Labor Signs

[SeaGoat]

I threw my calendar away from last year without even thinking so my goats bred date is a mystery.


She is loosing her mucus plug, her udder has been filling for a few weeks now with a decent increase these past couple days.
This morning I could have sworn I saw her having contractions, I guess maybe early contractions,but her ligs are still hard.

Shes making some unusual bleats today as well.

But I did notice her kid(s) moving, a lot just a few minutes ago. She looks as though she is dropping though.

I cant remember where I read it but I saw if the kids move there will be no delivery for at least 'X' amount of hours..

Anyone know what Im talking about?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Haven't heard that one.

[mygoat]

I've had kids move in labor. With multiples, some kids are still pretty high up and visible. I think Fiasco Farm has that tidbit, but I'm not sure.

[marusempai]

Speaking of labor signs (and if I can insert a random question), do the tail ligaments become more obvious before they disappear? Because my girls are over month out and I can't find anything that feels like a ligament back there. They are very annoyed at me. Maybe it will be more obvious once I give them a haircut?

[SeaGoat]

They, imo, arent really noticeable. Youll know when they are gone though.
I can usually tell from across the yard if they are gone because the area looks awkwardly raised..

[SeaGoat]

Originally Posted by mygoat

I've had kids move in labor. With multiples, some kids are still pretty high up and visible. I think Fiasco Farm has that tidbit, but I'm not sure.

I think youre right about it being Fiasco Farms..

[mygoat]

I find that they change drastically the last few days before kidding, starting about a week or two before kidding - but they are still present. I call it shifting. I've never had them disappear for very long before labor. They are important structural ligaments, so in most cases they will not 'go away' for very long. If you're seeing it in several animals, I"m going to guess they shifted and different conformation or even body weight can make them easier/harder to find.

[punchiepal]

At first I couldn't find them at all. LOL Thought the goat was gonna butt me if I touched her one more time back there. Finally, I found them. A little more back and lower than what I thought. Felt like rolling a pencil under your fingertips.

[Clovers_Clan]

Just an observation about the ligaments. On my steeper rumped goats, the ligaments loosen earlier(days to weeks) and disappear completely. The extension seems to be the tail head raising up. My level rumped doe stays pretty taught up until the last few hours. Her pelvis widens more but the tail head doesn't rise as much. On a side note: ligaments loosen and tighten as the pelvis opens up. So it can be hard to tell, unless they are ABSOLUTELY gone. The best way to tell she's getting within a few days to hours is watching for all three major signs: ligaments, drop/hollowing out and udder fulness.

[punchiepal]

I have had a couple of does that didn't get an udder until they were IN active labor or after delivery too though.

Another thing I have noted is that most does back legs seem to get pretty straight looking right before they go into labor though.

Combine everything (all the signs) together and we haven't really missed any births since our first year.

[marusempai]

Hm, it's not that I think that they've gone away already, but that I can't seem to find them in the first place... hopefully when they are "gone" it will be really obvious and I will figure it out. I have time!

[SeaGoat]

Originally Posted by marusempai

Hm, it's not that I think that they've gone away already, but that I can't seem to find them in the first place... hopefully when they are "gone" it will be really obvious and I will figure it out. I have time!

If you have a general idea on what the area feels like around the tail bone youll definitely be able to tell when they are gone.

[marusempai]

Oh good! I am in good shape then, because looking so hard for those ligaments has given me a very good idea of what a goat's back end feels like. The things we go through!