# Discharge on pregnant doe



## Ariel301

One of my pregnant does has had a mucus-y-looking vaginal discharge for a couple of weeks now. The other does don't have it. She is most definitely bred, so it's not from going into heat again. It's sort of an off-white color which is yellowish when it dries, and thick and sticky...it sticks to the underside of her tail and I have to keep washing it off. It isn't a ton of goo, but it worries me. She has no other signs of illness--temperature is normal and she eats/drinks/goes to the bathroom normally. She is active and playful and seems healthy other than the discharge. We don't know exactly when this one was bred, she is probably between 2 and 4 months pregnant, when I feel her underside/right side I can feel the kid(s) in there, and the last couple of days I think I have even felt them squirming around a little.

Any ideas on what's going on? Could this be an infection? We don't have a vet around here who knows anything about goats, and it would be way too expensive right now for me to try taking her to a vet that might just send her home because they don't know what it is and give me a bill anyway--we had one do that this summer when one of my does bloated. I can give her some antibiotics at home if she needs them; I just don't want to give anything that is unnecessary. Would antibiotics be unsafe on a pregnant goat? I've got injectable penicillin and also oral nitrofurantoin and trimethoprim available if I need to give her some. I don't want to lose this girl, she's my favorite!


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## AlaskaBoers

Sounds like it could be the plug coming out, that usually happens around a month before kidding.


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## toth boer goats

If she is later in her pregnancy... the discharge sounds normal....how is her udder development?
If she has no temp... acting.... eating normal.....and the discharge doesn't have alot of blood or bad odor ....I think ...it is perfectly normal......I have had some of my does....in the later part of pregnancy ... have a messy tail....from a discharge..... keep an eye on her....if she stops eating or acts lethargic.....I would be concerned.... :wink: :greengrin: Happy kidding.... :greengrin:


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## Ariel301

Nope, no bad smell or blood. 

She has a little bit of udder formation (she's a first freshener). I guess we're looking at kid (s) in another month or so then? That's faster than I expected, wow! How exciting!


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## toth boer goats

> Nope, no bad smell or blood.


Good.... :thumbup:



> She has a little bit of udder formation (she's a first freshener). I guess we're looking at kid (s) in another month or so then? That's faster than I expected, wow! How exciting!


 Yep sounds like within the month she is going to kid.......now is a good time to give her a CD& T tetnus toxoid shot..... :wink: :greengrin: Happy kidding... :hug:


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## liz

Totally normal...I've seen that type of discharge on my girls at all stages of pregnancy and they've not been sick either.
First timers usually will start an udder at around 3-4 months of pregnancy with the most growth occurring in the last 6 weeks.


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## StaceyRosado

discharge during pregnancy is nothing to worry about - unless like stated it smells bad or is bloody.

a plug can be lost as early as a month before kidding or as late as a day before kidding. 

I would assume her to be closer to kidding then not and watch her in this next month and especially that udder. It will grow tight suddenly and you will be amazed how big it can get like over night.

Now she could still have further to go -- but being on the look out for the udder development is the best way to tell at this point.

She is more then likey 3-4 months pregnant at this time


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## Ariel301

I'll go to the feed store and get her shot then! I wasn't expecting any kids before end of January, I'll have to get the kidding stall and everything ready for her. 

This is my second time kidding (This goat was actually my first kid, born this spring) and my first time dealing with pregnant goats. We bought this doe's dam 10 days before she kidded, so we did not get to go through the whole pregnancy. Bonnie's dam's udder grew pretty much overnight; the morning of the day she kidded I remember commenting that if it got any bigger I thought it would explode!


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## StaceyRosado

oh wow then she must have gotten pregnant pretty young :worried:


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## sweetgoats

WOW so when was she born? It sounds like she was born and going to kid all in the same year. :? I would do everything you passably can to be with her. She is not big enough to really have the strength to be in labor for a while or to push for long. She is still a baby herself. Good Luck. Keep us posted.

Can you post a picture of her?


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## Ariel301

Yeah, she would have been extremely young, 2-3 months old. She was born May 5th. She and our Alpine buck kid were in together until 3 months, and apparently he was an 'early bloomer'...he was mounting everything that moved by 3 weeks old! We did not know at the time that she could get pregnant so young, and were planning on waiting until next year to breed her. So I'm a little worried for her! She's tiny, but at least she's nice and wide through the hips and has a big round body. I'm home 24/7, so I am keeping a good eye on her, I don't want her to die because she's my husband's baby! He just loves her to death, she even comes inside to watch tv with him lol. She's a sweetheart. 

Let's all hope it's a single baby and very small! We'll most likely bottle feed it so that mom can put her energy into growing up instead of making milk. And next time, the boys are getting separated from the girls earlier! 

I'll try to get a photo tomorrow. 

The discharge seems to have stopped as of today.


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## StaceyRosado

how big is her udder? are you just feeling it? because a discharge can be from a heat as well. Young does develop a bit of mamary tissue as they grow up - but it rarely shows between the legs, you can jsut feel it.


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## toth boer goats

....is there any way... you can have her preg tested.... so you know for sure? 
Vaginal discharges... can be... from being closer to kidding or can be that they are in season.... with being that young... I know pregnancy can happen....but maybe.. it actually didn't this time....... :wink: I pray it all works out either way.... :hug: ray:


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## Ariel301

I know they can get a discharge from being in heat, but she's tested and definitely pregnant. I was hoping she wasn't, believe me! Her udder is starting to get noticeable, a month ago I noticed that her teats seemed more obvious than they had before, so I was feeling down there, and it seemed like the skin around the teats was starting to get a little saggy. As of today, I can actually see that the udder is starting to drop down a little. Not much, but it is definitely there. At first I was hoping it was just developing on its own, not from pregnancy.

I have also been able to feel what felt rather like a smallish squirmy basketball inside the doelings's abdomen on the right side, low down, if I squeeze her very gently. I could not feel that today on her, but I can feel the same thing on another confirmed pregnant doe who is due the end of January. (That one is older, fortunately!) She is gaining weight like crazy and seems to be hungry all the time, so I put her into a pen by herself where she has no competition for meals and no one can accidentally hurt her, since my other does like to fight a lot. I will be assembling our kidding stall this week. 

Is there anything you would recommend feeding extra to this little girl? She gets all the alfalfa hay she can eat, plus free access to a mineral supplement and an hour or two of browsing outside every day. She's not getting any grain because she doesn't really like it anyway, and she gets some little treats of fruit or vegetables from the house whenever I go out to check on her.

I've got a friend who's a paramedic who wants some delivery practice...so he will be here for all my kiddings in case of any difficulty I need help with, but I'm hoping it goes smoothly! I can't afford a $500 vet bill--our vet charged that much just to drive to the farm a few months ago and look at a sick horse that she didn't even do anything for! I'm finding everything I can on emergency kidding procedures and printing it out and laminating it to keep in the kidding kit. I wish I knew someone with an ultrasound machine so I can see what's in there! 

Praying for a small, single girl baby out of this one!


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## StaceyRosado

Personally I wouldnt feed her extra -- I would treat her like any other pregnant goat. THe more you feed her at the end of her pregnancy the bigger the kid will get.


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## toth boer goats

I have to agree with Stacey....feed her the same....you don't want a big baby...... I am glad... you will have someone there... that will help at kidding... I will pray ...that she only has ...a little healthy girl....with no complications... ray: :hug:


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