Boers vs. Dairy Preggo Belly

[CarolynRenee]

In my preggo-goat-watch lately, I think I've noticed that my Boer gals are heavier UNDER than on the sides like my dairy gals.

Has any one else noticed this?

This is the first year my Boers are pregnant so I'm not familiar with their body conformation yet.

[Frosted Mini's]

I don't have boers, but from a conformation standpoint, that would make sense. In a dairy goat, you want wide spaced, well-sprung ribs, which to me might indicate that they would spread out to the sides better. In a meat goat, close rib spacing and ribs that point down are a good thing (I assume, since it's a bad thing for dairy)...so then they would have to put those babies somewhere other than their sides.

[Ford Zoo]

In my limited experience, I've found that it really depends on the goat and the number of kids they are carrying. For all my larger breeds, the first sign of a pregnant belly is usually one that grows lower before it widens. But my kiko and boer does have been much better at hiding a decent sized kid than the narrower dairy breeds that I have. It will be interesting to see what others have seen in their herds.

[CraterCove]

My Saanens don't show as pregnant hardly at all. They have such long torsos is the reason they don't seem to show. They get 'puffy' from eating and having full rumens but Jane had a large doe last year and I was beginning to think she wasn't pregnant at all. But my brush goat mix looks like she swallowed two beach balls!