I think my Doe is pregnant

[goatdude95]

So yesterday i added my 5th pygmy goat to my little herd she is a year old and the breeder (guy i buy all my pygmies from) said he is almost 100% she is pregnant and i also think she is she has a pretty big belly not one that looks like it is about to bust but pretty big she also looks like her milk sac is forming a little bit does she sound pregnant to you? he said if she is she looks to have 2 months left but idk. also some tips on birthing and what i need to know and do if i have to help her

 

[Roll farms]

2 mos. to go is kind of early to be positive....I've had does wait until the day they kid to make milk, others bag up a month or more in advance.

Keep an eye on her udder, and feel the tail ligaments on her and some does who AREN'T bred.... hers will start feeling softer as she gets closer to kidding time. The day or so before she kids, they will just about disappear, they get so soft.

Her udder will (should) go from 'firm' to 'basketball tight'.

Goo will leak out of her 'twee twee'...when you see a white or pink rope, you KNOW it's close. A little bit here and there doesn't mean much, but a LOT means babies are a comin'.

If she pushes more than an hour w/no kids, you will need help from an experienced breeder or vet.

Keep clean towels and iodine on hand when it gets close...Help her dry the babies (but let her HELP, so she bonds w/ them) Dip the kid's cords in iodine at birth (I do it every couple of hours for the first day, but I'm obsessive about navel ill) and you might want to talk to your vet to see if you're in a low-selenium area, if she / the kids will need Bo Se shots to prevent weak legs / white muscle disease.
MAKE SURE she's going to let the kids nurse. If not, have bottles and nipples on hand, milk her colostrum, and feed them w/in 2-4 hrs of birth.
I would think 2 oz or so of her colostrum per pygmy kid would be a good start for the first feeding.

(I don't deal much w/ tiny kids, some of my monster babies can drink 8 oz at birth...someone else w/ pygmy kid may chime in w/ better advice.)

She should pass the placenta w/in 10 hrs of birth. If you're positive she hasn't passed it by the next day, call a vet.

Good luck!

 

[ksalvagno]

Does it matter if the towels are "scented" or not? I have to use scent free detergent for my towels for the alpacas. Any different smell on the cria and they will reject their cria.

A friend of mine named a cria Downy Victoria because she used a towel that had Downy fabric softener on it and the dam completely rejected her due to the cria smelling strange. Luckily that was a lesson I didn't have to learn from my own experience.

 

[lilhill]

No, it doesn't matter if the towels are scented. All of mine are washed with scented fabric softner and the does don't mind. They probably enjoy the scent. Seriously, never had a problem using "scented" towels.

 

[Roll farms]

I bottle raise all our kids, so I'd never given that any thought....