# Pregnant Baby Pygmy??



## Lanthanum (Nov 19, 2016)

I have four pygmy goats, two females and two males. I keep my females seperated because they are mother and daughter, and the daughter is only 8 months and still significantly smaller than the others. They recently broke the fence and were out in the yard together so I fixed the pen and placed my baby in a reinforced fence. I thought she was just bloated from the grass but it's been two days since I penned her away and she is still VERY fat and I fear she may be pregnant and I wasn't around when she got out of the pen about 3 months ago. She has already went in heat a few times and she is able to bear but she is WAY too small. If she is there is a very high chance she could die. What do I do??


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 19, 2016)

sorry to hear of this possibility...we are pretty new to goats so not much help.

@OneFineAcre @Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice @frustratedearthmother 

Welcome , lots of great and knowledgeable people on here ready to help!


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## Southern by choice (Nov 19, 2016)

@frustratedearthmother  has pygmies and bred them for years. I think she is best to answer this as pygmies are quite different from Nogerians.


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## Goat Whisperer (Nov 19, 2016)

x2!

If she is three months along I don't think it would be wise to lute her. You might want to consider having an ultrasound done to try to determine how many kids she is carrying. Twins/triplets will almost always be smaller than a single. Do you have any pics of her? 

If she isn't mature enough to pass kids you will need to look at a C-section.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 19, 2016)

Are you saying she's been in heat a few times since she got out?


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## Lanthanum (Nov 19, 2016)

OneFineAcre said:


> Are you saying she's been in heat a few times since she got out?


There are a few times she has been in heat and I wasn't around to notice until the boys were practically yelling at her to try and lure her in and chasing her till she was tired out so yes she was around the boys a few times while in heat although I try to pen her up asap. I haven't SEEN the boys breed her but I never saw my senior doe be bred and she's kidded twice. (Her first kid had a complicated birth and died in the process this is why I am very worried for her daughter if she kids)


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## Southern by choice (Nov 19, 2016)

I am still not clear on what you are saying either.
You think she was  possibly bred 3 months ago. 
Have you seen her IN heat since that time? 
Has she gone into heat in the past 3 months?

How many times has she gotten out SINCE that first time?

I would run a pregnancy check on her.


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## Lanthanum (Nov 20, 2016)

Southern by choice said:


> I am still not clear on what you are saying either.
> You think she was  possibly bred 3 months ago.
> Have you seen her IN heat since that time?
> Has she gone into heat in the past 3 months?
> ...


She was around the boys twice that I KNEW she was in heat, but I had to leave both my does with the boys at that moment because I was dealing with an injured (on the verge of life or death if she wasn't cared for) chicken that had to be housed away from the others and the only place for her was the kidding pen and the fence between the boys and girls was broken so for a day and a half she was with the boys while in heat and I thought she would be fine because she was running from them but I'm worried she might have been bred while I was away. Also, having a check done is a huge money issue if I take her to the vet because we are low on money at the moment and may just have to wait it out I just need to know if theres anything I need to do if she is or what to watch for. Is there a way to know for sure without using a lot of money?


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## Lanthanum (Nov 20, 2016)

Goat Whisperer said:


> x2!
> 
> If she is three months along I don't think it would be wise to lute her. You might want to consider having an ultrasound done to try to determine how many kids she is carrying. Twins/triplets will almost always be smaller than a single. Do you have any pics of her?
> 
> If she isn't mature enough to pass kids you will need to look at a C-section.



  Here is her from the front, top, and back. She is very wide and I've had her away from hay, grass, and I had her on a slightly lesser diet to see if the weight was from bloating but she hasn't lost any and it seems almost like she's gained some. I am getting very worried. She doesn't like sitting still so i havent been able to feel for anything there but what I have felt of her belly is firm. I don't have any money for an ultrasound or even a checkup, let alone a caesarean


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## norseofcourse (Nov 20, 2016)

Can you tell if she has any udder development?


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## Lanthanum (Nov 20, 2016)

norseofcourse said:


> Can you tell if she has any udder development?


Thankfully no that is why I have doubts of her being pregnant but then again if she is she shouldn't develop it for a while however she could still get one


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## Southern by choice (Nov 20, 2016)

Not an ideal situation but too late now. keep track of your dates and possible kidding time. Prepare a kidding kit. Watch udder development and ligs as time gets close and if possible be on site.

Many of goats have been bred too young and have fared well. 
In that kit make sure you have lots of lube!

Keep positive. 

There is a P test that some have tried and it was not expensive. It is somewhere on this site.
I couldn't find the original poster but here is the lab.

http://www.emlabgenetics.com/Pages/PTEST.aspx


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## Green Acres Farm (Nov 20, 2016)

Southern by choice said:


> There is a P test that some have tried and it was not expensive. It is somewhere on this site.
> I couldn't find the original poster but here is the lab.
> 
> http://www.emlabgenetics.com/Pages/PTEST.aspx


I have heard of bucks testing positive on the P test...


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## Southern by choice (Nov 20, 2016)

Green Acres Farm said:


> I have heard of bucks testing positive on the P test...



I have not used this so I cannot speak to as how well they work but it seems many have and results have been good.

I imagine there may have been other factors, possible contamination.

I did DNA samples on 13 dogs. My one male showed up as a FEMALE!   I had to redo 3 control tests over. In the end it was my fault as I did BLOW ON THE TEST! Which you are not suppose to do and without thinking I did.  That is all it took... I am still convinced I may have touched it as well.


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## Goat Whisperer (Nov 20, 2016)

I would pull some blood and send it out for a pregnancy test. It's not expensive and is much more accurate than the P test.


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 20, 2016)

I've been out of town, so sorry I'm jumping in the party a little late.  From my perspective you've got a couple of choices and none of them are "the best".  Of course the best would be if she wasn't bred yet.  

But, if she was with a buck when she was in heat then it's a pretty good bet that she's pregnant.  So, if I understand - she's 8 months old now and possibly 3 months bred. 

She is small, but I've seen young does give birth successfully.  I've also seen it go bad.  Truth is - if you don't have a relationship with a veterinarian your choices are limited anyway.

My best advice on her is to keep her active.  The worst thing for her would be to go into a birth  carrying too much weight.  Fat is the mortal enemy of a pregnant pygmy goat.  Watch her udder for development.  Learn how to check her ligaments and be as prepared for a birth as you can possibly be. 

You've been given good advice about getting a kidding kit together and yes, be sure you've got lube available.

Take this time to learn as much as you can about how to reposition a kid during the birth if you need to.

Good luck!


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## Latestarter (Nov 29, 2016)

Sorry I missed your first post... Greetings and welcome to BYH! As you see, we have some great goat folks here. You have pretty animals! Hope all goes well with the upcoming birth   I look forward to future updates and pics  Make yourself at home!


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## Sally Sunshine (Dec 8, 2016)

Southern by choice said:


> Not an ideal situation but too late now. keep track of your dates and possible kidding time. Prepare a kidding kit. Watch udder development and ligs as time gets close and if possible be on site.
> 
> Many of goats have been bred too young and have fared well.
> In that kit make sure you have lots of lube!
> ...



I have the pdf for these tests if anyone needs it, but for some reason I am not able to upload. I just got my order in house for them.


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## Donna R. Raybon (Jun 7, 2018)

Lanthanum said:


> I have four pygmy goats, two females and two males. I keep my females seperated because they are mother and daughter, and the daughter is only 8 months and still significantly smaller than the others. They recently broke the fence and were out in the yard together so I fixed the pen and placed my baby in a reinforced fence. I thought she was just bloated from the grass but it's been two days since I penned her away and she is still VERY fat and I fear she may be pregnant and I wasn't around when she got out of the pen about 3 months ago. She has already went in heat a few times and she is able to bear but she is WAY too small. If she is there is a very high chance she could die. What do I do??




If she has twins, she may do OK.  A big single can be problem.  At this stage just close monitor and C section by vet if needed.  I have seen as young as seven month old give birth and be fine.
Dear friend had pymies and I warned her to remove buck from herd when babies started being born.....  buck's daughters gave birth at a couple weeks shy of seven months old.   Every one did fine and grew off well in the end.  She removed buck LOL.
Too late now, but leutalyse would have been an option when she first got bred.  Basically you wait ten days after 'exposure to buck' and give.  It is vet only meds.  Given at proper time it causes no discomfort to doe and she will just cycle back into heat as normal.


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