New to goats could my Pygmy be in pre labor?

[sevlep1]

I have a doe I bought back in Feb. She is a small girl at 2 years old and even though I have been in wildlife rescue for 14 years and am well versed in animal medicine, goats are a whole new animal to me! I have never been more confused in my life. A friend who has goats came over and felt her belly and said she felt a little something (this was about 2 months ago) and she stated that you usually cannot feel anything until a doe is at least 3 months so we put her on the calendar as 3 months but now she has cloudy then clear discharge , paws a little bit , her hoo ha was swollen and puffy and is now not so swollen and is relaxed , she does the lip curl and yesterday did a soft bleat in the a.m . She has pushed up against the post a few times and heard some teeth grinding. She goes in and out of doing these things. She has a small bag formed. I have pics of everything and I was told to check ligaments but all I feel are pin bones. I can almost get my fingers around her tail. Can someone please help me in understanding if she is in fact in early labor or if this is going to be a while or if she is even pregnant? If anyone would like pics of her I can post. Thank you!!

 

[elevan]

Sounds like she's getting ready...but they can drive you crazy for a while...

Read this and you'll understand why goats are such a mystery at kidding time

 

[sevlep1]

OMG! That is her! How insane. I guess I am not the only one going nuts . I am so used to animals where the symptoms are unmistakable and you have an exact timeline. Goats are so very different. I was told to check her to see if her cervix "ripe" should I do this or just wait? Thank you!

 

[sevlep1]

After reading this thread (http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25154&p=1) I have come to the conclusion that I am now in a nightmare. My Niya is never going to kid! I was like , then I was like and now I am like

 

[elevan]

I had a very similar situation...and she kept me going for about 6 weeks!

 

[sevlep1]

Are you serious? 6 weeks?! How on earth did you deal with that?! This started on thursday night and 30 hours I got 2 hours of sleep. I am worn out and it's only day 4. JOY! lol

 

[elevan]

Yep, 6 weeks. I finally gave up and said she'd kid when she's ready and she did...after she drove me absolutely nuts.

 

[sevlep1]

I can't help but check on her and I know I over analyze everything. I wish I could find a happy medium without being obsessive.

 

[TigerLily Trail Ranch]

As a fellow pygmy person hi!

Most does of any breed know the code well lol. Each doe is different & even each kidding can be different. The same applies to ligs unfortunately. If you can catch her keep practicing. If all you feel is the pin bones your fingers are probably too far out though (move your fingers closer to the tail & go deeper). Ive never found the whole "wrap your fingers around the tail thing" to be accurate, seems like I can always do that . I have one non reg old style doe & her ligs are AWFUL to mess with . She has kidded twice & even though the 2nd time ligs were easier, meaning I could actually tell when her 24 hours to kidding was obvious, the rest of the time it was sketchy.

One thing I will tell you is READ EVERYTHING ON KIDDING YOU CAN. All of the different opinions & such are very helpful, & if you can stomach it there are also videos on YouTube, though not many pygmies, let alone true ones (no offense intended but its true. Im a firm believer in the breed standard lol). Many people say that pygmies have the hardest time kidding, but ive heard just as many stories about other breeds having trouble so unless your doe is short bodied, has a bit too much depth, is small bodied period, or was bred to a standard or really large nigi buck dont sweat it. Her age is just right BTW. My first kidding season I was fully prepared to have to dive in & fix weird positions. Yeah turns out both does were quite literally waterslides & didnt need the help I offered (last year my first NPGA doe didnt even give me a chance to move to get to her back end before she had a large doe kid out in 2 max 3 pushes head first both front legs back). Each person is different, but my policy is easy kidder or not get the kids out quickly so there is less stress on everyone involved including me . As an FYI assuming your the one kidding her out if you end up with a kid like the above, nose first, & it isnt coming out see if you can hook one leg, & dont worry about the other (neck pulling happens a lot with many pygmy breeders but isnt ideal for obvious reasons). I have a friend that bred for a good twelve years & via a vet its actually a better position because both shoulders can be just as wide both legs forward as both legs back (who knew?).

On the pre labor signs I tend to ignore almost everything except for the "wow she normally doesnt do that" stuff. The white stuff is a mucus plug & that can happen months in advance. If your positive on the due date & period thats easier to monitor. Pawing: many of my does paw before lying down pregnant or not. Being vocal, well you could just have a loud doe. Udder boom: Its happened before but also hasnt so unless you are seeing a truly booming udder dont over stress on that (a close friend only relies on udders...thats why a doe I got from her had a tiny little udder & kidded late one night totally unexpectedly lol )

So far for me the odd signs were some of the following. As a FF one doe lost her plug the day before & the morning of she was going off, wandering around by herself, was meowing lol, & at one point scratched her belly on a dead grapevine stump in the pen (she has never done that before or again & normally uses the fence). 2nd time all she did was stand in the barn hiccuping. Another doe first time round no signs what so ever except she was slow (this does carries twins & looks like she is going to have quads so I didnt think anything of it). We had company over one evening & I went in to make lemonade for everyone. 5 minutes later I get the following call: "you know Zoe is in labor right?" Me:...uh no O_O. Didnt make a peep until kid 2 was on the way. Same doe another kidding had low ligs the night before & day of stayed in the barn looking miserable. As a side note in this paragraph doe 1 gets an udder boom while number 2 has a fugly udder so it doesnt seem to be able to. Like I said everytime dont be surprised by a 180 on everything lol. Dont over stress about it either though. FYI I always do anyway but it doesnt hurt to say it .

Hope I didnt just scar you for life & that this makes sense. My bulk typing usually isnt the most well worded lol. PS Please excuse any typos. Its almost midnight here .

 

[sevlep1]

That was great information! Thank you. I feel better now and after reading this I only checked on her twice. I do not know what she was bred to and that is what worries me most. My nine year old daughter has been obsessed with goat birthing and has watched every youtube video on the subject, not to mention every other animal. All I can say in thank goodness my Niya isn't a camel According to the previous owner she had a kid last year and has no idea what buck could have bred her this year. *Joy* I just really am trying to stay on her so I can make sure everything goes smoothly. I prefer to let her do her thing but be there if I am needed. She was acting odd last night, pawing at me , which she has never done and she was laying her head in my hands. I am chalking that up to the fact that she is milking the attention like a champion. Who knew goats could be so spoiled?! I really enjoyed reading your reply and I just really don't want anything bad happening to her. Thank you for the birthing info/advise! I certainly helped me! Thanks ever so much!