my goat Shiloh

happyladybug · #1 03/31/06, 08:54 AM

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...oats/005_5.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...oats/007_7.jpg

My husband brought me this goat - does she seem thin to anybody..
she has a bag and is supposed to be bred - but other than looking a little bagged up i'm not sure.. how far along before they start showing their big bellies??

feel free to share you opinions --

Sarah J · #2 03/31/06, 11:12 AM

I'm not familiar with LaManchas (MotherClucker? Any ideas?). She doesn't look thin to me. I don't know how soon you can tell with LM as far as being bred. With my Saanens and Nubians sometimes they look like they've been bred and are ready to drop by the time 125 days rolls around. Other times the kids move and they suddenly look like they've already delivered. I had one girl last year who was running with the buck for three weeks...half the time she looked preggers, the other half she didn't...ended up that she wasn't bred at all last year. This year it was obvious!

I love her belly band! Very pretty!

Sarah

GoldenWood Farm · #3 03/31/06, 12:11 PM

She looks to be a good weight to me maybe could use a bit of weight put on. A gal I know taught me a trick on telling if they are good weight are not. Feel your knuckles when your hand is flat. If your doe's spin feels fleshed over like your knuckles you are doing good. That can vary of course. But to me she looks to be a good weight (but like I said might need a bit more) and very healthy

.

As far as telling if she is pregnent thats a tough one. With mine I have gotten real good at feeling the babys on their side of their stomach. Thats how I test to see if mine are pregnent. That and the butt/stomach test. I have noticed that almost all my does belly "drop" when they are pregnent. And your doe's belly seems "dropped" but I haven't seen her before she was "bred". It usually takes them to be about 3 months to start showing.

You could draw blood and send it in to be tested by Bio-Tracking to see if she is bred or not.

Oh and I don't think she is pure La Mancha Sarah...she looks to have boer in her. Her coloring and on her face she has dark red strips running down her face that I have only ever seen on boers. Pretty girl either way

.

MotherClucker

dosthouhavemilk · #4 03/31/06, 04:40 PM

Yup, looks like a LaBoer to me.
One way to tell if she is bred is to straddle her with your rump to towards her head. Put your arms around her and cross your fingers under her belly just in front of where her udder is. Pull up towards you slightly. A bred doe will be a bit heavier in that area and you ought to be able to feel a solid mass. If she is far enough along you can even feel a kid. If she is sacking up (udder is filling) you should be able to feel a kid when you bump her like this. They generally start seriously filling up anywhere from 6 weeks prior to kidding to the day they kid (this is most common in mature does who have kidded numerous times). A first freshener wil start forming her udder sooner than 6 weeks prior (they have a longer ways to go afterall). I have a doe due May 6th who is already starting to fill her udder. She's six this year.
She looks like a mature doe as her teats look mature. Could you get a rear shot of her? This will help us help you. That and I am fascinated.

Goat Freak · #5 04/03/06, 10:03 AM

She sure is pretty, and she looks like she only needs a smidget of weight on her, that is if you like your girls looking well fed but not overfed. Good Luck with her, I hope she IS bred. Good Luck. Bye.

happyladybug · #6 04/03/06, 10:36 AM

i will happily post a backside view of shiloh - but please check back tomorrow - i have to have an off the farm job - so i can't get to it right away.- i have to say its nice to have people that like to talk about their goats - as my husband tends to space out when i start talking about them.. :0 and yet he got this one for me.. ???

i had shiloh on the goat stand saturday -trying to feel for babies - but couldn't tell - but then i'm not sure what i should be feeling - i can get
milk out of her if i strip her teet.. is that typical or a bad sign??

janis

pookshollow · #7 04/03/06, 10:47 AM

At a guess, I would say she looks bred. Like others said, her belly appears to have dropped. Any idea how far along she is? My Nubian cross is due in mid May and her belly looks a lot like your goat's.

I think she looks in very good condition, shiny, ribs covered but not fat. Congratulations!

Your hubby doesn't like to talk goats?

Mine loves them! He's even offered to learn to milk.