I need some advice...

HaleyBugs · #1 12/31/12, 01:37 PM

So I've had goats on and off my whole life. It was usually when somebody bought a goat for their friend as a joke, and then it ended up at my house. I just started getting serious about them recently and I bought a boer pygmy cross doe who was bred to a boer buck. It will be her first kidding, so I am prepared to help pull, or call the vet out if I have to. The lady said she isn't due until Feb/March but she wasn't exactly sure because she got her from a friend who bred her. I have been trying to get a hold of her to find out a general estimation of the breeding date because I think she is due like, NOW, but no response. There is no way she can keep those babies in there until February let alone March!

So last night I went outside to put my goats up, they were all in the hay loft jumping on the hay bales. I grabbed Ludo, and Kansas (the pregnant one) usually follows right behind me and goes in the stall with no problems. She stayed up in the loft while everybody else followed me in. I went back up to get her and she was sitting like a dog, eating hay, looking very uncomfortable. I immediately thought she was sick but she looked healthy as could be, but that baby was kicking and kicking like crazy. She waddled slowly down the stairs, laid down at the bottom, then go up and walked more and laid down again. I sat in the stall and watched her for a good 20 minutes to see if I could figure anything out. She was up and down, sitting, rubbing up against the walls of the stall, up and down again, breathing heavily, grinding her teeth, yawning, nesting, and extremely uncomfortable. Her udder looks like its filling, and her stomach has dropped. No discharge or swelling of her vulva, but her tail keeps going up and down. She looked a lot better this morning, but no babies. Shes still massive, and uncomfortable, but not as bad as last night.

So do you guys think she could be starting labor? Or maybe the kids were getting in position? This is my first time with goat babies!

madrona · #2 12/31/12, 01:43 PM

Quote:

So I've had goats on and off my whole life. It was usually when somebody bought a goat for their friend as a joke, and then it ended up at my house.

Oh my god please tell me you're not serious. Who buys a goat as a joke?

Sorry I don't have any advice about labor, I just couldn't not ask about the above.

HaleyBugs · #3 12/31/12, 01:53 PM

My cousin once bought her friend a goat for his birthday as a joke. They got him at an auction and he was all skinny and sick. Basically, put him in a box and then played with him for a few hours. Then they called me and asked if we had room. Oh! Of course we have room!

madrona · #4 12/31/12, 01:55 PM

Quote:

My cousin once bought her friend a goat for his birthday as a joke. They got him at an auction and he was all skinny and sick. Basically, put him in a box and then played with him for a few hours.

That is seriously cruel and one of the most messed up things I've ever read.

andabigmac · #5 12/31/12, 02:21 PM

One good indication of kidding soon is losing their ligaments. Here is a video on how to check them.

She says in the video that the goat will be in labor when she loses her ligaments but I've had them lose them a week ahead of time. Then they'll come back, then leave. Now would be the time to watch this video

.

It's hard with a goat that you're going through this with for the first time. Every goat shows different signs. Some bag up ahead of time. Some wait until they've kidded. Some goo for a week and some don't really goo until there's nose and toes poking out. I would suggest having your kidding equipment ready. There's a sticky with a good list at the top of the forum. If you post pictures of her hind end sometimes the experts here can tell pretty well. Good Luck!

Goat Servant · #6 12/31/12, 02:31 PM

Hey you guys the OP is asking for help not criticism on how they came to own it.

Minelson · #7 12/31/12, 02:38 PM

It sounds like she was in labor last night with the up & down, teeth grinding etc but she would have had them by now if that were the case.
I am concerned that she is 1/2 pygmy and bred to full size Boer buck. She could have one big one in there and it's causing trouble. Since she was grinding her teeth I would call the vet.

Alice In TX/MO · #8 12/31/12, 05:01 PM

Very likely her kid/kids are stuck, and she is in distress. She may die if you don't get her help.

Zilli · #9 12/31/12, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minelson

It sounds like she was in labor last night with the up & down, teeth grinding etc but she would have had them by now if that were the case.
I am concerned that she is 1/2 pygmy and bred to full size Boer buck. She could have one big one in there and it's causing trouble. Since she was grinding her teeth I would call the vet.

Agreed.

A big red flag went up when I saw that she's half pygmy and bred to a Boer. And not having an accurate due date, or really even an approximate one, is not good, either.

I hope everything goes well for the doe and for the OP. It's hard enough to deal with a kidding crisis when you've been at the goat thing for a while but it would really bite if the OP's first kidding experience is a bad one.

Fingers crossed.

Backfourty,MI. · #10 12/31/12, 05:16 PM

I agree that it sounded like labor to me too. All the getting up & down, rubbing her sides & the teeth grinding sounds like she's due now & needs help.
Lube up & see if you can get in & feel babies. if the cervix is closed than maybe it's still too early but since your not really sure when she was bred & it's so hard over the internet to see exactly what's going on with her I would have a vet look at her to make sure everything is going OK. Otherwise like Alice said if those babies are malpresented or tangled up you most likely will loose the doe & the babies.

Goat Servant · #11 12/31/12, 05:47 PM

Even during normal labor a doe might grind her teeth a little but not hard or real often, but with her getting up & down like that it does sound like she's ready.
Have you checked internally yet?
Vet might not be available leave it to durn goat to do this its almost new years.
We'll walk you through just holler.

motdaugrnds · #12 12/31/12, 06:11 PM

I would immediately call a vet. I suspect a large kid and some blockage that she is trying to deal with on her on with the rubbing and movements. She will probably need more help than you can give.

Goat Servant · #13 12/31/12, 07:58 PM

HaleyBugs, any progress? Please keep us updated as you are able.

Oat Bucket Farm · #14 01/01/13, 12:19 AM

Given that she is half pygmy bred to a full sized Boer buck and it sounds like she was in labor, I would call the vet out or at least lube up and see if I could feel what was going on in there. Even if there is more than one in there, they could both be too big to pass or so big there isn't enough room for them to get into position.

CJBegins · #15 01/01/13, 01:54 AM

Hoping everything turned out okay for HaleyBugs and her goat Momma.

The Tin Mom · #16 01/01/13, 10:20 AM

I am concerned, too. Any word, Haleybugs? Praying here for your girl and you!

Oat Bucket Farm · #17 01/01/13, 10:31 AM

Starting to worry now....

Alice In TX/MO · #18 01/01/13, 10:32 AM

She hasn't been online since yesterday afternoon.

anita_fc · #19 01/01/13, 10:50 AM

I speak from experience when saying the OP's absence could be good OR bad. Five years ago, my first experience was bad-- in terms of the does needing help and me not having a clue what I was feeling. Both turned out okay, one via c-section and one successfully pulled by my more experienced hubs. The adrenalin rush kept me tied to the barn for hours! But so did the one I lost a couple years ago.

Anita from Idaho
Dan-Ani Pygmy Goats
www.gndt.net/dan-ani

mahnah · #20 01/01/13, 11:15 AM

Hope everything is ok lots of prayers