Maybe pregnant goat

[moday]

We have a doe that was bred on Dec. 6, 2008. This puts her at 131 days of hopefully being pregnant. I've showed pics of her back side to people and I'm being told that she is not pregnant.

Could she be pregnant still and we just don't know? She gained weight while being bred, so I can't tell by her build alone.

She is 3/4 boer and 1/4 alpine. She is now two years old this past March?

Could she still be pregnant and we don't know it? The udder has not dropped, and from the pics of her back side I don't get confirmation from other goat people that she's with kid.

When do I assume that she'd not pregnant???

The udder has to drop by some point right?

Help and thanks in advance.

[Jyllie63]

I had a FF last year that conceived Dec 7 and delivered May 4th. She never really did look big and I think her udder developed about 3 weeks before delivery..but not huge! She just delivered another kid this past friday and I had no idea she was ready to deliver...barely looked pregnant and no udder change. I thought she was due mid-May. Looks can be deceiving!

[hoofinitnorth]

Why not send in a sample to biotracking? Even though she could deliver soon if she is pregnant, you won't have to guess and you'll know when to be ready.

It's only $7.50/sample. http://www.biotracking.com/

[Minelson]

I bet she is preggos and just not showing it Why don't you try to feel for some kicking

[moday]

I've been lightly pushing on her side and underneath, and no respone. She gained quite a bit of weight when she spent 3 wks with the buck. This farm used unlimited hay I guess. I can of found that out after the fact.

Anyhow, where exactly should I push to feel for the kicking.

This doe is 3/4 boer and 1/4 alpine.

Thanks in advance!

[Minelson]

What I did is scratch Gretta in her sweet spot (armpit with her) with one hand so she would hold still...then slowly scratch with the other until she was relaxed and I held my palm against her tummy a little before the udder towards the right side. Babies are on the right Rumen is on the left. And I would just hold it there and I could feel little kicks.

[Backfourty,MI.]

[QUOTE=moday;3755923]She gained quite a bit of weight when she spent 3 wks with the buck. This farm used unlimited hay I guess. I can of found that out after the fact.


All my goats have unlimited hay 24/7 buck's, doe's & wethers and none of my goats are too fat from hay. Maybe they just fed her alot of grain. If she's 2 years old though & never been bred, sometimes I think they hang onto alot of there baby fat.

If she's a FF or only carrying a single you might not be able to tell she's preggo until a week or two before she's ready to deliver & maybe not that soon. You still have time, just watch her or do like someone else said & send a blood sample in to check for sure.
Good Luck!

[Freeholder]

Backfourty, you are forgetting that this doe is mostly Boer! They can, indeed, get too fat on just hay! And if they are too fat, they may not 'take' when they are bred. I would say that the OP will know in three weeks or so if the doe is going to kid or not (keep a close eye on her as the due date draws near). If she isn't, put her on a reducing diet, including more exercise, before trying to re-breed her. You can't always tell by the udder. It should be showing some signs of development by now if she is bred, but sometimes it doesn't really fill up until after kidding. If she is bred, you should be seeing a puffiness around the vulva, and the ligaments at the base of the tail should be softening and starting to 'disappear.' You might start to see some strings of mucus closer to her due date -- that can appear a week or more before she actually kids. My doe that kidded a few weeks ago didn't really show much growth to her udder until the day before she kidded, when it finally filled up. Signs of imminent kidding include pawing the ground to make a nest, restless getting up and down, looking back at her side while panting, talking to her belly, in addition to the ones I've already mentioned -- and she can show all these signs several days before she actually goes into labor. My doe that kidded recently had me convinced that she was in labor a week before she finally kidded -- symptoms lasted a couple of days, then she went back to normal, and I shrugged, and went back to my normal schedule, too. Nothing else I could do.

Kathleen

Kathleen