Hi all! We are very pregnant here on the farm and very excited! We are expecting some cute little kids. Cali, our doe, is...well...she's HUGE. We hope to have some goat kids within the month. Probably sooner rather than later.
As we are novice goat keepers we made a big rookie mistake in keeping our doe housed with our buck. We had all intentions of her getting preggo, but we don't know the conception date, so we're a little lost on the due date. *rips hair out* We know these things:
◆ goats gestate for 140-150 days
◆ we noticed a change in Cali's...*cough* width *cough*in October.
◆ Cali has begun to fill her udder with milk
◆ baby goat movement can be felt in the right side of Cali's stomach (left is less reliable because of rumen)
She is now separated from our male goat, Dexter. We give her lots of hay, warm water to drink, lots of comfy bedding, and a private stall. I check for signs of labor about three times daily. Morning, afternoon, night. Here are the things I look for:
◆ hollow areas around the flank and tail (this indicates a loosening of ligaments and such)
◆ loosening of ligaments around the tail head (usually most reliable predictor)
◆ behavioral change-more stand-offish or more affectionate than usual
◆ "talking"-mama goats do this to bond with the babies
◆ restlessness-pacing, pawing the ground, headbutting fences, nesting, getting up and down
◆ discharge or mucus leaking from the girly parts
◆ full, tight, "shiny" udder (least reliable predictor)
I have been prepping some supplies in anticipation for a goat birth! I hope to share this in another blog post! Thanks for reading!
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