# Possbly pregnant doeling. Help!



## CordleFarm (May 22, 2013)

I think that my 8-mo-old ND doeling is pregnant. Over the last month I have noticed that she is looking rather wide compared to her herd mates and her udders are enlarged. We have only had her for 2 months. She was mixed in with my two bucks for a month while we were working on the other fence. The people we got her from said they did not have males. I am worried because of her age that if she is pregnant that she will have complications. Should she be showing/developing udders at only 1-2 months gestation? I am trying to figure out how far along she is so we can be prepared for kidding. If she is in fact pregnant, should I be concerned? Any advice, comments, recommendations are greatly appreciated. I will post pictures of her later.


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## elevan (May 22, 2013)

I would ask your vet to do an ultrasound to check and then if she is then you'll need the vet on standby when she kids.

On the other hand, she could just be developing a precocious udder and not pregnant at all.  Which is why I'd recommend a vet checking her to be sure.


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## CordleFarm (May 22, 2013)

Thank you. I will schedule with my vet this weekend. Hope she's going to be okay.


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## dwbonfire (May 22, 2013)

I am no goat expert, but i know a man who breeds his doelings at that age and says they do fine. She would kidd at about a year old so shouldnt that be fine?


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## SheepGirl (May 22, 2013)

What are you feeding her?

My ewe lamb (about 98 lbs or so) recently delivered a 9.8 lb ram lamb all by herself 10 days before her first birthday. She's doing a great job raising him. Her udder started to develop about one to one and a half months pre-lambing. Her twin sister, on the other hand, has a little bit of an udder, but I think it's just fat deposits from eating feed as I was growing them out to be big enough to breed.


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## 20kidsonhill (May 23, 2013)

if your bucks are the same breed or smaller breed type she should be okay. Don't over feed her grain/corn.


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## CordleFarm (May 23, 2013)

We feed them nutrena prime pellets ( it's actually horse feed) about half a cup a day each. 
my bucks are a Pygmy and a first gen mini-lamancha.


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## rinksgi (May 31, 2013)

I have been reading that the weight of the doeling is what is important. I think it's at least 80 lbs for nubians. I don't know about Nd. Also, I read that waiting to breed past 9 months could cause her to have fewer kids.


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## meme (May 31, 2013)

Most people won't breed Nigies until they are at least 2 years old, due to their tendancy to have difficult births.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 1, 2013)

I bred my ND at 7 months (we got the buck a month earlier then planned -wanted to breed at 8 months- and didn't have a seperate place to keep him) and she had 3 kids (one died due to white muscle disease, if she is in fact pregnant give her BoSe like 8 weeks before kidding? Double check) but abandoned  one. Ether way she kidded and cleaned themself off all on her own, she was a great mum, weaned them and everything. Just make sure if she is or isn't Preggo, and if so make sure she gets all the minerals and such she needs, and try to be on hand when she kids, and she'll be great. Just make sure the buck was, in fact, same size or smaller (our buck was bigger but she had tiny kids, same Breed though) and if (much) bigger then try to be hand even more, and just be prepared for the worst either way.


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## treeclimber233 (Jun 2, 2013)

Does that have multiple babies do tend to have smaller babies than does that only carry one.  I vote for the vet check to be certain and be on hand when she delivers if at all possible.  Also don't overload her with feed (grain) which will tend to make the babies larger at birthing time.


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 2, 2013)

meme said:
			
		

> Most people won't breed Nigies until they are at least 2 years old, due to their tendancy to have difficult births.


Where in the world did you hear this?  No disrespect intended, but that is simply not true.

 I don't know any ND breeders who wait until they are two years old to breed.. and I know quite a few breeders.  And, on the contrary, they are known for being exceptionally easy kidders.

We breed all of ours around 1 year old.  In fact, if you wait until they are 1-1/2 they tend to get over conditioned.

We had an accidental breeding this fall, and our 8 month old Taffy was bred.  She had a large single doeling, and had no problems kidding.


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## meme (Jun 2, 2013)

OneFineAcre said:
			
		

> meme said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is what a breeder I met at a show recently was telling me she does with her nigerians. I have also just seen many online discussions where this advice has been given. Maybe most was too strong of a word? 

I myself am very conservative about breeding age when it comes to my nubian and alpine does. We bred our Nubian when she was one year and 9 months and my alpine 15 days before her second birthday. That way I feel confident they are fully mature and that kidding can go as smoothly as possible. I also don't want to risk the growing kids taking nutrients that the doe needs or having a doe who is just not mentally mature enough to handle it. But I also know some people who breed right when a doe hits 70 pounds and swear by it. I suppose it is just a mater of opinion.


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## mariyajohnson01 (Jun 19, 2013)

if your bucks are the same breed or smaller breed type she should be okay. Don't over feed her grain/corn.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jun 19, 2013)

x2 Nigerians are reputed to be very easy kidders, rarely having problems.  I, and most of the people I know breed at one year old even though it says in more than one book that they can be bred at 7 months safely.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 19, 2013)

I have nigies and big goats....

I have heard what MEME has too. Honestly it always puzzles me. 

Of all the Nigie owners and breeders I know I know of two that has had  kidding troubles. One, was because the buck used was not a true Nigie but was huge and produced 7 lb kids... the buck of that person is now in my freezer. The Second one- Is a breeder that waits til 2 years, and she has had kidding problems. 

None of my goats have had a problem and successfully nurse triplets with no intervention.

Nigies tend to mature, IMO, much faster than the larger goats. Doelings have already gone into their first heat BY 12 weeks, the bucklings need be seperated early.. no later than 8 weeks, they can reproduce. They wean sooner, mine at 6wks are fully weaned... that doesn't mean they won't nibble but they can go to their new homes at 6-8 wks... I wait the 8wks. Our larger goats wean at 90 or more days. The Nigies tend to get to their desired size earlier also. I have had one fully ready at 9-10 months, others at 12-15 months. My Lamancha needed to wait to get her size right. Nigies are also year round breeders as opposed to seasonal breeders. I am sure this has something to do with it. Most Nigies bounce back very quickly. Probably because their kids are tiny and they can get back into "shape" easier. I have never had a nigie lose condition after birthing either, but of course internally I know they still need time to recuperate.

It may be just a "fluke" but the people I know that have Nigies have the least amount of parasite issues too. Of course stock, management etc has alot to do with that.


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 19, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> I have nigies and big goats....
> 
> I have heard what MEME has too. Honestly it always puzzles me.
> 
> ...


You forgot to mention fewer problems with mastitis.

My opinion, it is because they have not been intensely managed for as long a period of time.   Some of the standard dairy goats have been intensely managed for 400 or 500 + years.  When I say intensely managed I mean, selectively bred for purposes or traits that we people find desirable.

I mean I guess they were managed in Africa potentially, but not "intensely"


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## CordleFarm (Jun 19, 2013)

So, Ellie May is definitely pregnant. We suspect that she was already bred when we got her, which would mean that she was bred to another Nigerian. She is of good size and condition, so I am not too worried, but we are keeping a close eye on her. I do not like this kind of guessing game :/ We suspect she is close to kidding because she has had discharge for the past couple days and is laying around frequently. Is it a bad idea to go ahead and give her CDT? Or wait until after she kids? I've read to give it a month before the due date, but she doesn't seem to have that long left. Then again we don't know for sure. Thank you all for your suggestions and input. Wish us luck for a healthy momma and babies. I will post pics when the kid/kids arrive.


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## CordleFarm (Jun 23, 2013)

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26792


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