Dating a pregnancy

[Croenan]

Any ideas on guessing how far along a goat is in her pregnancy? (wives tales..etc. :haha: ) I have a doe who has been very noticably pregnant for 2 months now. I believe it is her first pregnancy and we didn't suspect that any one of of goats was pregnant until the day before one gave birth! Now that we know the buck was capable of impregnating my does we are watching for more.

I know that the earliest she could have been pregnant would have been thanksgiving because he was separate from the does before but that due date has since passed.

She is absolutely huge, and squeaks when she walks, eats constantly, has had loose ligaments for over a month, and her udders are huge and fairly hard. She is also very "open". When she lays down or bends funny, you can see inside her! I know that we are close, but can anyone give me any other clues about dating her?

I know all of the signs that labor will start so I am not worried about that. One thing that confuses me are the ligaments. Her tail is very loose, in other words, I can grab just about her entire tail bone, (fingers meeting) but I have been able to do that for over a month! I can still feel the V shaped ligaments when I go to feel her tail. Do the ligaments completely disappear from feeling when she is close? How long in general do goats "show" their pregnancys? (or when do they start showing?)

I have been on constant alert for her for over a month and it is getting very tiring and stressful! :haha: I really want to be there when she goes because I just have a bad feeling about this. I am sure that there will be more than one as well and her teats are slightly deformed so I just want to help if it's needed.

Sorry for the long post....any help would be appreciated!
Corrie Ann

[TexCountryWoman]

I was fortunate this year in that i knew each does due date. However, each doe bagged up slightly differently according to the individual. Some weeks in advance, some only days. Each one did have a very shiney bag near delivery. Also, they all had the "open" look you discribed near the end and some had a white discharge as much as 3-4 weeks prior to delivery. Within a day of delivery, they would have clear, stringy mucous discharges. There is generally much pawing on the ground as if to build a nest, calling out to the humans (if the doe is real attached), aggression with other does or standing off somewhere, that is, a change in the does normal interaction with the other goats. However, some old experienced goats will just pop those kids out like it's no to-do. A couple of my goats "insist" I be with them. They have never kidded without a human with them and seem to think that is the normal way of things so they are quite vocal about that wish when the time comes. The waiting makes you nuts even when you know when the kids are due! Good luck!....Diane

[Milking Mom]

Something I noticed about every single one of mine that kidded was the discharge. They had a long cream colored thick snotty looking discharge hanging and had their kids that day. Most of my does started bagging up several days before they were due, but one of my does bagged up the morning she kidded. All of them had loose ligaments that you could almost reach clean around their spine by their tail within just a few days of kidding. The pawing the ground thing like was mentioned is a sign they are ready to kid that day.

[Meg Z]

Every goat is soooo different, I don't think there is any way to look at a pregnant doe, and say,'oh, she's about three months', or four or anything! My last doe was so huge she could barely walk, was pregnant when I got her with unknown date, and I waited and worried for almost two months! The ones I have now don't look that huge, but I know they are due the first week of June. A difference in breed is confusing, too. The huge preggie one was a pygmy cross. I now have Nubians, with a longer body space to store kids in. So, they'll all look different, and you get to 'guess and by golly' the whole affair!

Best of luck to you. Wish I could help!

Meg