Pregnant mini Nubian w/Nigerian dwarf sire

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

Hi, first post here.
I have a couple questions, but I'll give the back info first. I have no idea when or female got pregnant (Yes I know how it happens badum tch!) because we moved in October but we've only had them since April of last year. The upside is we ONLY have two of them and only two so I know who got her pregnant, And I had my suspicions that right before we moved she was in heat. I feel like after the move and the disruption of her environment and getting comfortable in her new place along with him only being 2 months old that around him turning eight months and her being about a year and a half It happened right before we moved or right after. About 2 months ago my suspicion got stronger because she got extra friendly as opposed to occasionally only wanting scratches. Now she's actually starting to look pregnant! She's guarding her belly, and for the last 6 weeks she freaks out every time our little guy, Cash, gets behind her and tries to sniff her rear. Initially when we bought them last year I was told they only each got one cup of grain per day with unlimited orchard grass which is what we had been doing although we had not been measuring and they were getting 1.5-2 cups once per day with unlimited hay and goat block or mineral. Well, until 5 months ago, when we took a 20 ounce Gatorade bottle and cut the top inch off of it so they've been getting roughly 10 oz of feed each given the size of the bottle, I would average that's about a cup and a half to a cup and 3/4 once a day, volume wise. For the last two months they both been getting alfalfa treats, although she's been getting a little extra and recently we started giving her an extra handful of feed. When I asked the seller about the odds of her getting pregnant from a male goat that much smaller than her, she told me that until he's about 8 months old he probably won't be able to reach her. Well 8 months old came in the middle of October. He's definitely double the size he was and he has stopped hiding behind her and has come into his own and he's a happy little 1-year-old. Now, as an MA, I do my own CDT shots and my own hoof trimming so these little guys haven't seen a vet since we got em. Livestock vets that travel are few and far between. We live in a weird area where it's center of town with a Maserati dealership 1 minute and then it's a small patch of rural area the next and then you'll come into another town area and then it'll be like a half an hour to an hour's worth of rural area and then another town. Since we've moved in October despite there being multiple incidents between a dog with a broken leg a husband with a broken foot and husband needing two tooth extractions We have recently found a vet that isn't attached to a very expensive ER vet, but with the cold weather and the emergency with the dog it really depleted any of our winter funds! Husband doesn't go back to work for about another 3 weeks since he does concrete. needless to say I need to know if: I'm feeding her the proper amount and correctly, What other signs of pregnancy should I look for What pictures should I put in this thread to confirm pregnancy and if anybody can tell me given her size when I should expect her to be kidding and given the fact that we're in Pennsylvania if I should move her away from the little guy, and when! What should I look for for impending labor? given the gestation. I would imagine we should expect babies around St Patty's Day? thankfully I accidentally ordered a cheap dip cup for milking but the only bottles we have came with a whelping kit and they are 12 oz bottles but I definitely would need some guides on bottle feeding because we do put on milking her and I would need some guidance on milking as well. Send help. -eastern PA Appalachia/Southern Poconos area

 

[Finnie]

Hi, first post here.
I have a couple questions, but I'll give the back info first. I have no idea when or female got pregnant (Yes I know how it happens badum tch!) because we moved in October but we've only had them since April of last year. The upside is we ONLY have two of them and only two so I know who got her pregnant, And I had my suspicions that right before we moved she was in heat. I feel like after the move and the disruption of her environment and getting comfortable in her new place along with him only being 2 months old that around him turning eight months and her being about a year and a half It happened right before we moved or right after. About 2 months ago my suspicion got stronger because she got extra friendly as opposed to occasionally only wanting scratches. Now she's actually starting to look pregnant! She's guarding her belly, and for the last 6 weeks she freaks out every time our little guy, Cash, gets behind her and tries to sniff her rear. Initially when we bought them last year I was told they only each got one cup of grain per day with unlimited orchard grass which is what we had been doing although we had not been measuring and they were getting 1.5-2 cups once per day with unlimited hay and goat block or mineral. Well, until 5 months ago, when we took a 20 ounce Gatorade bottle and cut the top inch off of it so they've been getting roughly 10 oz of feed each given the size of the bottle, I would average that's about a cup and a half to a cup and 3/4 once a day, volume wise. For the last two months they both been getting alfalfa treats, although she's been getting a little extra and recently we started giving her an extra handful of feed. When I asked the seller about the odds of her getting pregnant from a male goat that much smaller than her, she told me that until he's about 8 months old he probably won't be able to reach her. Well 8 months old came in the middle of October. He's definitely double the size he was and he has stopped hiding behind her and has come into his own and he's a happy little 1-year-old. Now, as an MA, I do my own CDT shots and my own hoof trimming so these little guys haven't seen a vet since we got em. Livestock vets that travel are few and far between. We live in a weird area where it's center of town with a Maserati dealership 1 minute and then it's a small patch of rural area the next and then you'll come into another town area and then it'll be like a half an hour to an hour's worth of rural area and then another town. Since we've moved in October despite there being multiple incidents between a dog with a broken leg a husband with a broken foot and husband needing two tooth extractions We have recently found a vet that isn't attached to a very expensive ER vet, but with the cold weather and the emergency with the dog it really depleted any of our winter funds! Husband doesn't go back to work for about another 3 weeks since he does concrete. needless to say I need to know if: I'm feeding her the proper amount and correctly, What other signs of pregnancy should I look for What pictures should I put in this thread to confirm pregnancy and if anybody can tell me given her size when I should expect her to be kidding and given the fact that we're in Pennsylvania if I should move her away from the little guy, and when! What should I look for for impending labor? given the gestation. I would imagine we should expect babies around St Patty's Day? thankfully I accidentally ordered a cheap dip cup for milking but the only bottles we have came with a whelping kit and they are 12 oz bottles but I definitely would need some guides on bottle feeding because we do put on milking her and I would need some guidance on milking as well. Send help. -eastern PA Appalachia/Southern Poconos area

Wow! That’s a lot of questions! I’m surprised no one has made any responses. I don’t own any goats myself. But I know I’ve read it a lot of times that you would be best off having a friend for your buck so that he won’t be lonely when you have to separate the doe from him. (And you do need to separate her because he might try to breed her while she’s giving birth.) Plus, you will have to separate her in order to space her pregnancies out so that she’s not giving birth constantly.

If she has a buckling, maybe you can have that buckling wethered and he can be your buck’s buddy?

 

[Mini Horses]

Well, well, well .... Kids are fun!

The goats can be fertile before 8 months!! And, where there's a will, there's a way. I'd say you're probably ok on feed, so long as body condition is good. Once she kids you'll need to give the doe way more for milk production. Is she forming an udder?? Pics would be helpful. Full back, see udder. From top of back looking down, see sides.

Once she does and it's full, the teats will fill and they will be more rigid. After that you'll have a day or two before you see the string of mucus coming from her rear & that signals get ready. Yes, remove the buck or stall the doe when close to kidding. Some of the males get excited and try to re-breed from smells. Moreso if only the pair.

You plan to milk her -- do you intend to bottle the kids or milk share? If you truly want a good milking doe, taking kids & bottle is best for the process & milking habits, plus quantity. The kids nursing & 2x day milking aren't in sync for either of you, especially if you want length of lactation. Being a FF she'll have less volume this lactation. Critical to pull colostrum and feed kids. Most of us keep 2 milkers, staggering kidding, so there are no dry months. Although I sometimes dry mine for MY not needing to milk in dead of winter.

Milking being your plan, have you been handling her belly, udder, legs etc already? If not, I suggest you do so. Even feed her alone while you handle her to imprint the drill. Any soft drink bottle can have a nipple added -- tractor supply sells -- so use a 12oz & don't fill it....twins are common so, 2 bottles.

That's a start.....ask away. . Several milkers of goats on here. More ideas will come.

 

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

Wow! That’s a lot of questions! I’m surprised no one has made any responses. I don’t own any goats myself. But I know I’ve read it a lot of times that you would be best off having a friend for your buck so that he won’t be lonely when you have to separate the doe from him. (And you do need to separate her because he might try to breed her while she’s giving birth.) Plus, you will have to separate her in order to space her pregnancies out so that she’s not giving birth constantly.

If she has a buckling, maybe you can have that buckling wethered and he can be your buck’s buddy?

Oh wow! Ok thank you! Guess we'll be sperating them sooner rather than later. I've been wanting to get two more Nigerian does! Now if I can figure out how long before she gives birth....the two livestock vets with in an hour are booked out pretty far.

 

[rachels.haven]

Oh man, the seller may have done you dirty. Bucklings are fertile and able to breed mom and herdmates at 8 WEEKS. I'm so sorry.
I think you need a new doe, a new wether or buck, some new fencing and to give the happy couple a break up ASAP.

 

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

Oh man, the seller may have done you dirty. Bucklings are fertile and able to breed mom and herdmates at 8 WEEKS. I'm so sorry.
I think you need a new doe, a new wether or buck, some new fencing and to give the happy couple a break up ASAP.

Oh, no Kathy knew I want V for milk, she was already a year when I got her. She just said he needing a little step stool. It was a happy surprise that she got pregnant, I just never saw her let him mount her! I was also surprised he was able to reach! So um, her scheduled ultrasound on the 12th? Turned into a well visit the night of the 8th! Finally was able to take the kids to do something fun, and got home around 945ish and I went to close the chicken coop and just do a quick check on the goats for water and such since I was supposed to drop to 27....He came running out bleating like crazy as usual. but he didn't come to the fence and he sounded....alarmed. So I called her and called her and called her and normally she pokes her head out like "yes? are there treats?" I got nothing...then I heard a noise that sounded like a muffled turkey "peep" or a very soft meow. Then I called a few more times then there were TWO of those noise and the alarm in my head sounded. Y'know. I didn't think I could still run that fast! Husband thought it was a restroom emergency and I was doing the pee pee dance. I said NOPE! He asked if everything was alright... NOPE! "What's wrong???" BABIES. THERES BABIES. DONT NEED THAT ULTRASOUND! CALL THE KIDS. GIMME THE MED BAG, I NEED JUNKIE TOWELS AND THE WHELPING PAD AND A HEAT LAMP AND AN EXTENSION CORD. NOW.

 

[LazyLambsFarmstead]

Well, well, well .... Kids are fun!

The goats can be fertile before 8 months!! And, where there's a will, there's a way. I'd say you're probably ok on feed, so long as body condition is good. Once she kids you'll need to give the doe way more for milk production. Is she forming an udder?? Pics would be helpful. Full back, see udder. From top of back looking down, see sides.

Once she does and it's full, the teats will fill and they will be more rigid. After that you'll have a day or two before you see the string of mucus coming from her rear & that signals get ready. Yes, remove the buck or stall the doe when close to kidding. Some of the males get excited and try to re-breed from smells. Moreso if only the pair.

You plan to milk her -- do you intend to bottle the kids or milk share? If you truly want a good milking doe, taking kids & bottle is best for the process & milking habits, plus quantity. The kids nursing & 2x day milking aren't in sync for either of you, especially if you want length of lactation. Being a FF she'll have less volume this lactation. Critical to pull colostrum and feed kids. Most of us keep 2 milkers, staggering kidding, so there are no dry months. Although I sometimes dry mine for MY not needing to milk in dead of winter.

Milking being your plan, have you been handling her belly, udder, legs etc already? If not, I suggest you do so. Even feed her alone while you handle her to imprint the drill. Any soft drink bottle can have a nipple added -- tractor supply sells -- so use a 12oz & don't fill it....twins are common so, 2 bottles.

That's a start.....ask away. . Several milkers of goats on here. More ideas will come.

Yes planning to milk her, just bought a stand and a little machine, both work great...her ultra sound appt turned into a well check! They were born Saturday the 8th between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. because we got home at about 9:45 and I want to go close up the chicken coop since we got home an hour and a half later than we wanted to.... And I went to the fence to go check on them and he came running out of the goat shed yelling but sounding slightly more alarmed than normal. ASAP normally he comes running to the fence to beg for treats and he didn't He was just staring at me like, "um hello send help" So I felt a little uneasy and I started calling her and normally after a few calls she gets up pokes her head out and sees if I have anything in my hand. I got nothing in response. So now of course I feel even more uneasy and I keep calling her and I keep calling her and calling her and calling her and suddenly I hear a little noise That sounds like a muffled meow or muffled quiet happy turkey noise.... I call a few more times and then I hear two of them and at this point it sounds like a strange cat... How my 41-year-old out of shape butt, didn't BUST MY ARSE running full tilt through the chicken run, down the driveway down the hill across the yard and in the front door to change into my sloggers is beyond me. has been thought I had a bathroom emergency and my response was nope He checked to see if everything was okay and I said nope, BABIES. We got all the supplies got some junky towels got the old puppy whelping pad some heat lamps cuz it was dipping down to 27 that night and it was already 10:00 p.m. and they weren't even dry yet. So fast forward for about a week and a half old now The livestock vet came out and checked everybody their lungs didn't sound super great because I wasn't there to suction them and I couldn't find the suction bulb (I found the bulb and did it the next day, and she was not amused) so she gave them each subQ antibiotics and they sound a lot better. Now by Monday afternoon I realized her one utter was huge compared to the other one and that she was kicking the babies away anytime they got near it So I started holding the leg and pushing them to nurse on that side and covering up on teat and that seemed to help a little bit. Fast forward, I milked her Tuesday and tried to give it to the babies and they wanted NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. So I gave it to our two 7 month corgis after straining. When the doc came She said just keep milking her out and see if the babies will take it if they won't take it we can either dump it or use it for soap or keep giving it to the dogs etc. They sent the milk out for testing the sample came back clean no growth no sign of mastitis and I just keep massaging her udders and hand milking her I give her a break Saturday and Sunday because she really wasn't tolerating it well. I think the first time Mom thing has her a little sore but she's still letting the baby's nurse on the one side except until today. Now she's kicking them away no matter what! I don't know if it's because I didn't milk her Saturday and Sunday, but she's not having it. But the female's belly seems full so I feel like she lets them nurse a few times in the morning and early afternoon but by 330-430 she's over it and I have to tie her and hold a leg and she freaks out. Thankfully the stand came in a few days ago because my poor back (thanks TEMU, $87 well spent, dang sturdy for something off their site and $50 less than Amazon) The milking machine ($67 on TEMU) works beautifully and came in today. I'm too scared to milk her in the morning because they babies aren't even two weeks, and only do it in the evening out of necessity if she feels really heavy or the others warm or I feel knots. I've been using dilute iodine to clean her and just found out chlorhexidine, glycerine and water was an option outside diluted iodine...I was trying to find out if I can mix iodine, water and glycerin? I have two n half quarts of milk in my fridge now (had some hairs in it that strained out with cheese cloth, probably going to heat and make cheese with it to be safe), we got 40 oz from her afternoon milking in the machine in minutes, (safe to drink since it's def clean, just had some with a cupcake actually. I think a touch of iodine got in with it or it's the colostrum as it had a very very very slightly salty or metallic taste. Yes vet took milk sample and tested it, all clear.) She did NOT seem to like it, but it was much faster so probably less stressful overall since she never gets on the stand even with food bribes. she calmed down after about three minutes of being somewhat stressed and someone dramatic and somewhat upset her babies were away from her. Again though, the vet said keep milking her out, but now babies bellies were pretty empty today (I tethered her and held a leg, til they had their fill then milked her then tehterd her again and held a leg. (they tell new moms to pump them nurse to increase breast milk supply so figured maybe it works with goats) they both had full bellies after they nurses post milking.) I've kept her and babies in the shed and little man has his "duck house" (old XL dog house with the red slats and tilted roof, I can fit in it) him and vermillion claimed it when they escaped into the chicken and duck pen back in Oct and Nov. (No I have no clue how the heck they fit in the their together.) So they all have adequate shelter. Anyway, babies seem to be doing well, urinating, pooping, walking jumping, exploring, mom is attentive and protective, no super vocal but vocal (unless you pick up a baby then mom is very vocal and giving you concerned stares) Other than the kicking the babies away, everything seems ok, she's eating and putting weight on, hates the nutridrench since I don't want to put a goat block in with her as the female (Dott/Dottie) has been trying to nibble on the alfalfa "dust" and crumbled leaves (this bale was SUPER dusty! no clue why) which I'm concerned about because they aren't supposed to eat hay til 3 weeks cuz of rumen development! The male (Polka) has no interest in hay, he loves nursing till he looks like a tiny beach ball. Yes I named them Polka and Dott!
So I'm concerned about the female a bit but her belly never really feels empty, she's not lethargic doesn't seem to be in paint if I give her belly a little squish she pees and then a few min later. Good output means they're being fed right? Am I missing anything? I just learned today to clean tears post milking...I figure only milk when needed til two weeks mark... we will be getting a male mini nubian for her and female Spanish for our little guy...because MINI SPANISH MEAT GOATS! The plan is to have meat goats and two milking goats. Just enough for drinking, soap, and cheese. Any tips are appreciated!

 

[Mini Horses]

Can't skip milking, they get sore....sharing with kids, you can skip a little so long as both side are being nursed. The alfalfa tasting by kid is ok. They don't truly do more than nibble at that age and copy mom, so stop worrying. You need to keep her production up since you plan to milk. Otherwise she'll produce for kids, not much more. Right now they nurse a little, several times a day. You'll milk 2x a day. So, you can see how milk share has drawbacks as her body must adjust production. One of reasons kids are pulled at dairies.

Congrats on the new kids. They're adorable! Assume you plan to raise the doeling for eventual milker.