# UPDATE! My goats had their babies!



## Plunky

Can anyone tell me if my goats are pregnant? I just got them a week ago & the previous owner said they should be due in August if the breeding took. Thanks in advance


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## TAH

Plunky said:


> Can anyone tell me if my goats are pregnant? I just got them a week ago & the previous owner said they should be due in August if the breeding took. Thanks in advance
> View attachment 18812 View attachment 18813


There is goop on her so that is a sine. Can you get pics of there udders and stomachs? 

@Southern by choice @Goat Whisperer @OneFineAcre @babsbag any idea's.


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## Goat Whisperer

I never go by the "pooch test"

I look for udder development and growing bellies. I also feel for movement. This can be hard if you are new to goats.  I have heard many people get excited that they feeling movement and are convinced that they are bred, only to find out the doe isn't 

Do you have a vet that can do an ultrasound? 

You can also draw some blood and have it sent out, its typically not expensive. 

Or you could just wait 

Welcome to BYH and to the world of goats


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## Latestarter

Greetings and welcome to BYH  Glad you decided to join up!  OK, I'm going to step out on a limb here... hope it doesn't break 

Kinda like with humans, until the delivery process actually starts, looking at her vulva/exit point isn't going to really tell you much... But if you step back and look at her profile (obviously more so in late pregnancy), it can be pretty evident whether pregnant or not. It's like a "forest for the trees" kinda thing.  OK, even this isn't fool proof, a very large or over weight "anything" may be pregnant and it not be "visible"... also, number of babies involved has a direct bearing on size... but in general... 

With a human, looking from the front or side view is the easiest to see. With a goat, it's looking down from above or looking straight forward at her sides (and udder development), from the rear. "Most" goats, if pregnant, will start to "bulge" out on the right side (kid(s)) as their rumen (bulge) will be on their left side. So instead of being narrow and well proportioned, she'll look wide, sometimes so wide you'll wonder how she gets around. Also, some will start udder development prior to delivery while others will wait till the last minute to start making milk.


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## Goat Whisperer

@Latestarter is correct BUT I cant tell you how many times people are sure that a doe is bred, only to find out she just has a big belly.

I see many ND/Pygmy crosses that always look bred. Knowing your goats is key. 

I have a doe that never looks bred, and after she kids she doesn't look any different- when looking at the sides that is.


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## babsbag

I usually just get the blood test done if I want to know early on. But with does that are first timers the udder is an easy give away. The vulva will elongate as they get closer to the due date, but again, only on first timers can I use that as a indicator. And it helps to know what their anatomy looked like before the breeding; they are all different.


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## Plunky

Thanks everyone! I've had goats a little over a year but I started out with 4 Nubians that came from Animal Control. They were taken from the previous owners due to neglect so they don't like being touched or anything. My nubians just hang out all day & clear land for us so they're pretty happy with their new life! I just got these 2 Nigerian Dwarfs for pets about a week ago because I wanted some goats that my kids could actually touch & play with. The girl that I  got my 2 NDs from said she thinks both of my new goats are pregnant. All of the does & bucks stay together at her place so I'm thinking they both may be bred? This first goat, Charlotte, is about a year & a half old & she hasn't kidded before. She does have a bit of an udder & it feels squishy.


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## Plunky

This is my other ND, Silly. She has kidded before & still has milk. I read not to milk them in the last couple of months of pregnancy though so I haven't tried.


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## TAH

Plunky said:


> This is my other ND, Silly. She has kidded before & still has milk. I read not to milk them in the last couple of months of pregnancy though so I haven't tried.
> View attachment 18852 View attachment 18853 View attachment 18855


Looks like there is some udder fill.


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## Latestarter

On the first picture of Silly, looking down from above, I see what looks like a definite "bump" on the right side that makes me believe (98%) that she's pregnant. Charlotte looks a bit wide in the beam as well  You'll have to keep us up to date now!


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## Plunky

I'm so excited! I've had horses my whole life but I'm new to goats. It's amazing how different they are compared to horses! This is my first experience with pregnant livestock so I'm a little nervous. I've been reading & researching a lot & talking to friends that have goats so I can learn as much as I can. I'm hoping these pregnancies & birth go smoothly


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## misfitmorgan

If they are due in August they would only be 2-3months prego...i often cant tell for sure if my does are bred until the last month of pregnancy so you may not see anything definite.

For the goo test...that would no longer apply as it is generally only effective shortly after being bred not months later.

i've also had first timers who got the little squishy bag but ended up not being bred, so never 100%.

As the other mentioned if you wanna be positive you can wait or send in a blood sample to get the pregnancy verified, its pretty cheap.

Those darn goats can be so tricky until you know them, even then the butts can still fake prego pretty good when they want too


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## Goat Whisperer

If they are true ND's, they should be bred. They cycle every 18-21 days.

I don't understand why the breeder would just let the bucks and does run together full time. Does need at least a small break between kiddings to stay healthy. The earliest I have seen a doe get bred back was 11 days, not my doe. That was way to early IMO. I hope they don't have any doelings out with their buck 

Watch that doe with the lopsided udder closely! Keep a close eye out for mastitis.

Keep us updated on the progress! Be sure to post some pics along the way. Kid pics are always a must. Don't leave us hanging 

Start assembling you kidding kit, this is something that is always good to have  on hand. I can post what I keep in my kit if you'd like.


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## TAH

We let our buck run with the does but they are not year round breeders. Are the year round breeders?


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## Goat Whisperer

ND's cycle year round. Every 18-21 days. 

Their heat cycles seem to be stronger in the fall/winter.


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## TAH

Goat Whisperer said:


> ND's cycle year round. Every 18-21 days.
> 
> Their heat cycles seem to be stronger in the fall/winter.


Okay.


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## Plunky

Goat Whisperer said:


> If they are true ND's, they should be bred. They cycle every 18-21 days.
> 
> I don't understand why the breeder would just let the bucks and does run together full time. Does need at least a small break between kiddings to stay healthy. The earliest I have seen a doe get bred back was 11 days, not my doe. That was way to early IMO. I hope they don't have any doelings out with their buck
> 
> Watch that doe with the lopsided udder closely! Keep a close eye out for mastitis.
> 
> Keep us updated on the progress! Be sure to post some pics along the way. Kid pics are always a must. Don't leave us hanging
> 
> Start assembling you kidding kit, this is something that is always good to have  on hand. I can post what I keep in my kit if you'd like.



 I would love to know what's in your kidding kit  

The girl that I bought them from free ranges all of her animals. True free range, not even in a perimeter fence. When we drove up there were free ranging goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, & even free range rabbits


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## misfitmorgan

We got free range rabbits too....on accident lol. We shall be harvesting about 14 this month from the free range group since we dont really want them running loose. 

So i just learned something today...apparently Alpines and Nubians can also breed out of season 
I'm thinking perhaps this is just some of them because our Alpines have never kidded out of season and our buck always runs with them. Our one ND doe has had kids all different times of the year but to prevent immediate breed back her and her kids are put in a kidding stall for a few days before birth usually and at least two weeks after..we try to make it over 22 days so she will cycle in the stall then we let them out. So far that has been working she had twin does that are 2yrs old, then twin bucks May, and twin does roughly a month ago.

So i dunno maybe my ND is just a werido and only cycles certain times.


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## Goat Whisperer

I have heard that too, @misfitmorgan . I think it depends on what part of the world you live in. 

You ND's may not be PB. Lots of crosses that are claimed to be PB.


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## Goat Whisperer

This is what I keep on hand. You wont need all of this, this is something that I have been building over the last few years. I like to kid out in January and have at least 10 does kidding a year. Retained lots of doelings this year so next kidding season should be interesting. LOL 

When raising goats, you should have needles, syringes, antibiotics, thermometer etc. already on hand. I list them on the kidding kit as a reminder. This year, we have several late night calls from fellow goat breeders that are in desperate need of antibiotics, jumpstart, colostrum etc. It is better to be overly prepared than to be under prepared. You aren't kidding in the middle of winter so that takes away a lot of the stress! 

My kidding kit includes:
Towels! Lots of em!
Paper towels
Trash bags
Floss (for the navel)
Iodine+ a cup
Scissors
Rubbing alcohol- I use this to clean the scissors before cutting the navel
Flashlight
Thermometer (for taking goats temp)
Bulb syringe
Bottle/nipples
Frozen colostrum
Disposable gloves
Shoulder length gloves
Lube

Weak kid syringe-I haven't had to use it and I hope I never will, but it is a great thing to have on hand.

Small dog sweaters for the baby goat kids- if it is cold outside

I also keep on hand-
Jumpstart Plus paste, I got it from TSC and I don't think several of my kids would be alive without it. It was a rough birth and they were very weak and this stuff helped a lot.

Nutri-Drench

Molasses- I give some in some warm water after the doe kids.

Penn G* (antibiotic)

LA 200* (antibiotic)

CMT mastitis kit along with TODAY mastitis treatment tube*

*These antibiotics aren't really for kidding- I always keep them on hand and if the doe had an issue such as a retained placenta or stillborn kids, an antibiotic may be necessary.

*NOTE: Do not give molasses or Nutri-Drench to an animal with a fever, it will only make it worse.*

Other things that are great to have are heating pads, premiere1 heat lamps and other safe heat sources.


Welcome to BYH!


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## misfitmorgan

Goat Whisperer said:


> I have heard that too, @misfitmorgan . I think it depends on what part of the world you live in.
> 
> You ND's may not be PB. Lots of crosses that are claimed to be PB.



She is a registered ND so i hope she is lol. i dont have her papers but i saw them and they match her tattoo, the previous owner wanted another $75 for papers and i couldnt ever see needing them so i passed.


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## Plunky

Thank you so much!! My doe Silly is getting so big & her udder is filling up! I've been questioning whether my other doe, Charlotte (the black & white one), is bred or not but she seems to be getting a little rounder & she's developing an udder! So I'm hoping she is bred too! 

Another question: should I be giving a CDT vaccine to them? I read that does should get a booster about a month before they kid but I'm not sure of their due dates. Can I just go ahead & give them both the vaccine now? Also, should I give them a pneumonia vaccine? The rest of my herd is due for their vaccines now so I wanted to get everyone on the same schedule.


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## misfitmorgan

i do not give pneumonia vaccines to any of my animals so i have no idea on that. CDT should be 30 days before i learned not to long ago and the wonderful people here said go ahead and give it to the prego does...and hope i was roughly 4 weeks out still. So i did and didnt notice any negative side effects. From what i understand the CDT is given a month ahead so the antibodies go into moms milk.


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## Plunky

Update! My girls had their babies! Silly had twin bucklings, Teddy & Graham. Charlotte had one little blue eyed doeling that looks just like her. I got to be present for both births & they went very smoothly & everyone is healthy. Huge relief!


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## TAH

Congrats!!
Glad everything went well!
That mama has a full udder alright.


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## TAH

Are you going to be milking them?


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## Latestarter

Fantastic news, and they're soooooo cute! Congrats! lovin' that little blue eyed sweetie


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## madelynmccabe

That's great news!!! They are sooooo cute!!


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## Sweetened

GORGEOUS


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## BlessedWithGoats

Congrats!!


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## Goat Whisperer

Congratulations! They are darling


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