# Cant tell if



## tatra (Mar 30, 2012)

I have 3 ladies who have been with an 8-10 month old buckling,. the question is has he got them Pregnant. One of the does is quite large , so took a pic or two. Can I have an opinion please?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

When were they bred?


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## tatra (Mar 30, 2012)

Sorry should have said. The Buck was a Pygmy /Nubian Cross, got going in early June, he left us for pastures new last weekend, he had a great temperament, just that we are moving to a smaller property with less space The does are Pygmy/Somethings, really nice Goats. I had hoped that he would have succeeded given the amount of time he was with them.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Is anyone's udder growing?

If you want to know for sure, it is best to send in blood to BioTracking. I can't tell from the back ends.


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## MollyLue9 (Oct 14, 2012)

Uh, yeah I think she is pregnant but it depends if she has had kids before. If she has they might just be sprung


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## tatra (Mar 30, 2012)

*back again, are they pregnant?*

Sorry to come back with this, but I have not found any local goat owners and am not sure what is happening here.. Here are then latest pictures. they are all getting bigger. I have spent time just watching , feeling them for movement , but I have no idea if they are with kids or not. Please see the latests pics. The get free hay, and are feed one bowl each at around midday, a mixture of goat compound, the premix feed and grain about 3/4 Ib to a Ib, plus we try and add some kitchen scraps , which have been , a bit of wholewheat bread, Apples, Banana skins, Carrots, Pumpkin, Grapes, etc, they sometimes get a bit of Ceder growth , Pine, Apple branches. They very friendly still able to clear a 4.5ft fence. They don't itch, scratch or have any noticeable bad habits, there pooh has nothing different in it. There contact withe a buck was last in August, they are one, two ,and five years old, not much going on in the udder dept. Are they just being over fed. I really would like a bit of warning about the chance of little pygmies. I would love comments and or suggestions please.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

The first and 3rd pictures of the does look pregnant to me, the 2nd picture I am not sure about. But I think they all look pregnant. 
When was the last time any of the does were nursing kids or being milked?


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Looks like Jan babies to me. And they all llok really healthy too! Nice shiny coats.


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## tatra (Mar 30, 2012)

I am a little behind on the time here. They are 1 1/2 This will be her first, 2 and this will be her 2nd time and 5 1/2 and this will be her 4 th if she is bred ( pic 2) . Both of them had twins. The two last gave birth spring of 2011. Should I just carry on as I am or try changing diets? They seem to be quite happy , nice thick winter coats, it was minus 10c here last night , didn't bother them, there barn is unheated and there are the odd gaps in planking, so snug is not the word here. These are my first goats , they have been with me since late last winter. I had grand ideas about milking etc , but we have just settled down to be good friends, I chat with them, they are quite laid back, they seem to listen, you can leave the gate open and they are not into escaping.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If they are going to be kidding in that barn, then you will need to do something about the drafts. The kids will need to be in a draft free area. 

If August was the last that the buck was in with them, then they could be due in January. 

If your girls are doing well and not losing weight, then I would just continue doing what you are doing.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

Lots of hay, grass hay, alfalfa hay is fine, and go easy on the grain/pelleted feed. they look very healthy. my pregnant does get 2 cups of 17% pelleted goat grain, one time a day, the last 5 weeks or so of their pregnancy, If they are a young growing doe, they get 2 to 3 cups through out their pregnancy. If they are grown adult does they only get hay or browse until about 5 weeks before they are due to kid. I realize it is a guess, but you should start seeing growing udders 4 to 6 weeks before they are due to kid. looks like you are already seeing that. Older does can show later, since they can carry a big rumen and already have some what of a loose bag, but she should also show signs of her bag filling out 4 or so weeks before she is due. She is the one that I question if she is pregnant or maybe due later than the other two. 
the other two are for sure bagging and look about the same as my girls who are due beginning and middle of January.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

What about making warming barrels, you do need to do something about a kidding pen and draft free area, but warming barrels would really help you. 
A barrel with a heatlamp built into the top, with a dog hole cut into the side for the kids to snuggle in. 
GEtting the kids dry and nursing with in the first hour will be very important to the survival of the kids. As their bags start to fill and they look closer, you will need to check on them often, we check on ours every hour during the day and 2 to 3 at night, during kidding season. 
the cold will be your enemy with the new born kids. They have to find the teat and nurse or they will loose to much body heat. Once they get cold they loose their sucking reflex. 

If you find a cold kid: corn syrup/Mollasses is your friend, have some on hand. and a 3 cc syringe(no needle needed). mix 2 or 3 teaspoons of syrup with a little hot black coffee and drip 10 to 15 cc's into the back of the mouth of the kid. put under a heat lamp or near a fire place, and allow the kid to warm for half an hour, and repeat, keep doing this and hopefully with in an hour the kid can have some mother's milk. or you can hold the kid to mom to nurse. 
We don't have any heat, and kid in around single digits to the 20's, but we have a draft free barn, and a place to put the kid under a heat lamp.


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## tatra (Mar 30, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. I am draft proofing there little barn, and will section off off to make a couple of small areas to make cubicals, it might be easier to set a heat lamp over each one. Getting good hay around here is hard , Alfalfa is like rocking horse pooh, so can I use the pellets sold at the feed store, breaking them up and putting in with there feed?


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

All bred I believe. We have jan babies coming too!


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