Baby Having Baby-Please advise

[3starranch]

OK my husband didn't believe me that we needed to seperate the boys from the girls because babies can get pregnant and the result is horrible. My little girl (Nigerian Dwarf) born mid October is now showing signs of pregnancy (her belly/rib is widening). I am extremely concerned for her well being and will do whatever necessary to make the best out of a horrible situation. What can be done to help her?

 

[zatsenoughcritters4me]

is her udder getting big? sometimes they just get fat. she was born in mid oct? she is only a little over 5 months? I would check her udder, but usually a doe will not breed until they are big enough, a little billy on the other hand at 5 months will try to breed anything that moves!

 

[ksalvagno]

Do you have a goat vet in your area? You could always have her ultrasounded or xrayed. I'm not sure how young goat females can get pregnant.

 

[3starranch]

Here teats still seem regular size, but she seems to have some fatty tissue at the base of the teats. I haven't had a pregnant first timer to compare the development of the teats. I will look for a vet, but most that I have found don't deal with goats.

 

[dhansen]

All my first timers get that extra fatty tissue, but their teats stay the same for awhile. She will be fine, but it's a little nerve racking for you. Hang in there. You can also look at the "pooch test" pictures on this website to see if she is bred.

 

[ksacres]

You can also have a blood test done to see if she's pregnant. Drawing blood is EXTREMELY easy, don't be afraid of it.

Biotracking: http://www.biotracking.com/biopryn.php


Sometimes young goats will just "bloom" suddenly. It doesn't necessarily mean she's pregnant.


Now, some may not like this approach, but if it turns out she IS pregnant, you can get a dose of lutalyse from your vet and she will abort the pregnancy.

 

[dianneS]

Oh, I hope she's not pregnant, that would be horrible.

Please keep us posted.

Sorry, I don't have any advice for you. But I would agree with aborting the fetus if at all possible.

 

[myfainters]

I had one of my bucks escape his pen and breed my not quite 5 month old doeling that was in heat. She was 10 months old almost to the day when she gave birth to healthy twin boys.... she was a great mom, produced plenty of milk for them and now that they are weaned I keep catching her nursing her best buddy's kids.

Was it the ideal situation to be in... No way but it worked out fine. Just make sure you are there when she delivers.... needing to pull that first kid is pretty common when the girls are that young.

 

[4hmama]

Even though being bred isn't want you wanted, don't get too worried yet.... From what I have read, nigerian breeding isn't as much on age as on size. I have seen some goats that are 1-1/2 years old that are smaller than 9 month olds...the point is - if she is large enough, she will proabaly be fine.

You should see an udder starting about 6 weeks before delivery - first it looks like a little swelling, then progresses to a single 'handfull', eventually growing to a large softball (or larger) before kidding. You should also be able to feel the baby moving in the last month or so of gestation. Right before birth, their udders will get very full and they will lose their ligaments (found on either side of the tailhead - normally feel like pencils, until right before delivery -then this area feels very soft).

If you think she is too small, you might call a vet and have her looked at and possibly abort the baby...but that is a decision that I would make based on size, not age.

 

[Chirpy]

First - boys can breed at 8 weeks of age and girls can get pregnant at 8 weeks of age.

I see this is an older post... do you know if she's pregnant?

I agree that size is far more of a concern than age in a doe. Most breeders don't breed until their does reach a certain weight... not age. Although I, personally, don't breed my Nigis until they are 18 months old no matter their size.