# So confused!



## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

So I have this goat....


She is a Nubian doe who I have had for 2 years. I bought her in milk, and this is the first year I have bred her.

I was convinced until about three days ago that she wasn't bred, but she seems to be developing a slight udder! It went from being totally flaccid (she has been dry for a year) to a slight fullness. I also swear I saw her loose her mucous plug about a week ago.

The reason I am so confused is that she doesn't look pregnant. Like AT ALL.

Do any of you have goats that hide kids this well? I have tried bumping her (which I have no expertise at) and have only thought I felt something one time. 

Could she be hiding a single? She is a pretty solid girl and pretty wide, and since I have never seen her pregnant I don't know if she normally carries really deep or what.

If she is pregnant she is due in about a week. Am I insane?!


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## Saanens N Alpines (Oct 20, 2010)

You should be able to feel the kid/s on her right side. I kind of push my fingers in where it's softer and can feel little (and big) lumps that move. Also just rest your hand on the right side. I could even feel kicks on my doe who wasn't due for 6 weeks. Her rear area may/should look more swollen than usual if she is pregnant and that close. Yes, some goats can hide it pretty well. My nubian used to hide hers it seems.


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

My nubian didn't ever get really wide this year, and she had pretty big twins. If I didn't know she was pregnant it would have just looked like she was eating well because she didn't carry very low and wide like my boers did. Maybe it's because she was so long and tall? I found the best time to feel for babies is about 15-20 minutes after the doe eats so the kids get that sugar rush! Sometimes you can just stand back and watch her stomach if she's lying down and see them jumping all over.
I would think if she was due in a week she would have a fairly big udder by now, though, and not just a little fullness. Is it possible she was bred later than you thought, or bred again later? Mine all started to get a little fullness about a month before they kidded, so that would make sense if your girl got prego on her next heat 3 weeks after you bred her. :thumbup:


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I can feel kids generally right in front of the udder on the underside of the belly if you don't feel anything on the right side. I have a doe who is pregnant and I have no idea on her due date (bought her bred, in with the buck for three full months.) She is an older doe who has had multiple kids. I wasn't sure she was pregnant, but she did the same thing as yours...went from a loose bag of skin to a slight fullness. In any case, her tummy is so flabby and it was hard to feel anything, but I can feel hard lumps if I bounce her belly like I would to check that a doe was empty after giving birth.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

if she is due in a week I would hope for more of an udder then a slight change.

is there any chance she was exposed to a buck later?


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

No chance she was bred later. I have to take her to a breeder and I only left her there for about 3 days, so even if it didn't take the first time it would only be three days off. And I have double checked my math a couple times. She was bred on the 19th of November (in case my math is bad...which it can be :laugh: )

I can't feel any movement on the right side. The only time I felt anything was when I "bounced" her belly directly in front of her udder and felt what I thought was a hoof shape (or some other bony protuberance...)

As for her udder, she is not a very heavy milker and never really had a huge bag the way my S. Saanen did. She only milked about 1.5 - 2 quarts a day at her peak when she was in milk two years ago. 

I guess I'll know in about a week, but it still has me stumped onder:


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

Your math is right, I got April 18th. :chin: Hmmm, well, they say some fill their udder immediately prior to delivery but I think they have at least some udder to start with and it just gets extremely full then. Do you have any pictures of her udder? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that she is bred!


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

Perfect7 said:


> Your math is right, I got April 18th. :chin: Hmmm, well, they say some fill their udder immediately prior to delivery but I think they have at least some udder to start with and it just gets extremely full then. Do you have any pictures of her udder? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that she is bred!


I don't have any pics of her udder atm but I can certainly take some. Wish I had an old pic to compare it to but I don't think I do


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

my goat got her udder filled in the last 12 hours before kidding - I was sure she wasn't going to kid as her udder was so limp and flaccid - but it was like a balloon you could almost see it growing hehe!
LW


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

We had a nubian that used to carry very deep and she didn't fill her udder until the last minute. Might be the same thing. I hope she is though!


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

Calico Patch Farm said:


> We had a nubian that used to carry very deep and she didn't fill her udder until the last minute. Might be the same thing. I hope she is though!


Thanks! Me too


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## Suellen (Mar 9, 2008)

I have a couple that like to keep their girlish figures. One of them I wasn't sure she was pregnant but acted as if she was. She had twins. I have know idea where she was hiding the second one.
~Suellen~


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## potentialfarm (Apr 11, 2011)

My Nubian just kidded 2 healthy kids, and you could hardly tell she was pregnant. Another Nubian isn't due until May 9, and looks as though she should have quads. Lol...She won't, but I am expecting two out of a belly like that! 
Just as with humans, some hide it better than others. 

P.S. Let us know what happens!!!


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

No signs of an impending labor and she is due tomorrow. I suppose she could go long but at this point I am thinking she has tricked me and is laughing at me. :GAAH: 

Suppose anything is possible but at this point I am thinking I will have to get another girl in milk if I want to have any this summer!


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

:sigh: So sorry! What looked like a mucus plug may have then been discharge from her coming into heat? If you see it again about three weeks from then, are you going to have her bred? September babies would be nice and then if you get one in milk now you could alternate your milk supply for year-round milking. :hug:


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

Perfect7 said:


> :sigh: So sorry! What looked like a mucus plug may have then been discharge from her coming into heat? If you see it again about three weeks from then, are you going to have her bred? September babies would be nice and then if you get one in milk now you could alternate your milk supply for year-round milking. :hug:


I thought about that and so when I go to the breeder to get a replacement goat, I may leave my Nubian with her for a month or so and see if she can get knocked up while she is there! Of course, my mom is convinced that Eve is going to kid on Thursday, so I may have to wait until then to arrange the trade...


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