It is that time of year again. I have been following other bloggers adventures in goat babysitting this season and have read of their struggles and good times. I have 4 female nubians (doe) pregnant right now (all unplanned as my husband left the gate open...) Based upon calculations, I have at least 8 babies coming. One of my does delivered 4 (yes!) in her first pregnancy. Why is that odd? because all 4 were bucklings (unheard of!) To make it more interesting, she is a triplet herself and one of her sisters is pregnant for her first time.
I have a doe that will be in pregnancy #3. She is set to deliver, one year, almost to the day of her last pregnancy. She is my wild card. Her first pregnancy, she delivered 7 days past her due date and the babies were not viable. In her second pregnancy, she delivered on time. SO, I have no genuine idea of when to expect her babies other than constant monitoring.
I want to offer some key things to look for during the last two weeks of pregnancy. I have been doing this for a few years now and the signs and symptoms are the same. I will post pictures of the girls so that you can see how things develop over the next 10 or so days.
 |
| February 2016 Babies Coming!!!! |
Many people will say that you can't tell if a goat is pregnant just by looking at her but I disagree. There are prominent indicators and I plan to offer these to you. The key is to pay attention to the timing of everything. Goats deliver pretty close to 145-155 days from time of insemination. If you know the exact time of when your doe became pregnant, mark a calendar and count out 150 days. I usually highlight when I think the time will be on my Farmers Almanac calendar in a marker.
First and foremost - they have what I call saddlebags. Some people refer to this as the goat has sunken sides. You can see that they appear pregnant. For most of the pregnancy, your goat will look like she is carrying her babies up high in her abdomen. However, right before birth, they kids will drop and the top of her sides will appear “hollowed out” instead of full like before.
 |
| Praline is carrying very low right now. Her saddlebags are large and pronounced. |
 |
| Here, you can see the Claire is wide - she has the appearance of saddlebags. She is my doe that delivered 4 bucklings! |
 |
| In this picture, you can see a mucus stream from her back area. This means that delivery is coming. It could be hours or in this case, a few days. Her stream is thin and not thick. She isn't presenting that pregnancy is imminent...yet. |
These are some photos of my herd that isn't pregnant so that you have them for comparison...
 |
| No saddlebags or wide area on Shay. |
 |
| Another view of Shay showing that she is slender when comparing her to Praline or Claire. Her buddy Butterscotch decided to photo bomb this shot! |
 |
| Long body view of NutMeg. You can see she is not pregnant in comparison of the other females. |
Next, check their udder sac. Pregnant does drop the udders and the sac starts to fill. This isn't as reliable for goats that have delivered before. First time goats also do not always drop or fill out until after kidding has happened. My goats show their udder sacs filling as pregnancy progresses, but their udders (usually) don’t get full and tight until after they’ve kidded and their milk comes in. I’ve heard some people say that the udder will become big and shiny right before kidding. I haven't experienced this yet.
Here is a picture of one doe that isn't pregnant. Her udders are high and her sac is not full.
Other indicators are mood changes. My girls love attention all the time. Mood changes such as isolation, not wanting attention, and general "grumpiness" can be triggers the time for delivery is near. Some goats go into the total "lovey dovey" mode. As a goat begins to go into labor, she’ll just act “different.” She might act restless and repeatedly try laying down, only to get right back up.
If you know your goat’s personality, you might notice that she just isn’t acting like herself.
Perhaps she’s friendlier than normal, or even more offstandish. If isolation is happening, the soon-to-be momma is looking for a safe and quiet place to deliver. We have birthing areas set up for each delivery as we are involved in the labor and like to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. We keep the goats inside in winter until they are ready to go out and mingle with the herd. We realize not everyone has the facilities to do this but a clean birthing area is a must.
I have noticed with my girls that right before they deliver, they get the endorphine rush which gives them a far off gaze. Basically, their body just prepared them with its version of an epidural to relieve some of the pain of labor. Sometimes their eyes seem to almost “glaze over” and they get sort of a faraway look.
Another sign is to do what we call the "who-haa!" test. This refers to checking the area of the doe's vulva and anus to see a shape change. Lift up the tail to check. It does help if you've checked either pre-pregnancy or in the first month, so that you know what looks "normal" and have a comparison image (yes, do take a smartphone picture to help you). About two to three months after conception, check this area again. If the doe is pregnant, the anus will drop away from the tail area and the vulva will appear longer, like a teardrop. However, as with looking at the goat's belly size, this is subjective and based on good observation skills.
 |
| In this picture you can see not only the mucus stream, but that Praline's vulva and anus large and elongated. |
 |
| This is an image of a non-pregnant goat and her vulva/anus area. Short and tight. Does not appear relaxed. |
 |
| A measure that indicates delivery is coming soon is one that requires you to do the "pinch the tail" method. This will help you determine if she is "loose or still tight". When labor isn't far off, the ligaments located near the tail become soft. You will know when to start checking this regularly as the female arches her back often (moving the baby around to feel better) and her tail remains raised as shown here. This is the sign that I monitor frequently. Goats have two cord-like ligaments that run along either side of the very rear portion of their spine towards their tail. Most of the time, these ligaments are firm and feel just a bit smaller than the diameter of your little finger. As kidding time becomes closer, these ligaments start to become soft and usually in the day or so before birth, they will disappear altogether.     When we are about a month out from the projected kidding date, I try to check these ligaments daily when I’m in the barn doing chores. It’s very helpful to know what “normal” ligaments feel like, so you can tell when they begin to change. You can check the ligaments by slowly running your thumb and forefinger along either side of the goat’s spine towards the tail. Another thing to look for is that the whole top portion of the goat’s hindquarters will start to soften as well. The way to determine this is to see if you can pinch your fingers together and reach completely around the goat’s tail. If you can do this without effort, kidding time is getting closer! Some other signs that aren't as common are pawing, where the goat paws as if scratching the ground like a dog does when it buries a bone. She is likely looking to start creating the area that she has chosen to deliver her babies. She is setting up her nesting area.She may also "cull" the babies by constantly grooming the side that they are prevalent on. This, too, is like a dog that is grooming itself. Basically, the goat licks, chews, or pulls in the same area over and over again. Some of my goats even "talk" to the baby during this stage.
One thing that I don't have a picture of is the lip curling. This is called the Flehman reaction. The goat will show you all of her pearly whites and may grind her teeth as a follow-up. This is a key identifier as Goats don't normally grind their teeth unless they are in pain. This is a sure sign labor is NOW!
In the next post, I will offer the checklist that I have for preparing for goat labor and delivery.
Here is a great checklist provided by The Crazy Goat Lady. Her list is everything that I have summarized above.
|
These signs are in no particular order:
|
No comments:
Post a Comment