ok, probably a stupid question: how soon can you tell if your doe is bred?

[myrandaandkids]

saw them mating but not sure if it took, (summer mating)billy is showing signs of rut again, they fight alot though, and i dont want to take a chance on giving her bach to him if she is bred, but then again, i dont want to miss my chance to get her bred if shes not already.....with my potbellied pigs i can listen with a stethascope 2 months after mating and if she is bred i will hear movment and heart beats, i guess im not expecting that many people go that far, but if there is anyway to tell before the last two weeks of pregnancy please let me know.

[Idahoe]

If it works with a potbelly pig it should work with a goat. I'm new to them too, and I absolutely plan on using my stethoscope to listen for fetuses.

I was just reading that you should be able to hear the heartbeat(s) after two months in goats, too. All it's parts are there and it is just getting bigger at that point.

You think you're bad for listening with a stethoscope . . . if I saw one of those fetal heart tone Doppler thingies on Ebay, I'd be snagging it!

[Milk n' Honey]

Just hold your hand steady and push in firmly and slowly on the doe's right side, where it is normally squishy and soft...behind the ribs and in the middle of the side. Hold it there for up to 5 minutes and be very quiet and as still as you can so you can sort out the motions. If you feel anything bony or you get some soft thuds that are out of the ordinary, then there you have it..... I can feel them moving at 3 months gestation. No experience with any sooner than that. You might need someone else to help hold her still so you can palpate her abdomen for that period of time. Goats get bored really fast so you maybe could use the help. I have a nice percentage doe that I believe to be bred. She is approx. 3 months along right now and we felt babies. She is filling out also. She doesn't look fat or pregnant but just more filled out than normal for her. She's also crazy though so we'll most likely be stealing her kids and hand raising them and unless they are amazing stock, we'll be culling her for her craziness! hehehe She was most likely raised in a larger herd where they didn't pay much attention to them b/c she so scared that she is difficult to work with. BTW, I don't know the gestation of a pig but you will probably be more likely to feel the kids than to hear them. Even a human child in a womb is impossible to hear on a stethoscope until right before birth and then the sound is faint. That sure doesn't keep you from feeling the movements externally for about 3 months or more! Once you feel those kids in there, you'll know what I mean. It isn't hard to sort out what you are feeling. If you feel something bump you lightly and more than once, don't second guess, it is a kid! Anyway, I hope this helps!! Take care and good luck.