Anticipating delivery

[Janet Hughes]

This will be our first delivery of goats. We have a Mini Nubian. When we got her we knew she might be pregnant with a delivery time as September. Our sheep have delivered fine.
My question we also have her sister from this year that is about 6 months old. They have never been separated since we got them. Should we separate them now or wait until she gets closer to her due date?
The hardest part is not knowing when, even within a few days, that she might deliver.

 

[JirehFarmsTN]

I, personally would probably wait until she’s a bit closer, even though it’s hard to tell! It may cause stress on both of them to be away from each other for an extended period of time. Do you know how to check her ligaments to help determine how close to delivery she is?

This will be our first delivery of goats. We have a Mini Nubian. When we got her we knew she might be pregnant with a delivery time as September. Our sheep have delivered fine.
My question we also have her sister from this year that is about 6 months old. They have never been separated since we got them. Should we separate them now or wait until she gets closer to her due date?
The hardest part is not knowing when, even within a few days, that she might deliver

 

[Janet Hughes]

I’ve read that she will carry her tail in a less upright position. But actually check,no.

 

[JirehFarmsTN]

I’ve read that she will carry her tail in a less upright position. But actually check,no.

Yes, when she gets really close her tail will look sort of “off”!
To check the ligaments, you feel between the tail and the bone that butts up against it...I don’t recall the technical name but I want to say it’s the pin bone? 🤔 Anyways, you can feel this area on either side of the tail....I added a pic below! On a goat far from delivery or a non-pregnant goat, the ligaments will feel almost like a pencil. Not very squishy, just thick and “hard”. As she gets closer and things start to soften for delivery, the ligaments soften too. Once you can no longer feel her ligaments, you can expect kids within 24 hours or less! In our experience it’s usually within 12 hours, or less. You can even feel the ligaments on your 6 month old doe, then feel them on the pregnant doe, to help you determine how soft hers are getting 😊

 

[Alaskan]

Yes, when she gets really close her tail will look sort of “off”!
To check the ligaments, you feel between the tail and the bone that butts up against it...I don’t recall the technical name but I want to say it’s the pin bone? 🤔 Anyways, you can feel this area on either side of the tail....I added a pic below! On a goat far from delivery or a non-pregnant goat, the ligaments will feel almost like a pencil. Not very squishy, just thick and “hard”. As she gets closer and things start to soften for delivery, the ligaments soften too. Once you can no longer feel her ligaments, you can expect kids within 24 hours or less! In our experience it’s usually within 12 hours, or less. You can even feel the ligaments on your 6 month old doe, then feel them on the pregnant doe, to help you determine how soft hers are getting 😊

X2, the ligaments are such a good determination of delivery.

For my small herd I never seperated the ones about to kid, but they had lots of space, so there was no issue with crouding or bullying.

Also, I only had does, and all got along well.

My baby sis has a large herd, and she seperates them out as soon as the ligaments go soft.

 

[Janet Hughes]

Yes, when she gets really close her tail will look sort of “off”!
To check the ligaments, you feel between the tail and the bone that butts up against it...I don’t recall the technical name but I want to say it’s the pin bone? 🤔 Anyways, you can feel this area on either side of the tail....I added a pic below! On a goat far from delivery or a non-pregnant goat, the ligaments will feel almost like a pencil. Not very squishy, just thick and “hard”. As she gets closer and things start to soften for delivery, the ligaments soften too. Once you can no longer feel her ligaments, you can expect kids within 24 hours or less! In our experience it’s usually within 12 hours, or less. You can even feel the ligaments on your 6 month old doe, then feel them on the pregnant doe, to help you determine how soft hers are getting 😊

X2, the ligaments are such a good determination of delivery.

For my small herd I never seperated the ones about to kid, but they had lots of space, so there was no issue with crouding or bullying.

Also, I only had does, and all got along well.

My baby sis has a large herd, and she seperates them out as soon as the ligaments go soft.

Thank you so much. I’ll check them out in the morning at feeding time. Mama has always been very sweet and friendly. She now is “angry” doesn’t want to be handled. She was a bottle baby and I’ve read this can happen. I’m sure she will be fine!