Plugs?

[Marykat1982]

I'm hoping my girl is pregnant. Not sure on due date. Seems like she is forming a small udder and it looks like her nipples have some kind of plug on them. Is this normal? She could possibly be due any day or not at all. I've had her 3 months and was told she's almost certainly pregnant.

 

[Childwanderer]

I've heard that pregnant sheep at least have wax plugs in their teats to protect them until the baby begins to nurse. Perhaps goats are the same and that's what we're seeing here. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I will chime in shortly.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Goats can have “plugs” and you generally want to leave the udder alone until she kids. Those plugs help protect her from mastitis

You can pull some blood and send it out for a pregnancy check if you really want to know if she is indeed pregnant.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

What @Goat Whisperer said!

 

[Alaskan]

One excellent sign of being ready to kid is if you can get your fingers all of the way around the tail head. Those ligaments up there soften up directly before kidding.

The bag filling up can happen almost any time... even when they are not even pregnant.

 

[RoahT]

Yep, plugs are good and normal!