Help! Is she pregnant or in heat?

[doatty]

i have a Nubian doe that I'm not sure is bred. she looks young, but her horns are about 6 inches long. not sure if you can approximate the age based off of this.

I got her about a month ago. she has a wide rib cage, but her belly is pretty low and she has some hollowed out areas towards the back (right under her spine) near the rear. she had some slight discharge about 2 weeks ago. it looked clear and it wasn't very much. she has a slight udder but i'm not sure if fat accummulation or a developing udder. I was starting to lose hope of her being pregnant. then two days ago, i noticed she's been getting louder at night. Not sure why. i figured maybe she was lonely and since there was a chance that she wasn't pregnant, i took her into my billy's pen. as i walked her in, i noticed a long string (at least a foot) of discharge hanging from behind. the billy smelled her a bit but didn't try to mount her at all and she immediately got in defense mode. she ran away from him and when he got close she would try to ram him in the head.

i took her back out and examined the string. by now the discharge was on the back side of her leg and i noticed it was a creamy white and there was a good amount. i'd say at least 3 tablespoons worth. now i'm confused. her tail bone seems to be same as in the past couple of weeks and the udder is still the same size. i've been leaving a light on at night so she is quieter.

Then this morning another string.

i went to go close up her pen for the night and new string is now there.

I don't know what to think of it.
is she in heat and should i put her with the billy goat (again)? i can't imagine the discharge would be this much for being in heat. thoughts?

or is she pregnant and how soon can she kid?

I'm so confused.

help....

This morning (12 hrs ago)

an hour ago

 

[babsbag]

I have never had a goat with a discharge like that when they are in heat; most of the time I see no discharge at all, just a change in behavior.

Myfirst guess would be that she is ready to kid, but that udder really worries me, especially for a dairy breed. The other possibility, (hope not) is that she is aborting. There is really no way to know if you have no history on when she was with a buck.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I have never had a goat with a discharge like that when they are in heat; most of the time I see no discharge at all, just a change in behavior.

Myfirst guess would be that she is ready to kid, but that udder really worries me, especially for a dairy breed. The other possibility, (hope not) is that she is aborting. There is really no way to know if you have no history on when she was with a buck.

X2. Usually they don't have discharge like that unless they are getting ready to kid. However that udder says no.

It also looks like she needs some TLC and groceries.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Breathe..


They can lose their plug up to about 6 weeks before they kid. She has plenty of time to kick that udder into gear. And if she doesn't, congrats you have a bottle baby! Not dire, just annoying.

With that much goo, she is very likely pregnant. Unless you see red/brown, she's not aborting.


In the third picture, you can see more of the teat and it looks like it's filling. I would say based on body and horns, she's at least a yearling and likely a little older. But it can be hard to tell.

Keep an eye on her, keep feeding her, and get your kidding stall ready!


BTW we all appreciate weekly if not daily photo updates....

 

[doatty]

yesterday afternoon i noticed her vulva is getting red and swollen. she's also not eating much. is this normal? should i be concerned?

also...i tried to "bump" her to see if i could feel anything and i haven't been able to feel anything move.

i've had her for a month or so now and she hasn't really grown much if she is pregnant. are there any signs that the kid could be still born? i hate thinking about it, but I can't help it.

 

[autumnprairie]

I would say she is pregnant with a single and has about 2-4 weeks could be wrong on that estimate though. I just had one miscarry and and her discharge was red tinged

 

[doatty]

Ive been checking her udder and ligs daily and today I noticed her udder is definitely growing now and her ligs a
are softer but not completely gone. Considered her udder is now noticeable compared to yesterday how much longer can it be till she kids?

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

I would guess 3 to 7 days. Keep a close eye on the udder, when it gets huge, it's a sign she is very close.

 

[SkyWarrior]

She's not that big. I'd say she's got one probably. Since you don't know when she was bred, I'm thinking maybe soon, maybe not. (That discharge seems to say very soon, but what do I know? I'm still waiting on Heidi to kid!)

Darn doe code. You'll be pulling your hair out by the end of it, I guarantee it! BTW,

 

[doatty]

Her udder is growing but not a lot. Haven't seen anymore discharge. She did head button me on my arm when I was feeling her udder today though. Is this normal? What about getting defensive after she kids?

Is she close to kidding when the udder is really big?