# Possible Labor Emergency!



## danverguy (Jan 5, 2015)

I recently posted about us getting our first goats. This evening we were out there with them and noticed the female acting funny... licking her side and it LITERALLY looks like she has alien inside of her trying to break out. It gets HUGE like a lump and pointy and we stood there for almost an hour and my fiance who is in medical school is convinced she's going to have them tonight. It's 11:00pm here, very cold and she's been up walking around, eating hay with the buck, and urinating frequently (she urinated twice in about 20 minutes). She's also been rubbing the ground with her nose (at first we thought she was eating something but it didn't seem like she was). We've seen what looks like contractions on her side in very frequent rhythms... also we believe there to be multiple babies in there because of the kicking that is in multiple places. If we sit and watch her you can see them move almost every second! She keeps turning her head toward her side. When she got up into the shelter we built she stood there for a long time and she paused and didn't move and just stood there and she's done that a couple times tonight. The buck seems to be being protective over her and finally she went in and laid down and he laid next to her. He's been putting his nose up to where they are moving. Her tail is down but her hooks and pins on her tail end are up like we read about. What worries me is that it's very cold here tonight and I don't want her to have them in the cold without us there to help warm up the babies and dry them off. In your all's experience should we stay up and watch her or are we jumping the gun? We have a brooder lamp in the barn.. should we hook it up to the shelter to be safe? Thanks for all the advice and I probably sound crazy but this is nerve racking! LOL!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

What side are you seeing the movement on? If it's the left side, that is the rumen and it churns often, and can look like kids moving if you've never had goats before. If there is a lot of movement on the right side, that is most likely kids. 
Does she have any vaginal discharge? Can you feel her ligaments? What about an udder, any development, bagged up?


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Can you post pics of her back end and udder area, with tail up?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

It is unusual to see that much kid movement right before labor. Kids typically get in position about a day in advance and then are scarily still leading up to labor.


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

Like everyone else said I would want to see pictures of her pooch and know if there's an udder yet or if she still has her ligs. It doesn't sound like she was in labor. Kids don't move like that so close to labor and contractions don't just happen on the side. When they have a contraction their whole body tenses up as they feel it. 

If she doesn't have an udder and still looks big I would get a blood test done or maybe see if you can get an ultra sound done. It's impossible to go by largeness in a doe because there are some wide does out there! I just had 2 yearlings I got ultra sounded because they were huge despite not being bred. It turned out to all just be rumen.  Movement is hard too because the rumen does move some.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with Saltylove, babies are not very active while in labor...sounds like babies are getting in position...how do her ligs look? Udder? and rear parts?? any discharge...


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## danverguy (Jan 5, 2015)

Hey everyone... so last night she went and laid down right after I posted it and went to sleep. This morning she's been up walking around and baa-ing. I'm attaching all requested pictures... wish I could have gotten a better one of the udders. They are more obvious than the picture. I noticed she was licking her side again this morning. Thanks for any advice you can give! I had a nightmare that she had them tonight (supposed to be our coldest night so far at 8 degrees!) Sigh. I look forward to hearing from everyone... onder:


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

Could you get a clearer shot of the udder area? I can't make out if her udder is dry, or if it's there, or if that's like a front back leg I'm seeing.. I just can't personally say for sure. 

I know her pooch though doesn't look like that of a doe that would be about to kid. If she is getting at her side you may want to check for lice. At this point she could in fact be pregnant, but she certainly doesn't appear like it could be that far along.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes her vulva looks no where near ready to kid.
What is she getting to develop that beautiful, shiny coat?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree.

At times, the kids will move around a lot and you will see the kids hoof or head trying to poke out. This is normal but doesn't indicate kidding.
If she was in labor, they would be working their way to the birth canal and her sides won't be as big, it will almost look like she doesn't look preggo from looking at her from behind.

She is still up on her sides and as mentioned doesn't look ready.

The doe will pay attention to her sides, if the kids are tickling or putting pressure where it is uncomfortable for her.


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## danverguy (Jan 5, 2015)

Here's a couple more photos that I got. Hope it helps! I checked for lice when we got them but we didn't see anything. I really hope she doesn't have those! :mecry:I'll try to get some better ones of the utters... they seem a lot more visible today than yesterday. She's also been raising her top lip a lot and cocking her head up sideways and looking at the sky some. She's spent most of the day laying against the fence by the buck soaking up sun rays. LOL:shades:


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree...she has some time..what you are seeing is alot of prelabor stuff..or early labor...they can do this for a while...drives us nuts!!! She is absolutly beautiful!!

On another note...I would remove the buck from her pen...he can get mixed messages from her hormone changes and could think she is in heat...trying to breed could hurt her...also mom needs alone time with new babies to bond when her time comes...


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## danverguy (Jan 5, 2015)

How long do you think it could be? Are we talking hours, a day, a few days, or weeks? Haha thanks! I'll try to put a pen separator in there and get them separated. I've noticed him sniffing her down there and sometimes they buck each other and I have to get onto them.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Judging by the minimal udder development, I'd say at least 2 more months, if not 3. Has she kidded before?


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## danverguy (Jan 5, 2015)

Thanks for the response! Apparently she's had 1 kid before... last year.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Ok, so the udder development she has right now is from when she was milking last year, and she's just dry now. So you probably have 2.5-3 months to go then.


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