LABOR finally! And a Question.

[goatmama1114]

Our doe, who we originally thought could be due no later that 7/1 (then found out it was possible she was bred later) is FINALLY in labor! She is lying down and mostly closing her eyes and concentrating. She has done a couple of small pushes. My question is, do these small pushes count as the pushing stage. Should I be concerned if there isn't a baby within an hour? Or do goats sometimes do a couple of small pushes before they get to the really serious stage?

She definitely is not pushing consistently yet.

TIA!

(back out to the barn, but I will check in here again if nothing progresses in the next half hour).

[Idahoe]

YES, definitely. You might have babies by now

You should see little hoofs and a nose after a few pushes (or, the amniotic sac). They don't have to push for hours like we do.

If you don't see presenting parts within a half an hour, you may have to go "in" with your hand and see what's up in there.

Let's hope you come back with a birth announcement instead!

[goatmama1114]

Ugh. No birth announcement. I'm not even sure she's in labor anymore

This has been so frustrating!

I'm wondering if maybe what I thought was "pushing" was actually just the doe stretching? It looked very similar to pushing (our other doe kidded on May 2nd, so we've been through this fairly recently), but since she only did it a few times and then stopped, I'm just not sure.

The doe was lying on her side, reaching her head out in front and stretching/pushing in such a way that her vulva would bulge. And she made a little grunty noise while she did it. So I thought: LABOR! But now she's just lying there, still acting a little labor-ish (yawning, closing her eyes a lot), but no more pushing or anything of the sort. I feel like she would be getting more agitated or trying harder if she was really in labor and there was just a stuck baby or something. Am I wrong?

I am really ready to be done with waiting for this goat to go into labor!

[ShyAnne]

I understand, my doe has been doing a lot of the same. She is due now through the end of the month
Mines been up and down a lot also. Still no labor.She even went off feed for 2 days, she is eating more today.
Sounds like we are in the same boat, just waiting.
I think if your doe was in actual labor you would have seen a lot of goo and more pushing.

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

Sounds like shes in labor to me. But with goats, you never know. They TRY to fool us!

Keep watching her.

[hoofinitnorth]

When is her second possible due date? If you're sure she's due, I'd do a quick exam and see what's up. That sure did sound like pushing.

[Bricheze]

When my goat has contractions it looks like she is 'pushing'. My goat went into false labour twice a month before she actually kidded! Good luck! lol