# The waiting game....



## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Hello fellow goat lovers, so long story short. I got two beautiful bred does before christmas. They were with the buck the whole time so the lady is unsure when they are due to kid. Anywho ive been watching the smallest one for the last month thinking it was almost time her ligaments were softening and her udder seemed to be tightening but still nothing. Yesterday i noticed her teets seem to be bigger and this morning she let me squeeze them and milk came out. I will attach some pictures of what shes looking like. Im still pretty new to this but her last kid got stuck and passed and i want to avoid that happening again.


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## Firsttimegoatmom2018 (Feb 8, 2018)

Yay, praying for safe and healthy delivery


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## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

Awww, what a cutie! Good luck!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

She is cute.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

What are y'alls opinions? Does she look close? Im not sure how long after their milk comes in they have left to kid.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Unfortunately there is no way to guess. When two front hooves and a nose appear - she is close!

Watch for behavior changes and kicking the other goat out of the shelter or going off by herself.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

SalteyLove said:


> Unfortunately there is no way to guess. When two front hooves and a nose appear - she is close!
> 
> Watch for behavior changes and kicking the other goat out of the shelter or going off by herself.


The anticipation is no fun. I will post pictures whenever she does decide to kid....im hoping for a beautiful baby or babies. The sire is a handsome little thing.


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## Treva Brodt (Jan 11, 2019)

SalteyLove said:


> When two front hooves and a nose appear - she is close!


Bought two does that I wasn't sure when they were bred and that's sort of how I found out. We made the sorry mistake of letting a very petite Pygmy get too fat before due date. Had the vet out to check a prolapsed rectum. She checked her cervix while she was there and it was still closed. Vet said there would be no babies for at least 3 days, maybe a week. I was instructed to manage her feed and only give hay by the handfuls due to excessive bulk. So, I was making four or five trips a day to check on her and discovered just that on day 6 after having her checked. I shooed her back into her house and gave a little assist with her first fat baby. Second one was born without any help while I ran back to the house for my birthing supplies. My doe's "Sister Wife" is due soon. I need to learn about checking ligaments. Hubs is a third generation cattle farmer and he calls that springing. I don't get what he is seeing????


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Awww is she a little Pygmy or does she have some Nigi in her too?


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

MadCatX said:


> Awww is she a little Pygmy or does she have some Nigi in her too?


I was told she was a Nigerian but she is tiny. I also have two other goats not related to her that are Nigerian and also very small so maybe i just hit the jack pot for cute small goats? Lol


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Treva Brodt said:


> Bought two does that I wasn't sure when they were bred and that's sort of how I found out. We made the sorry mistake of letting a very petite Pygmy get too fat before due date. Had the vet out to check a prolapsed rectum. She checked her cervix while she was there and it was still closed. Vet said there would be no babies for at least 3 days, maybe a week. I was instructed to manage her feed and only give hay by the handfuls due to excessive bulk. So, I was making four or five trips a day to check on her and discovered just that on day 6 after having her checked. I shooed her back into her house and gave a little assist with her first fat baby. Second one was born without any help while I ran back to the house for my birthing supplies. My doe's "Sister Wife" is due soon. I need to learn about checking ligaments. Hubs is a third generation cattle farmer and he calls that springing. I don't get what he is seeing????


If you watch a video on how to check goat ligaments it might be easier then me explaining. If you take your thumb and pointer finger and go down her spine to the base of the tail you should feel two pencil like ligaments that V out to her bottom. Pretty much its a v shape if the point was at her tail your going to V out to her bottom. If you feel the "pencils" she isnt close if its mushy and you can wrap your fingsrs around her tail then she is close to kidding. Id say within 12-24 hours. It takes a while to get that figured out and its much easier to watch someone.


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Well she is a cute one, Bonnie is a pygmy runt, so she's pretty small, short little legs lol.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

MadCatX said:


> Well she is a cute one, Bonnie is a pygmy runt, so she's pretty small, short little legs lol.


Thank you. I've definitely fallen in love with her she is absolutely my favorite. I cant wait to see what her babies look like.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Well guys/gals I am still waiting on some baby goats! It is no fun not having a due date. I need to make sure I have my dates down for my own girls i bred so I dont have to do the guessing game again.


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

it's ok she'll get there


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Update if this even is an update. I went and checked heather just now and fed the goats(we slept in...) i noticed some discharge and when she peed it was a little stringy. I took some pictures to see what you guys think. Ligaments dont seem to have changed but im not a pro i still think i can feel a tiny bit.


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## Firsttimegoatmom2018 (Feb 8, 2018)

In the same boat. Very low ligs, if any. Looks even skinnier today then last night. Spent most the night with heavier contractions. Bag is lower today then up tight to her belly like it has been. And had alot more discharge last night, more milky and stringy. Although I'm ok with her having them this weekend because it will be much nicer.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Firsttimegoatmom2018 said:


> In the same boat. Very low ligs, if any. Looks even skinnier today then last night. Spent most the night with heavier contractions. Bag is lower today then up tight to her belly like it has been. And had alot more discharge last night, more milky and stringy. Although I'm ok with her having them this weekend because it will be much nicer.


Same here this weekend is suppose to be in the 30s compared to negatives so this would be a perfect time for our goats to kid! Im just hoping that it is prelabor dicharge and im not crazy!


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## Firsttimegoatmom2018 (Feb 8, 2018)

Lol, thankfully it's going to be in the 60s and only 40 at night!! I can get some sleep


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Firsttimegoatmom2018 said:


> Lol, thankfully it's going to be in the 60s and only 40 at night!! I can get some sleep


Lucky....i could use some 60 degree weather.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Here it comes


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Dwarf Dad said:


> View attachment 145433
> Here it comes


Your really pushing buttons here! Lol


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Megpie said:


> Your really pushing buttons here! Lol


I did the best I could.lol


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Dwarf Dad said:


> View attachment 145433
> Here it comes


looks like your weather is a lot like mine. I'd gladly send some of the heat and all the rain north I don't want it yet. For the first time in 3 months my driveway is dry and I want to enjoy it for awhile...but no it's going to rain again. I'm so sick of mud!


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Update! Still nothing.....and its super rainy/freezing out. She actually let me rub on her belly today and feel her baby move. I took pictures to compare. She has like no ligaments left but still no signs!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How frustrating.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Update!!!!!!!! 45 min ago went to put the goats away. Heard a not so familair yell from heather. Baby number one was giving mama a hard time so I had to assist. Baby number two came out with no problem! She hasnt allowed them to nurse yet i was going to head out with some colostrum gel. Is that necessary or should i give her more time?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can give her some time. You could milk her out a bit and put it in a bottle and feed the kids. You could hold her and get the kids underneath her.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

Congratulations! What is Mama goat doing when the babies try to nurse? Has she nursed babies before? Are the babies actively trying to nurse?

You definitely want to make sure they are all nursing within a couple hours of birth. Sooner is best. Sometimes you do have to help by holding the kid up to the teat, squirting a little milk out and tickling its tailhead.

Keep us posted!


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

They seem a little interested she keeps moving back and ive tried milking her out to feed but its all goop. Her last kidding didnt end well the baby got stuck and the last owner wasnt home so she didnt have a baby last year and im unsure if shes had babies prior....im sitting in the shed with them and they have yet to eatbso i dont know whatbto do.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

They are interested and shes walking away. Silly question though...i have meyenburg powdered goat milk inside am i able to ise that since her milk is just goo


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would not use powdered. Try milking some more. Get what you can in a container. If you really have to, make a little diluted powdered milk and add a little to the colostrum to water it down a bit. No powder will make up for mom's colostrum.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Congratulations! I hope you get the colostrum in the babies.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Dont know if i did the right thing but i made the powdered milk mixture and added in about 5-8 teaspoons out of mom. Both babies drank about 2oz. Ill check in on them in a couple hours. Hopefully she will start feeding them. They were happy though tails wagging. Shes interested in licking them just wont sit still.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

They need more colostrum than milk. They needed something but now they need more colostrum. Mom also needs to be milked to get the thicker stuff out.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Well ill be getting up in a couple hours. I will attempt to milk her out. I dont want bottle babies so hopefully it all works out. She might have fed the boy when i was feeding girl he had a little froth on mouth but not too sure.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

How are things going? The babies are adorable!


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

I got up and fed babies once in the middle of the night then again this morning. Cant tell if mom is feeding them or not. They go for the bottle every time i offer it so figure they are hungry or they are just goats and can eat all day. They are walking around and are now fluff balls. I have them with mom and just checkingg on them every couple hours. Shes interested in them just cant tell if shes feeding she backs up from them everytime im in there. Shes bad on the milking stand too


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

What does the milk look like?
Are you sure she doesn't have mastitis or is congested?


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

toth boer goats said:


> What does the milk look like?
> Are you sure she doesn't have mastitis or is congested?


Creamy color. Yeah its all good lots coming out with no problem. I offered the bottle just to make sure doeling wasnt interested and buck took a little.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad to hear that. 

Cute little baby butt.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

toth boer goats said:


> Glad to hear that.
> 
> Cute little baby butt.


They are adorable tiny little things. Doeling was 3.4 pounds bucking around 4 pounds


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

(thumbup)


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

Yay!!


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

cbrossard said:


> Yay!!


Thanks....that was stressful lol


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Alright gang second doe is in active labor Rosie my pygora/nubian mix.


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Ready.


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## Megpie (Mar 21, 2018)

Another little doe and buck!


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Congratulations!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Congrats.


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