Is it normal for a goat 8 weeks from kidding

[Lada]

...to not look pregnant at ALL?

I have this Nubian, love her, but we affectionately call her "pain in the ass". She was bred along with our other doe, in October. I dropped them off at the breeder, and they came back three days later, she had guaranteed both of them.

Amelia does not look even remotely pg, but I haven't seen any signs of heat in her either! She has always been really narrow, and seems like she might be deeper than she normally is, so is it possible she's just carrying her babies UNDER instead of OUT? It's giving me nightmares...literally.

I know, I know, just get a blood test. I can't PULL BLOOD, for Pete's sake, lol! I guess I will call and see how much the vet charges.

If she's not bred, is it too late?

[jBlaze]

My does do not cycle pastteh first of Feb. She may not show signs of heat if you do not have buck stink nearby. If she is not bred, then you had better hussle.
She may be carrying kids under rather than out. I have wide does and deep does. I have never been able to feel for kids, so someone else will have to answer that one.
Hope she is and you don't have to worry.

[dosthouhavemilk]

What part of Ohio are you in again?

She could be carrying deep. Nubians are generally very deep bodied does and so finding and seeing pregnancies in them is not as easy. Is she "singing?" Moaning and hurumphing when she is laying down?

[Lada]

She's noisy anyway, but I haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary.

I'm in South Central Ohio - Piketon. Aren't you in Barnesville or close? I think that's about a 3-hour drive from here.

Ugh, this is so nerve wracking!

[Madfarmer]

It may not be "normal", but it's not unheard of. The kids do most of their growing in the last 8 weeks. If she's NOT bred, you have to decide if you want Summer kids. There's a great set of pics a couple places on the web of a nine-year old girl drawing blood. It's something we all need to be able to do, sooner or later.

Madfarmer

[AnnaS]

I have four does that are seven to eight weeks out, and NONE of them look pregnant. And these are mostly shallow, narrow-bodied does. A three month old fetus is about the size of a newborn kitten.

I don't breed Nubians, but I did hear an interesting story from a commercial dairy. They had five breeds, including Nubians, and decided to have the vet ultrasound all of their does. The Nubians all came up open, and they luted them, thinking their Nubian buck was infertile. All those Nubians aborted fetuses. Turned out they were carrying kids further forward and lower than the Swiss breeds.

[Minelson]

I think it's funny that you have "normal" and "goat" in the same sentence

[farmmom]

Originally Posted by Minelson

I think it's funny that you have "normal" and "goat" in the same sentence

Is there such a thing?

I have one Nubian that carries very wide, and one that I wasn't even sure was pregnant until I went out and found twin bucklings. The one that carries wide hums or moans during the last 6-8 weeks before delivery. None of my others have ever done that.

[dosthouhavemilk]

Yeah, I'm in Barnesville. 3 hours one way is a bit of a stretch for me to come out and show you this time of year. Otherwise I would hop in a vehicle and head your way.
I would hope the vet wouldn't charge too much. You could have them draw it and put it in the syringe and then send it off to Biotracking yourself.
With just the one three day exposure, if it were me, I would be wanting to be sure. Unless you are comfortable with losing a year. Some people are, some aren't.
Are you any of the Ohio Goat Yahoo! Groups? I'm trying to figure out if there is someone closer to you that might be willing to show you.
I know once Kim showed me and forced me to try it, it really isn't that bad. I'd draw blood from goats over cows all day long!
Here is the tutorial with the then nine year old;
http://goatconnection.com/articles/p...icle_151.shtml

[Lada]

Originally Posted by dosthouhavemilk

Yeah, I'm in Barnesville. 3 hours one way is a bit of a stretch for me to come out and show you this time of year. Otherwise I would hop in a vehicle and head your way.
I would hope the vet wouldn't charge too much. You could have them draw it and put it in the syringe and then send it off to Biotracking yourself.
With just the one three day exposure, if it were me, I would be wanting to be sure. Unless you are comfortable with losing a year. Some people are, some aren't.
Are you any of the Ohio Goat Yahoo! Groups? I'm trying to figure out if there is someone closer to you that might be willing to show you.
I know once Kim showed me and forced me to try it, it really isn't that bad. I'd draw blood from goats over cows all day long!
Here is the tutorial with the then nine year old;
http://goatconnection.com/articles/p...icle_151.shtml

That's great of you to even consider coming to help me! I did talk to the vet tech and she said I could bring her in and she would just come out to the truck and show me how, and wouldn't even charge me anything except for the supplies, so that's great. It helps knowing your vets sometimes!

I do have another doe that I'm almost positive is bred, but she's a FF and I'm not sure how milking will go for her this year, so I'd rather not lose a year. If Amelia isn't bred....I've been looking at a LaMancha that is supposed to kid next month, so I might just go ahead and get her rather than try to get A bred and then worry about kidding in the summer...sometimes June is ridiculous, sometimes not so bad here, you never know.

[hoofinitnorth]

I agree that it may not be the "norm" but it isn't uncommon and of course when we are used to seeing them every day, we sometimes miss subtle changes. Photos help a lot.

I have two junior ND does bred right now that don't look pregnant AT ALL. I have been feeling them and checking their udders and just generally BOTHERING them every day. lol I had not seen them come back into heat and Biotracking confirmed their pregnancies but until I got the lab results, I was still unsure. It's possible they are carrying deep, or have singles or twins, it is the way they are as juniors, or just that they are "that way". They *should* be due in mid-March (so about 8 weeks out), if they conceived on the first exposed heat.

I have a senior doe that will be a third-freshener this spring and she is very deep-bodied and carries her babies deeply. I have a photo on my website of her taken 36 hours before she kidded with good-sized, healthy triplets.



You can tell she's deep, but you probably wouldn't guess she's that pregnant with that many from the side shot. I was optimistic but even when I looked at her from the rear and top, I did not guess she had triplets in there.

She is also now about 8 weeks out from kidding and she does not look pregnant at all at the moment.

My other three senior does are getting WIDE. Also bred to kid in mid-March, for as wide as they are this early on, they BETTER have quads or better! LOL