Bloody discharge -- doe due within the next 2 weeks

[sadieml]

Jaeger's babies are due sometime between now and the 10th of Feb. I'm not sure of the dates since they were stabled together until Sept 16th. ANYWAY...since Sunday, the 22nd, Tulip has had a slight bloody discharge. Mark (owner of the does) thinks the girls have miscarried, since they don't balloon-out as much as they did. I think they've "dropped" and are just getting close to time. Their ligaments are still tight, Laurabelle, the 1st freshener, is just starting to develop an udder, and has some vulval puffiness, but no discharge. Tulip is the one that worries me a little. Is a slight discharge, bloody or not, just "one of those things", like women can have near delivery, or should we be on the look-out for miscarriage? Tulip may be more likely to miscarry since this was a line-breeding (Jaeger was her son).

BTW - Even though Mark thinks miscarriage, there have been no signs of remains, and I think at this late date there would have to be a mess if they did miscarry, right?

What do you guys think, @babsbag, @OneFineAcre, @Southern by choice, @Goat Whisperer, @BlessedWithGoats ???

 

[BlessedWithGoats]

I haven't had a whole lot of experience with this, but my doe Latte had a small amount of red/pink discharge in the beginning of her first pregnancy, and had a kid. I wish I could be of more help.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I wouldn't be too concerned

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Does it smell? Has a vet looked at them?
They could have miscarried and started absorbing… or is could just be a little discharge before kidding. It being bloody would be a bit concerning, I haven't seen that in our herd.

What is the temp?

@frustratedearthmother might have some ideas.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wish I had an answer. I had one doe in all these years that I saw get slammed against post in late pregnancy. She had a bit of a bloody discharge, but only for a couple of days. She went on to deliver normally a few weeks later.

I've seen does have a discharge for weeks ahead of time...but not usually bloody. Is everything else normal with her? Temp? Appetite? If all else seems well this may just be one of those things...

 

[babsbag]

I have never had a doe with a bloody discharge but they definitely can have a discharge off and on for a few weeks or more before they freshen. Line breeding won't cause a miscarriage, I breed my kids back to their sire on a pretty regular basis. If they were to miscarry this late they would deliver a dead kid, almost fully formed. The kid could die in utero and the goat retain it but at this point if that happens you are most likely going to get a doe with a uterine infection and not just a discharge.

 

[sadieml]

Thank you all. Her discharge seems to have stopped as suddenly as it started. I figured since she's 8 or so she might just be getting some jabs in on us since this is probably her last kidding. Everything else seems fine. No fever, she's eating well and in good spirits, no bagging-up, yet, but Mark said she's done that each time she's kidded. Hopefully, I'm just nervous because these will be my 1st grand "kids". I am definitely getting a little antsy.

 

[sadieml]

Wow. It's been so long since I was online, I hardly know where to start.

Apparently, Tulip's bloody discharge was indicative of an earlier miscarriage, since her due date came and went some time ago with no kids to show for her trouble. She is doing fine, but it is sad to know our Jaeger left us no doelings. His OTHER mating, with Laurabelle, an unrelated 2-year-old 1st freshener, gave us 2 beautiful bucklings. They were born in the wee hours on Sun, Feb 12, and by afternoon on the 14th she had decided she didn't like motherhood and refused to feed them, sooo we started bottle-feeding at 3 days. I had forgotten how very small they are at birth, and these 2 were especially so at 10 and 14 ounces. I am going to change the title of this thread, and make it my way of updating all of you on our progress. Our lovely boys seem to have their father's sweet temperament and friendly, energetic personality. Janick and Viktor have taken to them quite well, which is a good thing since they are both wethers and will be companions to the 2 as they mature. I intend to leave both of these boys intact. Having only 1 intact buck leaves us no way to attempt a new mating for Tulip, who, by all accounts is a great mom and eager milker. She certainly seems to want to be milked each time we milk Laurabelle. Unfortunately, her udder never developed, and there is nothing there to milk.

I think I have finally figured out how to post some pics, since my kids never did it for me. They are from my CHEAP phone, so quality is quite lacking, but I will try to post them, anyway. Hopefully, I am through enough crises know to be able to resume spending a little of my time on here catching-up with all of you. I intend to search for postings to bring myself up-to-date on how all of you are faring. Thank you for not forgetting about me completely during my extended absences.

ps-Must give my son a ride. Pics to follow upon my return.

 

[Latestarter]

Glad to see you back and to hear you may be on more frequently. Sorry the one doe miscarried and has nothing to show. Nice to hear the other was successful. Those are very tiny babies!

 

[sadieml]

I can't quite figure out how to post the pics from my phone. I'll have to wait and ask my son.

The boys were very small, but they are growing like little weeds! They are now about 7 lbs and 9 lbs, so that's a huge change in only 5 weeks. Since they were the only kids, and we had to start bottle feeding so early, Mark was fine with us just keeping both of them. I'm really glad, 'cause it would have broken my heart to give either of them up. At 2 weeks, we had them at the farm and they chose me over their bio-mom, running right past her to get to me! I AM their Mommy, and I could NOT part with them voluntarily.