tries to get her head out of the stall more than she actually eats, but she is standing pretty still and isn't kicking any more. I've been getting about 4 oz each milking. I could probably get more if I spent more time, but I don't want to torture her too long. I hope her teats get bigger b/c it is really a pain trying to milk these tiny little things! And it sure would be faster and easier to get more milk if they were bigger! Tsunade is the queen bee and is getting extremely jealous of Shizune's milking time. She refuses to eat feed out of the regular feed trough and instead comes and tried to butt poor trapped Shizune out of the way. I can't wait for her to finally have her baby/ies so I can milk her first and avoid the whole confrontation!

Edited to add, I saw the baby trying to eat grass today!!! Not even 2 days old! Is that normal?


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## Bedste (Apr 10, 2012)

WOW...... I was gonna say "Just FAT"  and look at how wrong I was.... what a cute baby girl


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## mama24 (Apr 10, 2012)

Mama's teats are already getting bigger, so I hope she will be a good milker! She stood very well for me a little while ago.  I'm very proud of her considering how wild she was when we got her. Still doesn't like any treats we try to give her, but she's more tolerant. I fed Tsunade potato chips today and she loved them, but Shizune, the little mama wasn't interested. Here's baby girl. Still no name. We really need to name her. Still not sure if we want to continue the Naruto anime theme. Our kids aren't as into it as they used to be. 

Mama is being very good with her baby. She's very protective. Maybe not as loving as I thought a goat mom would be, but she's very protective of her baby and doesn't really like my little kids or our dog anywhere near her. She will attack the dog, but she just tries to put herself between the kids and the doeling.

I am just in love!


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## mama24 (Apr 21, 2012)

Just talked to my goat friend today. He said the Kiko buck is definitely her dad based on when she had the baby.  So little Cookie is 3/4 Kiko and her dad is also her grandpa.  

She's a cutie pie! So active all the time! Today I was out there messing with my rabbits and she was bouncing off everything, including her mom's back! Hilarious!


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## Mitransplant (Apr 21, 2012)

mama24;

Couldn't help but notice the pallets in the picture. Do they climb on them like that or just go under them?  The reason I am asking is I have some here and was wondering what to do with them and when I saw your picture I thought maybe I could do something like that.

Very cute doeling  and her name seems to suit her well. CONGRATS!!!   I am jealous. Still waiting for mine to kid so have to enjoy everyone else's for the time being. CUTE !!!


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## mama24 (Apr 22, 2012)

My dh threw that together. They just go under it, but the baby has started climbing on it a little. I think if I were to redo it, I would make it less tall and less steep. We also have some old chairs that were in the barn when we moved in that they really enjoy climbing on and laying on.


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