# Is my goat pregnant?



## bellaG (Sep 4, 2010)

Hello all  I'm new to the forums.
It is currently Spring here in Australia.

I'm just wondering if maybe my female goat is pregnant? Bella is a 1 and a half year old Cashmere goat. I also bought another male goat just last October, he's a small goat, and he is now 1 year old and they have both been in the same paddock for this whole year along with the other sheep. Bella has an udder, fairly normal size, with only 2 teats, and her stomach is also bulging out a little bit to the sides. She also doesn't run much anymore, almost like her stomachs too heavy for her, she used to run when i called her over, but now she only half walks/trots over.

Although the left side of her stomach looks larger than the right, but I'm not so sure... because sometimes the right side looks bigger too. She seems to turn her head to the side of her stomach a lot too, almost like she's smelling it. She HAS got a winter coat, so I'm not so sure if it's just her coat making her stomach look large. I'm keeping an eye on her at the moment, and she isn't bloated at all either and there are no signs of diarrhea.

She never used to have an udder, but i only just noticed it the other day. My mother thinks she may be pregnant, seeming Bella has been in the same paddock with the male goat for the year and i guess they could have bred. But i just want to make sure if it's true or not, before i get all excited. Just a question, when exactly do female goats first develop an udder? Is it at a certain age? or only when they first get pregnant?

Here are some pictures of her udder and stomach, so if it's possible, could someone please determine if her udder is starting to develop with milk and if her stomach is more than just her coat, Thanks!!



























Sorry the images are so large, had trouble resizing.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

welcome :wave:

she looks to be pregnant by the looks of her udder. Some maiden does will develop an udder without pregnancy but this is uncommon. 

Does usually start an udder around 4 months into pregnancy (well a noticeable one that is, it actually starts to grow in size around the 3 month mark btu you cant really tell till much later.)

its normal for the left side to be larger -- thats where her rumen is. So after eating her left side will look larger because its full of food  but if you can feel her stomach on the right side near her udder thats where you can feel for kid movement.


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## bellaG (Sep 4, 2010)

thanks alot for the helpful info  much appreciated, i will keep an eye on her from now on. Although feeling her stomach may be a little bit difficult as she isn't as tame, she hates to be touched haha, she moves away if i try to pat her. but i'll keep an eye on her stomach to see if it gets any bigger. I'm so happy i actually never thought she would get pregnant, I've always wanted to breed her, now i can  but this is exciting. thanks again!  
:leap:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

you will need to remove your intact buck and give him a separate pen and shelter. That or get him wethered. Bucks will breed back a doe as soon as she kids (they go into heat 1 week after kidding) and this is not healthy for a young mom.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Welcome, glad you are here. 
:wave: 

What a beautiful doe you have there, and her cashmere looks to be really long.


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## bellaG (Sep 4, 2010)

Well, turns out Bella was pregnant, and in fact, she had twins!!  black and white, beautiful healthy and bright babies  I'm so proud of her. She had it earlier than i expected. Anyway, her placenta seems to be hanging out still, I'm not sure if she will eat that or if i will have to call a vet to cut it off or something? or will it fall out by itself? Anyway, thank you all for the help and advice!! I might post some pictures of her newborns sometime soon  thanks again!
:stars: :leap:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Congrats on those surprise babies!!

Do not pull the placenta...or cut it, it will expell within 24 hours of delivery...usually within the 2-3 hours after.
Remove her and her babies to a safe area away from the buck and so that she bonds with them, make sure they are eating too...colostrum within the first hour after birth is important for the kids health.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

OH I am so happy for you. Did you get bucks or Does? I agree with Liz, as I am sure you know by now that the placenta will come out on it's own, She should eat it if she does not and it is still there for long, I would gather it and throw it out. 

We need pictures. PLEASE


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

congrats!!! can't wait to see pics of baby cashmeres!


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## bellaG (Sep 4, 2010)

Yes, her placenta is gone now. There is just some dry blood on her fur but that's about it. Her kids are drinking her milk, although sometimes they have trouble finding the teats, and even when they do, they suckle for a second and then let go as if there's nothing coming out. But I'm sure everything will be okay, they are only newborns after all.

We DID have Bella in the paddock with the buck and sheep, and she was just laying in the grass, but we moved Bella and the babies into a little enclosure with a roof, and lots of hay (basically a stable) so it should be nice and warm for them there. And i agree, it will be good for her to bond with them now that they're alone, and it will also stop the buck from trying to breed with her again.

Just some questions as well, I'm having trouble finding a good type of dry mixture to feed my other goats as well, such as a mixture including malasiss, oats, any other minerals and such. I used to feed them horse feed, but stopped as i heard it's bad for them. So I'm just wondering if their is any kind of mixture in-particular i can feed them. It has to be an Australian product too. 

And also, i am wondering what age i could start to bottle feed the babies? I love bottle feeding baby goats, and some family members of mine are looking forward to it as well. But i think they're too young right now I'm not sure. But i just wanted to know, in case one of the babies struggle to feed, we could always feed them instead. 

We also don't know whether their male or female yet, is it too early to tell?

Thanks


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

horse feed isnt bad for them = I have heard mare and foal is a good feed if you cant get a good goat grain.

Yes you can tell if they are boys or girls -- look under their tail. There should be an anus hole and a vaginal hole for the girls and just an anus hole for the boys. Also the boys will have a sack between their back legs  

If you want to supplement bottle feed I start that as soon as they are born. I put a bottle in their mouth so they get use to it.


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## bellaG (Sep 4, 2010)

Yeah thanks for the help  I noticed the babies actually had some orangy/brown runny poo. But i think that was just the bowel fluids from when Bella had them in her stomach. I just hope it's not diarrhea or anything like that. Other than that, they're both really healthy and energetic  and they are starting to prance around with each other haha. I took some photos, I'll post them as soon as i can!!


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Try to get them to take a bottle as soon as you can, otherwise they might not want to do it later. Someone else needs to tell you what ought to be in the bottle, I only give mine milk from their mother.  But I try to get them to take a bottle right away. That way if for some reason she stops feeding them it isn't as hard to get them to take a bottle. The first kids I ever had after two weeks their mother stopped feeding them. It took me awhile to figure that out. They had never had a bottle. By the time I tried giving them one they were starving and took it right away, though. One of them was biting her really badly. The next time she kidded she fed her kids fine and I had to separate them to wean them. I was after her milk. Since you aren't going to milk your doe it won't matter when they get weaned. Congratulations on a great start! If your kids are does and you put them in with your buck they might get pregnant too young, so you will want to keep him away from them.

Jan


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yah just milk mom and give them some of her milk in a bottle. THats what I do when I want to supplement bottle feed. ONce they a bit older and use to the bottle you can give either cows milk or goat milk replacer


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## MaxD (Jun 7, 2021)

I know this is a reply, but I need help telling if my goat is pregnant or not.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

This is an old thread from 2010. You need to start your own thread.


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## MaxD (Jun 7, 2021)

It won't let me.


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