# Stripes Kidding Thread



## StarSpangledNubians (Feb 28, 2017)

Hi!, I am new to BYH, but I am loving it already! @SandDherds told me that I may like this website. My mother and she were good friends but she recently moved out of state. I heard she was selling her herd, and I loved her does so I bought 2 of them. I got a beautiful Nubian/LaMancha/Boer mix doe, and also got a Nigerian. I myself had 5 Nubian does and an alpine and was planning to expand my herd anyways. So it was great timing! Unfortunately what I thought was going to be a mild winter turned out to be a terribly bad winter. In fact, it was the worst winter in over 10 years! We got over 4 feet of snow in about a month, and I had bred most of my does to kid in Late December to Early January. Bad idea! The temps were very low and the night 2 of my does kidded it was -20 with a wind chill of -35 (From what I was told anyways) unfortunately they does showed no signs of labor and I lost triplets from one doe (2 bucks and a doe) and twins from the other (buck/doe) i didn't think they would kid. Bags weren't full, ligs were still present,  No goo and no unusual behavior. I checked once at around midnight and nothing, so i called it a night. That morning I was heart broken! The kids were absolutely beautiful! Fast forward almost a week and the other 2 Nubian does, and the alpine all have textbook kiddings and i get 7 kids out of the three, and also buy a registered Nubian buckling bottle baby for a future herd sire. About one week after they delivered we got a terrible freezing rain storm and that mixed with the snow was enough to collapse my barn. The roof killed one doe and her 2 kids on impact from what I saw, the other kids all froze after the heating lamps got crushed (thank god no fire!) i was almost able to save 2 kids, but they were just too cold. They died about an hour after I found them. One other doe had sustained terrible injuries to her back and the vet recommended that I put her down. The alpine doe made it out but later died (vet said internal bleeding). After that, I was left with a Nigerian, 2 Nubians and anime. I had a close friend board them at their place for a few weeks while I repaired my entire barn. After it was fixed I got all my girls back and settled in, and that bring us to the present day. Honestly, in the end, it is pretty much my fault a few days before the incident I had to put down my LGD Lobo, due to bone cancer and that was possibly one of the worst things I have ever had to do, so I was really distracted and not thinking straight, and I should have taken some weight off of the roof.

I totally forgot I had bred Stripe later than all my other does, cause i couldn't find an oberhasli stud!



Stripe is a registered Nubian who is bred to a registered Oberhasli buck. This is Stripes 4th freshening she is currently 6yo. She has only had twin and triplet births but I'm starting to think she might just have a single, i don't know maybe she is just really good at hiding them. She was exposed from October 10th to November 19th, but she is normally bred about a week after the buck comes. We are 10 days away from her earliest kidding date! and about 15 days away from what i expect to be her kidding date. This will be her first kidding her!



I am really starting to get excited for these/this kid(s)! They(it) should be an amazing milker(if it is a doe, LOL). Stripe milks out at about 1/2 gallon a day, and the father has absolutely amazing milking lines in him! I also have a nubian and a Nigerian who should be bred for late june - early july kids. It is not an ideal time, but my friend who boarded them had them in with a buck. I also have anime who might actually be bred, but... that chance is really slim so we will see. Sorry that this whole post is so long I just had to get everything off of my chest!

Anyways that's about it here are some pics!

(Sorry all the pictures are so big i don't know how to make them smaller)





 




 
This was taken about a week ago. Single? Twins? Trips?






 Stripe




I will post some pictures of her udder from 5 days ago and another from today. It is not much different but it did get a little bigger.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Feb 28, 2017)

Finally got to taking some pictures! I had a vet out today to look at one of animes horns (she got it stuck in a fence) so I asked them if they also do ultrasounds and they do! So I got one on stripe and they "think' she is having 2!!!


Does anyone know why vets never tell you how many there is?
Every time I have gotten an ultrasound done they never tell me how many they think there is. Why is that?


anyways here is her bag from the 22nd


 

And here is one from today


 

I mean it's not that much of a difference but when I woke up and fed them the first thing I said was " Oh, Her udder got bigger!" I will probably be able to update every 2 days or so because of school 
I should be able to get pictures and update Friday, Saturday and Sunday.


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## Goatgirl47 (Feb 28, 2017)

I am SO sorry about what happened to most of your goats (and your LGD).  That is just awful!

Stripe is beautiful! We have two Nubian does too, I love love the Nubian breed! And I have always wanted an Oberhasli buck (or a doe would be fine ) to breed to my goats, but honestly it seems like Louisiana is one of the worst places to buy good goats! Hardly anybody tests for Johnes, CAE, and CL. Hence the reason why most of our goats were from Texas.

Can't wait to see her kid(s)! Last year three of our does had Ultrasounds. They were all carrying twins, and if I remember correctly, only with one of them - our Mini-Lamancha - the vets weren't certain whether or not she really did have twins (it ended up she did - one of them is in my profile picture).


BTW, the bigger the pictures the better.


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## samssimonsays (Feb 28, 2017)

Wow! Nice to meet you and welcome from northern Minnesota! I am so so sorry about your losses


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## norseofcourse (Mar 1, 2017)

Welcome from Ohio, and I'm so sorry for all your losses, that's just heartbreaking.  Good luck with Stripe and her upcoming kids!


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## BlessedWithGoats (Mar 1, 2017)

Welcome to BYH!
So sorry about the goats that you lost. I understand the heartache of losing them, I have had a rough winter as well and lost too many. So so sorry. 
Congrats on the upcoming kids! I pray all goes well and she has healthy happy kids!


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## Pamela (Mar 1, 2017)

Where at in Idaho are you?  It has been a brutal winter.  We have been blessed to not have the brunt of it. Out north of us is under a large amount of ice and water.  
so sorry about your rough losses.. this winter has made outside chores a round the clock business.  
Good Luck with Stripe!!!


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## TAH (Mar 1, 2017)

Sorry for your losses! 

Hope you have a wonderful kidding season! 

If you lived closer to oregon I would have let you use my oberhasli buck.


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## Latestarter (Mar 2, 2017)

Greetings and welcome to BYH! So glad you found your way to us! We're always ready to welcome and accept new members  Sorry you've had such a rough recent past... Losing your dog, then your barn and the barn causing the loss of many of your goats... Wow... so much loss. I'm glad you're recovering and replenishing. Hopefully all will go well moving forward. Thanks for sharing all those pics... we're a bunch of pic-a-holics here   We have a really great group of active & experienced goat folks here and there's a wealth of info in the various threads. Please make yourself at home and browse around. By all means feel free to post at will!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 3, 2017)

Thanks everyone! I'm living in the parma area but I spend more time in the TSC in Oregon lol. It has been a terrible winter! multiple buildings have caved in in my area.

There isn't much change in stripe. She is alittle puffy in her back end, and there has been alittle discharge. I ordered a game cam to hopefully catch my neighbors dog in action (it has been killing my chickens and rabbits and took one of my bottle new buckling) so I also threw in a video monitor! I am so exited I am looking for websites that would allow me to live stream but so far I haven't found any. Lol I am obsessed with the giraffe cam and want to do something like that with stripe. 7 days away from day 150 if she was bred on the first day.


Udder picture from today (Sorry about the quality I didn't have my good camera)


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 3, 2017)

She's a pretty girl.  But, if she were one of my does I wouldn't think she was 7 days away.  My does that are still a few weeks out have a lot more udder than she's showing right now.  But, she's your doe and that might be normal for her!

Good luck with her when ever she kids!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 4, 2017)

Yeah, she might have a little while left. In my experience, she doesn't bag up until right before or right after. She started to bag up a few weeks before kidding when she was on her 1st freshening, but for her 2nd and 3rd, she didn't until the day before/right after kidding. I don't know what she will do this time.


Her bag seems to have shrunk this morning. I don't know maybe it is just me going crazy.

She is getting even more swollen in her backend. I saw some more white discharge, and her ligaments were pretty soft. I'm going to guess she has at least another 2 weeks left by the look of things,  maybe she will surprise me.

Picture from March 2nd



 


Picture from today. Her Hoo-ha seems to be red, I thought it was a cut but on closer inspection, it didn't have blood and it didn't look like a scratch either.


 


 Picture from February 26th



Picture from today. Does it look a little smaller to you?


 


I know that it's probably nothing, I am just really worried! At this point, all I want is a healthy mama and babies.
I plan on giving her a clip tomorrow, cause it is going to be in the mid-50s for a while.


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## Pamela (Mar 5, 2017)

Have you felt kids move?


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 7, 2017)

Yes, I have but that was a week maybe 2 ago. I will try and feel for kids here in a few. I will let you know the update on her when I get back inside.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 7, 2017)

I didn't feel them. Is that bad? Should I get someone to come check her out?

 I am gonna go pick up a nice looking bred boer so I'm pretty excited about that!She is due this month!

She (Stripe) had a pretty long string of clear goo, but I think that is normal?
Her ligs are still there, pretty soft but still there. 



Udder


 

By the time i got the camera and got her to sit still she had rubbed the goo off on a bale of straw,  but you can still see it on the fur around her tail.


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## Goatgirl47 (Mar 7, 2017)

I wasn't always able to feel my goats' kids when they were pregnant. Sometimes they are very good at hiding.  

Congratulations on your new goat! Looking forward to pictures of her!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 8, 2017)

Goatgirl47 said:


> I wasn't always able to feel my goats' kids when they were pregnant. Sometimes they are very good at hiding.
> 
> Congratulations on your new goat! Looking forward to pictures of her!


That is good to know! Unfortunately, I didn't end up getting her. I had the guy who was selling her hold her for me for a little extra money. Then I drove out there. It was about 50 minutes to get there. When I got there I only saw the buck he was selling. After I knocked on the door and he came out he then told me he had just sold her a few minutes before I got there. I said not a single word and just turned around trying my hardest not to go back there and just slap that guy. I drove almost an hour to get a goat that wasn't there and then I drove another hour to get back home. It just made me so angry I even checked right before I left to make sure he was there and ready for me to come.


Morning update!
Not much has changed a little more goo, but that is normal for her.
Around her tail was very, very squishy! but ligs were sill pretty hard.
Her udder still seems to be getting smaller, but I'm hoping there will be a BOOM! on one of these mornings.
I'm looking for a colostrum source just in case. Hopefully, it won't come to that but I want to be 100% I am ready for anything.


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## Goatgirl47 (Mar 8, 2017)

That's awful! Did you get the money back that you payed him to hold her for you?


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 8, 2017)

Goatgirl47 said:


> That's awful! Did you get the money back that you payed him to hold her for you?



yes, luckily I did. I'm still pretty mad about the whole thing, but I'm trying to just forget about it. I was so excited I spent the whole day watching boer birth videos on youtube. lol


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## Goatgirl47 (Mar 8, 2017)

SandyNubians said:


> yes, luckily I did. I'm still pretty mad about the whole thing, but I'm trying to just forget about it. I was so excited I spent the whole day watching boer birth videos on youtube. lol



Awwww, I'm so sorry! That is very maddening.  Glad you got your money back though.

Last year during the last few months of my goats' pregnancy I watched many goat birthing videos too.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 9, 2017)

We have a baby!!!

It's not stirpes though.



My teacher owns a bunch of boer and one of her girls had triplets and wasn't feeding one. She knew I also raised goats and asked if I would like him. Of course I couldn't say no

He is a full boer I want to register him but she doesn't want to go through paperwork 
to register a triplet.

His mama was a beautiful black head trading and his dad was moonspotted! His sister and brother were also moonspotted, but my teacher wanted to keep them. I mean who wouldn't!


Stripe is still holding out. Ligs were soft last night. She had more goo this morning, but now she is just grazing out in the pasture being her sassy self.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 10, 2017)

Okay, so, I have a question. The little baby I got yesterday seems a little slower today. Yesterday he had a pretty good sucking reflex, pretty good for a not even 2 day old. Today he is having a hard time sucking, he sucks for about 1-3 seconds and they are very light sucks as well. He is almost 3 days old. He has scours, so I put some electrolytes in  his milk when I fed him a few minutes ago. He is being fed once every 4 hours. He drinks only about 2-4 ounces each feeding. If I had to guess weight I would say he is 3 maybe 4 pounds, he was a triplet, though. When he bleats he also sounds very raspy, yesterday he sounded like a baby goat screaming lol.  He drank about 2 maybe 3 ounces when I fed him a little bit ago. He is currently getting milk replacer as I have no goat milk available to me at this time, though I may look into switching him to whole milk, evaporated milk and buttermilk mix. I heard that worked well. My teacher had him on lamb milk replacer, But I started him on DuMOR Blue Ribbon Kid Milk Replacer I have had very good luck with it last year. I raised 4 babies on it with no problems other than one got bloat but a little baking soda fixed that and after that, he had scours but only for a few hours. He received CDT from my teacher and also got a BO-SE shot. Any idea what is wrong? I really don't want to lose this little guy. I have had too much loss these last few months, and I am already sooooo attached to him!


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## samssimonsays (Mar 10, 2017)

Maybe aspirated and has pneumonia? I don't know for sure but it sounds like a very good possibility or from the change. Sometimes they don't like the change from what I've heard.


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## norseofcourse (Mar 10, 2017)

Do you know if he got any colostrum?

Can you take his temperature?

If you have a vet I'd call them asap, if it is something like pneumonia it's best to get him treated fast - young ones can go down so quickly.

I believe a kid only a day or two old doesn't have a developed enough immune system for the CDT shot to be effective - you'll want to give him another at 4 to 6 weeks old, and then one 2 or 3 weeks after that.  Go over that with your vet, too.

Good luck with him!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 10, 2017)

He did have colostrum. I was told he got 12 oz

His lungs don't sound raspy, his breathing also doesn't. It's just when he screams, but I don't know how to tell if they have pneumonia


I am going to get his temp as soon as I can find my thermometer, if I can't find it I will run to the store and buy one later tonight.

I have the vet who is very close so it's not a problem to take him there if I have to.

He is perking up a bit! He was playing with me and was even making the noises that a full grown buck would! I did weigh him earlier. He is 4lbs and 2 ounces, still a little small but heavier than I thought. He sucked on the bottle for about 5-6 seconds but right after that, he went back to doing it for 1-3 seconds. He drank about 4 ounces last feeding and wanted more but he wouldn't suck and when I tried to hold it in his mouth he didn't swallow, and I was scared he would choke/drown.


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## Jenn27 (Mar 11, 2017)

Goodness....what a terrible run of luck.   Good luck with the pending birth! Your Nubian is really pretty!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 11, 2017)

We lost him this morning.


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## Jenn27 (Mar 11, 2017)

SandyNubians said:


> We lost him this morning.



Oh no! I'm so sorry. I've been there, and it's such a feeling of helplessness.


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## BlessedWithGoats (Mar 11, 2017)

So sorry


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## norseofcourse (Mar 11, 2017)

I'm so sorry you lost him


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## Goatgirl47 (Mar 11, 2017)

So sorry to hear that you lost him.


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## TAH (Mar 11, 2017)

So sorry you lost him!


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## Latestarter (Mar 11, 2017)

Sorry to hear the news.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 11, 2017)

I just have no idea what happened! He was fine last night. He was playing and acting like a buck, when I took his temp it was 103.6. I was going to take him in on Monday if he wasn't eating as much as he should. I went to bed and fed him at 10 pm. I woke up at about 5:30 cause he started screaming. He was lying down in the corner of his playpen kicking his legs almost as if he was having a seizure, he was also drooling. I immediately called the vet, but they were closed so their normal phone number didn't work, I then called their emergency number where I was told to bring him in. They said there was only an equine vet on stand by, but at this point, I didn't care.  I wrapped him up in blankets to keep him warm and we were at the vet within 15 minutes. The vet took him inside after looking at him for a few seconds. She came out about 10 minutes later and told me there was not much she can do. We then discussed our options and in the end, I just decided to have her put him down as i could stand to watch him kicking and screaming any longer. Now i am not sure if I want stripes to have her babies. I was told by the person who had bought stripes doeling from 2014 (she brought her to where the ober buck I was breeding stripe to was and we turned them loose at the same time so they should have been bred about the same time) that she had just had triplets yesterday morning, so stripe should be very close.


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## Latestarter (Mar 11, 2017)

Why would this make you not want to let Stripes have her babies? Stuff happens... I hope Stripes has a nice set of kids for you and things go well.


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## Goatgirl47 (Mar 11, 2017)

Again I am so sorry that you lost him. I know it is very, very sad, but this is just part of having animals. 

Praying that Stripes has a textbook delivery and healthy kids!


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## Jenn27 (Mar 13, 2017)

After we lost our doeling, I was pretty sad and leary about having kids again. But, as Goatgirl47 said, it's a part of life. It's heartbreaking and it sucks, but you have to pray for the best and keep moving forward.  Good luck with Stripes!! Can't wait to see her babies!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 13, 2017)

I just feel like something is going to go wrong! I know stripe will do great, but I still haven't felt kicking and her bag is still not bigger at all, in fact, it is still getting smaller. In my mind, i am hoping she is not even bred, but I know that an ultrasound can't lie about 2 little kids in there. I spoke with a vet and she said the bag shrinking mixed with no moment may mean that the kids have died, but she also said it could mean absolutely nothing, but she told me to call her if she starts acting sick or goes off food for longer than 24 hours.



Stripes didn't eat much of her grain this morning, she also walked the entire pasture by herself before coming back down and sleeping by the barn. She has been getting up and down a lot in the last day or so, she gets up and down about 3-8 time in an hour. She also looked at her belly a few time when I was trying to get her to eat some more grain. I thought for sure we would have babies last night! Her ligs were almost 100% gone she was up and down alot, but when I went out at about 12, she was happily chewing her cud and her ligs were back With my luck she will go when I am gone tomorrow morning.


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## luvmypets (Mar 13, 2017)

Hey listen, 2015 was the worst birthing season for me. I lost my ewe and her babies. I was so upset, I was so scared but my other ewe had her baby boy perfectly the next year. Stuff happens but never give up. Im excited to see what stripe gives you


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 14, 2017)

luvmypets said:


> Hey listen, 2015 was the worst birthing season for me. I lost my ewe and her babies. I was so upset, I was so scared but my other ewe had her baby boy perfectly the next year. Stuff happens but never give up. Im excited to see what stripe gives you



That must have been awful! Glad the other 2 were alright! Definitely gives me some more hope!


I think stripes might go tomorrow!!(Knock on wood) I am so ready for this just to be over!(Until July lol) 

Ligs were definitely still there but very squishy!
She definitely changed shape, she is now kinda hunched looking and there is an indentation where her ligs would be. I wish I could upload my pics but I can't get them onto my computer.


She showed labor-ish signs this morning ( Only ate half of her grain, Laying down, Getting up, Laying down again, She didn't go out to graze and she definitely didn't want me touching her and she is normally all up in my face! She was also yawning a lot and I heard that is a sign) She doesn't show any sign of distress, she is chewing her cud and hogged all her hay down she just didn't want grain. We are having thunderstorms tomorrow so I wouldn't be surprised if she went then.

I'm gonna try and get some sleep, I was putting up new fences all day. I will update tomorrow morning.


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## Jenn27 (Mar 15, 2017)

How is Stripes today?? Hope she kids today for you!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 15, 2017)

Still nothing I was going to say she is looking close tonight... but... I'm not gonna say she is looking close till I see hooves.

She had a small prolapse when I went outside to check on her a few hours ago. It went back in on its own after a few minutes, so I'm not too worried about it.

Her udder continues to shrink

This was about 1 almost 2 weeks ago (sorry about the filter it was a very dark picture and I needed something to make it brighter)



 

This was 2 days ago


 

At this point she has almost no bag at all! I will clip her back end tomorrow to see what it looks like under her fur. I was going to clip her a few days ago but never got around to it. I will try and get some good pictures of her tomorrow after I trim her.

Stripes who refused to go sleep in the warm barn with everyone else.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 15, 2017)

Hm, now I'm wondering if she's not pregnant! Or false pregnancy? That's a really really small udder!


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## Jenn27 (Mar 16, 2017)

That is odd. Hope you figure out what is going on soon. You said that there were twins seen on an ultrasound, right?


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## luvmypets (Mar 16, 2017)

I would do a test, Im thinking if she is pregnant she is not as far as you thought. Has she been bred before?


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 16, 2017)

luvmypets said:


> I would do a test, Im thinking if she is pregnant she is not as far as you thought. Has she been bred before?


You can tell by her udder she has definitely freshened before.


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## luvmypets (Mar 16, 2017)

Green Acres Farm said:


> You can tell by her udder she has definitely freshened before.


Had a feeling


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 16, 2017)

Yes, i was told she had at least one but it is very likely there is 2 in there. Her blood test I took at about 2 months after she was in with the buck also came back positive. I was also definitely able to feel kids about 3 weeks ago.

 I have no clue what is happening! This has never happened to me before. I am giving her 5 cups of grain a day, the only thing that happened since the udder went down, is that I slowly took her grain down to 4 cups but after I realized her bag I brought it back to 5 cups. My only worry right now is that the kids have died possibly by getting rammed by my other Nubian but I though she would have aborted if they were dead.

 She didn't fill her bag till after the birth last year. This will be her 4th freshening if I remember correctly.


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## luvmypets (Mar 16, 2017)

SandyNubians said:


> Yes, i was told she had at least one but it is very likely there is 2 in there. Her blood test I took at about 2 months after she was in with the buck also came back positive. I was also definitely able to feel kids about 3 weeks ago.
> 
> I have no clue what is happening! This has never happened to me before. I am giving her 5 cups of grain a day, the only thing that happened since the udder went down, is that I slowly took her grain down to 4 cups but after I realized her bag I brought it back to 5 cups. My only worry right now is that the kids have died possibly by getting rammed by my other Nubian but I though she would have aborted if they were dead.
> 
> She didn't fill her bag till after the birth last year. This will be her 4th freshening if I remember correctly.


You give her five cups of grain?! I dont know much about goats but do you think maybe you're overfeeding her


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 16, 2017)

luvmypets said:


> You give her five cups of grain?! I dont know much about goats but do you think maybe you're overfeeding her


One of my Nigerians eats about that...


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## luvmypets (Mar 16, 2017)

Green Acres Farm said:


> One of my Nigerians eats about that...


I suppose im just paranoid about bloat.


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## mysunwolf (Mar 16, 2017)

I think goats eat more grain than sheep? I have no idea! 

Now I'm worried too, I've just never had an udder shrink quite that much on a pregnant ewe  (or doe in this case). I really hope you can figure out what's going on as I'm totally lost.


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## Pamela (Mar 16, 2017)

As far as the incredible shrinking udder goes, is she drinking enough? My doe , Oreo's udder seemed to shrink in the days before she kidded, then it filled right before.  Of course, now (5 weeks later) she has next to no milk to feed her twins and we are struggling to keep weight on her. Alas, I digress (Squirrel!) Back to the water issue. I noticed that her udder size correlated with her water intake before she delivered.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 16, 2017)

Hmmm, I was always told 5 cups of grain for a large diary breed. Do you think I need to add more?  I change the water every day, but I do have some ducks who jump in the water from time to time. I will try to add another source of water and also refill it more often.


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## NH homesteader (Mar 16, 2017)

5 cups seems like a LOT for a Nigerian.

@Goat Whisperer you have full size and Nigies- how much do you feed?

I don't know about the shrinking udder, GW should be able to help with that also!


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## Latestarter (Mar 16, 2017)

I thought a heavily lactating full sized doe may need more than 5 cups a day in order to maintain health, milk production, and body shape/structure. I thought reduced grain in the final month of pregnancy was more the order of things to help keep the kid from gaining to much weight/size and making kidding difficult? As a 3rd or 4th freshener, and under normal circumstances (not precocious udder) I would think/guess that her udder would fluctuate a bit in size but when she gets close to kidding, there should be little doubt about it filling... either right before or during/after? 

In any case:


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 16, 2017)

I'll have to measure, but she does eat a lot.

It is divided into morning/evening feedings when I milk her, so not all at once. She is not fat. In fact, she could put on some weight. She has twins on her and is giving me a half gallon of milk a day.

Not all my Nigies eat that much. My Saanen doe definitely does.


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## NH homesteader (Mar 16, 2017)

My Nigie doesn't eat that much, but she also doesn't give me that much milk!


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 16, 2017)

I haven't measured her, but I'm sure she's OH. But she isn't registered so it doesn't really matter.


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## Jenn27 (Mar 17, 2017)

Green Acres Farm said:


> One of my Nigerians eats about that...



My Nigerians eat a lot, too...esp my my piggy Sam! But, we give them less in the summer since there is more for them to graze on.


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## Goat Whisperer (Mar 17, 2017)

For a dry, full sized Nubian doe, five cups is fine. Definitely not over feeding her. My dry Nubian doe was eating much more than that because she lived with the coming yearlings. I DID put her on a diet because she was over 165# and was a walking ball of blubber  Right now she's keeping condition on just hay with the occasional snack. Once she starts getting close to kidding I'll start her on feed again.  But this doe looks very good so I say just keep doing what you're doing  She is growing babies and needs the extra calories for those kids and milk! My lamanchas were on feed every day for the entire pregnancy, if I had to guess it probably worked out to around 1-1.5# per doe/day. Some of my dwarfs were on little to no feed during pregnancy, just depends on the doe. Generally, standards are fine to be fed feed the whole pregnancy however this is why knowing your goats is key. 

Five cups for a good milking nigie is fine. I know some breeders that feed their nigies over 2# a day when in milk. Again, just depends on the doe. Some does can milk and keep condition on a small amount of feed while others need buckets of feed! 
For example- I have 2 does that are 3/4 siblings. One doe eats less but milks more than, while the other eats more but milk less (but still a good milker mind you). Every doe is different and it's your job to adjust accordingly and cull to "shape" your herd to what you want. 

When they are used to it, goats can eat a lot of feed with no ill effects. Right now our Nubian buck is eating A LOT. He's growing though and gaining 10-15# a month, weighed 144# on his first birthday. Right now he's eating by the quart… but he is accustomed to it. If he were only getting 2 cups of feed and suddenly had access to a large amount of feed that could be life threatening.  

@SandyNubians I am so sorry for all the kids you have gone through, it is very devastating and I see why you are stressed over your girl! Take a deep breath and take it one day at a time.  We recently lost our top LGD back in December. It was completely unexpected. We are still heartbroken, can't even talk about her without tearing up. I know the sadness and grief along with it- very sorry you are dealing with this too 
I haven't seen an udder shrink like that, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the kids have died. 
Have you bounced the expecting doe? (Sorry if I missed that…) If you are having a hard time feeling movement, give the dam some Nutri Drench and after about 15 minutes try to bounce her. That extra sugar can cause kids to "bounce off walls" before the are even born!  Sounds like you are doing a good job, try not to stress too bad (easier said than done, I know).


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 18, 2017)

Thank you Goat Whisperer for the info! I read a few things on how to bump (cause I have to be honest I had no idea what that meant ) I gave her some nutri-drench and wowza!! After 10 minutes I saw kids moving! That was the first time i have seen them moving in weeks!!! I was trying to keep all my joy inside! They are alive!!!
I am not sure if I should up her grain as she milks about 10-15lbs twice a day (I have her milk records if that would help with determining if I should give her more grain) 


We finally have some udder growth!!! I was so worried she wouldn't have any milk for them! I think she is starting to fill. I am hoping to go out tomorrow and see she had a BOOM over night. I am hoping to actually clip her tomorrow so I can get a better view of her udder (and so she doesn't have birth goo on her) 


Here are some pictures. Sorry they are so small it wouldn't let me upload the full sized ones so I had to crop them.

This was last night at 10:08 pm 





And this was tonight at 10:11pm


 

I feel way more excited than I should for a small udder change, but I am just happy it's growing!  

Her ligs were pretty soft by no means gone though. She looks like she may have dropped! She looks like she hasn't eat in days!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 24, 2017)

Just thought I would do a quick update before I fall asleep (it's 3am)


There is not much to update except that her udder maybe grew a tad bit more. She had a little goo and pretty soft ligaments when I checked her a while ago. I had to check on her twice before I called it a night. Normally I don't even check at night unless they look to be in labor. I felt she was pretty close I will try and update later.


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## Jenn27 (Mar 24, 2017)

Looking good! Hope her udder continues to grow and she kids soon!!


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## mysunwolf (Mar 24, 2017)

I can't believe Newton went before her! Tell Stripes she's got to hurry up!


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## Jenn27 (Mar 24, 2017)

mysunwolf said:


> I can't believe Newton went before her! Tell Stripes she's got to hurry up!



Wait.....WHAT??  Newton kidded??


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## mysunwolf (Mar 24, 2017)

Jenn27 said:


> Wait.....WHAT??  Newton kidded??



Yep, the name of the thread was changed to TWINS!!!!!!! so I almost missed it


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## Goat Whisperer (Mar 24, 2017)

SandyNubians said:


> Thank you Goat Whisperer for the info! I read a few things on how to bump (cause I have to be honest I had no idea what that meant ) I gave her some nutri-drench and wowza!! After 10 minutes I saw kids moving! That was the first time i have seen them moving in weeks!!! I was trying to keep all my joy inside! They are alive!!!
> I am not sure if I should up her grain as she milks about 10-15lbs twice a day (I have her milk records if that would help with determining if I should give her more grain)
> 
> 
> ...


Somehow I completely missed this! I am so happy you were able to feel movement! It's a nice little trick, isn't it?  I don't know that I'd up the feed yet. If she has a good BCS right now, I would keep doing what you are doing. I'd love to see her milk records- feel free to send to me. Was she on official DHIR?   



SandyNubians said:


> Just thought I would do a quick update before I fall asleep (it's 3am)
> 
> 
> There is not much to update except that her udder maybe grew a tad bit more. She had a little goo and pretty soft ligaments when I checked her a while ago. I had to check on her twice before I called it a night. Normally I don't even check at night unless they look to be in labor. I felt she was pretty close I will try and update later.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 25, 2017)

Goat Whisperer said:


> Somehow I completely missed this! I am so happy you were able to feel movement! It's a nice little trick, isn't it?  I don't know that I'd up the feed yet. If she has a good BCS right now, I would keep doing what you are doing. I'd love to see her milk records- feel free to send to me. Was she on official DHIR?



Yes, it is! I did it a few days ago just to make sure my mind wasn't making me think I was feeling babies. It is definitely babies!
 I will see if I can find her milk records! Unfortunately, no she's not. 



mysunwolf said:


> I can't believe Newton went before her! Tell Stripes she's got to hurry up!



Newton kidded?!?! I have been lurking on that thread! I just haven't been able to do much these past 5 or so days. I guess I have some catching up to do!


Okay, it has been pretty nerve racking these last few days! Last night she has white-ish discharge that changed to yellow/orange? discharge I got a picture of it on my phone but it isn't the best quality. When I went to check on her a few minutes ago she had a clear discharge almost touching the ground I couldn't get a picture of it but best I could compare it to would be runny egg whites.


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## Goat Whisperer (Mar 25, 2017)

That sounds like she is about to go. That sounds like a rope. How thick?


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## samssimonsays (Mar 25, 2017)




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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 25, 2017)

Goat Whisperer said:


> That sounds like she is about to go. That sounds like a rope. How thick?



it wasn't very thick, it was like really watered down egg white.

 No more goo now. It just came so suddenly. I was refilling water and that takes like 10 minutes. I checked her for goo and there was nothing. Once the water was done filling I looked over at her and that's when I saw it. I ran as fast at I could to go grab my phone, but by the time I got back in there she had rubbed most of it off.

 Her ligaments are still there, squishy, but still there. The only thing different aside from the goo was she was rubbing on everything and headbutting all the chickens who came near her.


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## Latestarter (Mar 25, 2017)

Maybe you'll have a Sunday Morning surprise waiting for you


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 29, 2017)

I think we will have kids soon!!! 


At about 1 pm this afternoon I noticed stripe was acting strange. She was staring at nothing for about 5 seconds, standing out in the rain, smelling the ground and curling her lip and she was overall not her normal self. At about 5 pm I went to go check her again and she was digging like crazy!! she was also aggressive towards everything and did not want me to leave at all! it is now about 10:50 pm and I went and checked stripes about a half an hour ago her udder finally went "boom"! Now it was not a "BOOM" but I didn't expect it as I just checked on her maybe 2 hours before and her udder was the exact same size it has been for about a week. That mixed with that I'm pretty sure her ligaments are GONE I think we are close!! 

Of course, my stall cam I order a little while back broke yesterday so now I am going to have to do hourly checks...and it is supposed to rain all night


I will try and post some pictures I took on my phone tonight. I'm not 100% sure I will stay awake long enough for me to do that so it might have to be when I do another check in about an hour.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 29, 2017)

This is the only picture I'm gonna crop otherwise I might fall asleep.
Here are her ligaments (kinda) sorry for the blurry picture, she was out in the rain and I was dragging her into the barn when I took it.


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## samssimonsays (Mar 30, 2017)

Can't wait!


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## luvmypets (Mar 30, 2017)

SandyNubians said:


> This is the only picture I'm gonna crop otherwise I might fall asleep.
> Here are her ligaments (kinda) sorry for the blurry picture, she was out in the rain and I was dragging her into the barn when I took it.View attachment 30220


I thought this was her udder and I got very confused  Good luck on her kidding!


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## Hens and Roos (Mar 30, 2017)

Good luck for a smooth kidding


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 30, 2017)

I forgot to wake up and get better pictures last night luckily she didn't have them.
I am expecting we will have babies by tonight! Her udder went BOOM! It's not tight yet though and could fill just a bit more. I think I may have also just ever so slightly felt her ligaments. We are having a pretty bad thunderstorm right now and that mixed with winds that are 25-30mph I can barely hear a thing! I just got a warning for tomorrow with winds to be as much as 60mph! I also have a flood warning but I could have figured it would flood since I live next to a river.



luvmypets said:


> I thought this was her udder and I got very confused  Good luck on her kidding!


I don't know why I chose that picture to crop and post when I should have posted her a pic of her udder. I think it was the first picture on my phone and I didn't want to fall asleep before I posted a picture, so I just cropped it and posted it. I really need some coffee before I fall asleep again


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## Latestarter (Mar 30, 2017)




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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 31, 2017)

Stripes kidded about an 2 hours ago! She had 2  huge doelings. Unfortunately one of them was DOA I thought for sure she was going to kid last night so I slept in the barn but she didn't have them till 3:47 pm today.


I will get better pictures of her tomorrow.


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## StarSpangledNubians (Mar 31, 2017)

I did get almost 1/2 a gallon of colostrum from one side of her udder so I guess that's good. I tried everything to get the other doe breathing but after about 10 minutes I gave up. Stripes passed the placenta and is doing great!


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## samssimonsays (Mar 31, 2017)

Congrats on the healthy doeling. I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of the other but very happy the little one and mom are doing well!


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## Goat Whisperer (Mar 31, 2017)

Sorry about the lost kid 

Congrats on the healthy doeling and momma! Enjoy your new baby!


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## norseofcourse (Mar 31, 2017)

Sorry about the one you lost     glad the other one is doing well, and Stripes too!


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## Green Acres Farm (Mar 31, 2017)

Congrats!


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## Latestarter (Mar 31, 2017)

Congrats on the survivor. Sorry you' couldn't save the other one. Enjoy your new kid!


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## mysunwolf (Mar 31, 2017)

Congrats on the surviving doeling, and look at that incredible udder! Yay Stripes!


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## BlessedWithGoats (Mar 31, 2017)

Sorry that one didn't make it!  Congrats on the one that did


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 1, 2017)

sorry to hear you lost one , congrats on the other one


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## StarSpangledNubians (Apr 1, 2017)

Here are some better pictures! I'm in love with her!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Apr 1, 2017)




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## Latestarter (Apr 1, 2017)

Keep photographing her like a model and she's gonna become a prima donna!  She is adorable though


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## animalmom (Apr 2, 2017)

So what are you naming this little ray of sunshine?    Really, I think it is shameful that you don't adore this little creature.    Just teasing you.


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 2, 2017)

She is darling!


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## StarSpangledNubians (Apr 2, 2017)

Lol! Thank you! She is amazing! I'm not sure of a name yet but any suggestions for a name would be wonderful!


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## TAH (Apr 2, 2017)

To me, she looks like an orchard


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## Latestarter (Apr 2, 2017)

orchard? or maybe you meant orchid?  like a very pretty, delicate, fancy, flower?


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## TAH (Apr 2, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> orchard? or maybe you meant orchid?  like a very pretty, delicate, fancy, flower?


I ment Orchard.


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## Latestarter (Apr 2, 2017)

OK... sorry...


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## TAH (Apr 2, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> OK... sorry...


No reason to be sorry! You were just wondering.


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