Goat pooch and pregnancy questions

[Christian0617]

So I know that I have a pregnant doe because I did a pregnancy test and it turned out positive plus I try to pay attention to my goats but I’m just a little confused I’m pretty new at this goat stuff I’ve only had them since July so she is a mini Nubian she is pretty small for being pregnant so I’m guessing one kid cause she’s never been pregnant before anyway I’m trying to figure out about when she might kid I can’t feel her pin bones anymore I can grab around where her tail begins and wrap my fingers around and they touch so she has to be close right? But in the pic of her vulva is it normal for it to look like this it’s quite puffier than it looks in the photos and the other pics were taken a few weeks ago she’s also shown signs of stretching pawing and restlessness such as she can’t ever decide if she wants to get up or lay down and she keeps trying to get comfortable when laying down but it’s almost like she can’t
Does her vulva look ready to give birth???

 

[Mini Horses]

If mine, I'd say she had a while to go. Yes they are uncomfortable in late pregnancy. Kids take up room and other organs move around to accommodate. . She should have some bag forming. I watch that as much as anything on mine.

Was she bred when you got her? Or not until you put them together?

 

[Christian0617]

If mine, I'd say she had a while to go. Yes they are uncomfortable in late pregnancy. Kids take up room and other organs move around to accommodate. . She should have some bag forming. I watch that as much as anything on mine.

Was she bred when you got her? Or not until you put them together?

 

[Christian0617]

I bought them as a breeding pair but she was not bred yet but I did put them together and they have been together since I got them and they’ve been fine together but I just don’t know when she was bred I had just thought she would be close since I can no longer feel pin bones they just like disappeared and I also thought she was close because of swelling of the vulva but like I said I’m new at this so you probably will know more about it than I do

 

[Mini Horses]

So typically, while Nubians "can" sometimes breed yr round, as can/do the ND which is 50% of her make up, they still tend to be most active closer to seasonal breeder times.

The buck would encourage her to cycle, so most likely they bred 2-5 weeks after meeting. If early July I'd guess 4-7 weeks -- assuming you're in a hot July area. There ya go!! It will get here when she's ready.

If no bag development, she's just not within 6 wks. This is a generalized expectation of kidding. While there are exceptions, they are few. Check the udder.

ETA:. If she were kidding ready, waaay more swelling and mucus hanging out. Please remove buck if she's bagged and switch swollen, elongated vulva. Not seeing that in pics

 

[Christian0617]

So typically, while Nubians "can" sometimes breed yr round, as can/do the ND which is 50% of her make up, they still tend to be most active closer to seasonal breeder times.

The buck would encourage her to cycle, so most likely they bred 2-5 weeks after meeting. If early July I'd guess 4-7 weeks -- assuming you're in a hot July area. There ya go!! It will get here when she's ready.

If no bag development, she's just not within 6 wks. This is a generalized expectation of kidding. While there are exceptions, they are few. Check the udder.

Thank you that helps sorry I do have one more question so that picture is from dec 15th but since then her udders have gotten a bit bigger but is it typical for first time does udders to stay close to her belly or will the expand and come down farther because I feel her udders every week or so after the beginning of Dec to check and see how they are developing but they are still about 2- 21/2 inches from her belly will this effect the kid nursing when she gives birth

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Poochy girly parts have never been much of an indicator for my goats - except for getting puffy. As @Mini Horses pointed out - your doe doesn't seem to have any udder development yet. That's a pretty good indicator that she's not really close. Sure - "some" does don't do a lot of bagging up ahead of time, but that's the exception more so than the rule. In many, many years of raising goats (25+) and having anywhere from 10 - 30 does kid a year I've only had ONE doe that didn't bag up before kidding. So, udders are a pretty good indicator.

When you do the butt squeeze, you are feeling for ligaments - not pin bones. If she loses her pin bones she will be in a heck of a mess. It's the ligaments loosening up that allows her pelvis to expand to pass the kid. It's the surest indicator of impending birth in my experience.

This video gives a really good explanation of where and how to feel for the ligaments. Before softening they are almost as hard as bone and about the size of a pencil.

Good luck with her and please let us know about her progress and how it all works out. We love pictures too!

 

[Christian0617]

Poochy girly parts have never been much of an indicator for my goats - except for getting puffy. As @Mini Horses pointed out - your doe doesn't seem to have any udder development yet. That's a pretty good indicator that she's not really close. Sure - "some" does don't do a lot of bagging up ahead of time, but that's the exception more so than the rule. In many, many years of raising goats (25+) and having anywhere from 10 - 30 does kid a year I've only had ONE doe that didn't bag up before kidding. So, udders are a pretty good indicator.

When you do the butt squeeze, you are feeling for ligaments - not pin bones. If she loses her pin bones she will be in a heck of a mess. It's the ligaments loosening up that allows her pelvis to expand to pass the kid. It's the surest indicator of impending birth in my experience.

This video gives a really good explanation of where and how to feel for the ligaments. Before softening they are almost as hard as bone and about the size of a pencil.

Good luck with her and please let us know about her progress and how it all works out. We love pictures too!

Will do thank you I’m new at goats so I didn’t know they were ligaments lol the udder picture was from Dec 15th since then she has grown more in the udder area so she is probably getting there I will try to remember to post pictures thank you again I’m so uneducated in goat’s I’ve been doing lots of research on them but I’m sure I’ll get better with a few years of practice and experience this is only my first time owning goats I got them back in July so it hasn’t even been a year yet and I absolutely love them

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We all had to start somewhere, lol. It's great that you are asking questions and trying to learn. You'll be a great goat mommy!

 

[Mini Horses]

@frustratedearthmother is correct and experienced. You are probably looking at late Jan to early Feb, or so, IMO....in line with an Aug breeding.

Keep checking forum as birthing questions get pretty heavy this time of yr. You'll learn a lot. FEM probably has 20 kidding in Jan/Feb....I have about 20 in Feb and 10 more in Mar. Plus, we want pics of these kids.

Its that time of year.