# Lilly's Waiting Thread



## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

I figured it was about time to post about our first doe that is due since we should have babies anytime within the next month! Our guess is right before/around Christmas, but we bought her bred so we are just gong off of what we were told. She was exposed to one buck for the first week or so and another the last couple because he got struck by lightning (seriously what are the odds?) 
She started building an udder about a week ago and has gotten increasingly friendly and vocal compared to her normal making me think we are getting close. Her possible due dates range from December 7th- January 1st. What are your guesses dates and number? We are SO excited to be having babies again. Here are some photos of Lilly, please excuse that she looks like a hot mess. She's a little lopsided today, the baby/babies are moving like crazy and she wanted to eat the camera. lol


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Lookin' great!!!! Good luck, can't wait to see the babies!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Good luck!


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thank you! I'm guessing twins but we'll have to wait and see.


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## Oreosmom (Nov 19, 2016)

I'm new at this but learning alot.. I say two on Dec 17. Because her hips are hollowed and the rest end is tilted.could of used a fanny shot to see if anus has fallen, how's her tail feel at the base, soft or firm? The softer it is at the base the closer you are.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

She still has her ligaments at this point, she's been stubborn and clamping her tail down over her rear end so I didn't bother her with the fanny shot. lol I was thinking right around the 18th or so as well.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Exciting! Is Lilly polled or disbudded?


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I say twins around Christmas a red buck and traditional doe.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

She is disbudded. 
I'd be good with Christmas babies, based off of her udder I'd say she has another couple weeks. But I haven't had her kid here yet so who knows.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Good luck I hope it's soon


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thank you! That makes two of us. This next week is supposed to be nasty cold and snow/ frozen rain so that might just do it. lol Hoping she holds off. Can't wait to see what your girls give you!


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Also, when I bought her they said she was 4 years old.. do you think she looks older to you? I need to check her teeth still, I attempted to once but it was a struggle by myself.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

We are making progress! She's dropped considerably, udder is still building, and she's got mucous like discharge/ losing her plug. I can't believe how much her personality has changed, the doe that usually doesn't like attention now wants petted and is very vocal.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

The behavior changes can be pretty amazing!

Impossible to guess the age without a photo of the teeth and with no horns!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

My 3 wild yearling have all gotten super friendly now that they are bred. I hope it doesn't change after they kid.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Following! Good luck! When my doe lost her mucous plug she kidded about 9-10 hours after that


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Roger I said the same thing, I hope that she's just gotten used to us and doesn't go back to wanting nothing to do with is but we will see! 
GoatCrazy01: really? That's quick! I'm guessing we have nearly a week or so to go with her, but they'll arrive when she's good and ready I suppose.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

The crazy part is I have had these does for 15 months and they stayed wild. So maybe we are turning a new leaf.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Hopefully it is a new leaf for them.
Today Lilly is noticeably lower and wider, her udder has grown considerably, and when I was petting her she backed away and stretched out/tensed up like she may have been contracting. We may be right on track for Christmas babies!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Good luck


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Exciting!!


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thank you! Nothing yet, a part of me wants her to wait until things die down after Christmas, but then again I can't wait


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Today we have a little more discharge and she is swollen back there, it won't be too much longer. Also Merry Christmas!


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Merry Christmas! Happy kidding!


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## Redbarngoatfarm (Jul 8, 2015)

following!


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## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

Good luck! Pretty doe!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

How is she looking?


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks all! She's got a full udder and I believe she is contracting now. Not full blown labor yet, but I believe it's starting.


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## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

How's Lily


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

She's doing well, but miserable. Poor girl keeps shifting her weight and pawing around. I don't think it'll be too much longer.


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## JK_Farms (Nov 12, 2016)

How exciting and poor girl!


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

It's a sad morning here, went up to dead twin girls. I couldn't have missed it by long as they were both still warm and one wasn't even cleaned off. I'm not sure if Lilly is done yet or not. I'll update with details in a little while.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I am really sorry sara.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks Roger. It's the first time in over 13 years I've lost a kid, let alone twins. One traditional doe that Lilly didn't even clean off, she was still completely in her sack. I opened it up and she looked normally developed but was purple. The other was a beautiful paint doe that she had cleaned off and was still warm, but not breathing or moving. I tried everything but it was too late. I looked her over and the only thing abnormal was her eyes. It looked as though even if she had made it she would have been blind. Lilly has expelled the placenta, and is eating now. She still looks pretty round and I'll be checking on her, but I believe that she is done. The poor girl has a large udder and I can only imagine that she's going to be uncomfortable for a while.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sorry you lost them.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thank you. Will she have any issues with her udder? Do I need to milk her or anything? She's boer so we want her to dry up, but I don't want her to get an infection or anything.
An additional concern I had is that she's still pretty rounded out underneath and both of the kids were relatively small, but she was huge. I'm really hoping there isn't another kid in there.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Personally I'd milk out the colostrum and freeze it. She probably will need enough milking so she isn't uncomfortable.


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## Summersun (Apr 24, 2014)

Sorry for your loss. It's so hard to wait so long and then lose them. I also would milk and save the colostrum. So milk several times in the next few hours. Like 2 hrs, 4hrs, 8hrs, 12 hrs post kidding and label them. And then after that just milk her enough to take the pressure off like once a day and then once every 36 hrs then 48 hrs until her udder goes down.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks all. She's pretty content and outside of being more vocal than usual seems to be doing well. Her belly is still pretty hard underneath. I got a little colostrum out earlier, she doesn't seem to be too engorged thank goodness. We're sad that it came to this but we are glad that Lilly is doing well. Now we will just dry her up, feed her to put back some of the condition that was lost and breed her back in several months. I really wish I knew what went wrong so that I could prevent it from occurring again. According to her previous owner she has kidded successfully for him. He had never had kids out of the buck she was bred to. I purchased her bred so I can't really narrow it down because there are so many factors.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I would suspect selenium deficiency based on what you have described. A thick amniotic sac that did not break during the birthing process as well as a clean kid that never seemed to have got to its feet. Selenium deficient kids are born very very weak and usually pass shortly after birth. I unfortunately had a lot of experience with that during my 2016 kidding season.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Would that cause eye problems? What are manifestations I would see in Lilly? I've never had this issue before. She has minerals available to her at all times, but I don't know if that would be sufficient.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

This is the selenium info for our county, the levels are pretty low so it is totally possible.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

How long does everyone wait to rebreed their does after they lose kids? As of right now it's been a month and Lilly is doing well. Her udder is dried up nicely and she's gaining back some condition. I am aware that now is still too soon, but wondered how long people usually wait? At this point, I'm getting more into registered stock and most likely will be selling her exposed to my buck later this year. She's a good commercial doe, and she's going to be a great addition to someones herd.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Personally, I wait until the next season.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

I agree with NYGoatMom.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Generally we breed starting in June, which gives her plenty of time, but a local breeder has expressed interest in buying her which is why I was asking. Thanks guys!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

A lot of people have to provide selenium supplementation above and beyond loose mineral free choice. Most herds use Bo-Se which is an injection of Selenium and Vitamin E given several times per year. In Lilly you might see weak pasterns, a kink in the middle of her tail, or slow to pass placenta/afterbirth.


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