# Udder Development



## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

This is more a curiosity question. Nancy is due around September 24th and her udder has not grown much, compared to other goat pics I've seen 2 weeks off from the due date. I can feel the babies moving around and she's been losing bits of mucus the past week, but no udder. How often does it not develop until the end? According to her last owner, this is her 4th pregnancy. He said he put her in with the buck a couple weeks before we bought her, so the due date is a rough estimate, but she can't be more than 4 weeks until due because we have no buck. Thoughts?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

You say she is due September 24th? :?::think:

Udder filling time frame with Does can be different, some are 1 to 1 1/2 months prior, some fill a day or so before kidding while others fill just after kidding.
Most though are 1 to 1 1/2 months prior. 
So if she is 1 month prior she may start soon. 

Take your hand and feel and see if you feel a pouch of an udder starting. You may not see it but, you can feel it when it is just coming in.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Lol. I was thinking September because that's when I got her. January 24th. I'll go out and feel. She doesn't like it much, but I'll bribe her with a treat.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Here's a pic. It's pretty saggy, soft, and not too far off her stomach. It's been like this for a few weeks. It was fairly flush against the stomach after she dried off from her previous kidding.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Being due in less than 3 weeks time, her udder should start making changes here in a week... example, I have a 8 year old doe who is currently due on 2/16, she was totally dried off in October and has an udder that looks like your does. I have had Binkey for each of her last 6 freshenings and with the last 3 she doesn't start to show change with her udder until 2 -3 weeks before she delivers. She'll carry a deflated looking udder that grows to the size of a grapefruit and stays that way for a week, the days before she delivers it doubles in size and continues to fill the 24 hours before she delivers so there is still hope that your doe will have changes


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

So if you got her in Sept and she wasnt bred until two weeks before she left to come to your place that would possibly mean more like February before she would be due? She still could have a while before she is actually due?


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

I bought her September 14th, so the latest the due date calculator says is Feb 6th. He did have the bucks separate, so that's why I figured it was the due date from around September 1st. But a couple weeks could mean more or less than two weeks. The way he described it, he put her in with the buck, he witnessed the act, and then he separated them again.

Hearing sbout your goat, Liz, makes me feel better. I wasn't keeping too close an eye on her yet because she hasn't dropped or gotten the big udder. I just hope to be there when she has the kid/s.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Liz.

Also just looking at the pic, she has baby bumps, LOL
Her udder looks to be at a start of filling to me.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Yes, she's very round.  I'm kinda hoping for 3 since my brother is getting 1 or 2 and I want to keep one, but I'm thinking it'll just be 1 or 2. As long as everyone is healthy, then I'll be happy.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Those bellies can also be very deceiving! Especially in a doe who has been pregnant numerous times... My does all have surprised me each time, even first timers! I would have sworn that one doe here who freshened in February last year would have only had twins because thats all she'd ever had with previous freshenings and surprise, she gave me quads  Another who had such a large belly and had given triplets with previous pregnancies really baffled me by having a single 3 pound buckling 
It's all part of the anticipation of seeing healthy , happy babies though... you just don't know what you'll get til they arrive


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

It has been fun watching her grow and thinking about what she might have. My brother and his wife just want them as pets, so I don't have to worry about their sex at least. I might prefer keeping a girl, but I wouldn't mind having a wether either. Plus she was bred to a red buck, so there might be some color. I'm really looking forward to it, if you can't tell.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I know the feeling


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Very excited for you. You are probably going to see some changes in her udder in these next upcoming weeks. She is probably due in February but at least at the end of January, or sooner, you can start to see her udder fill up. Most of the time, I think the udder tells us how close, but not always. I sometimes wonder if Does that kid with saggy unfilled udders, if they didnt have enough calcium or even enough hormone activity to fill it. Hard to know and I am not sure but usually most Does will get a full udder before they kid.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

What gives them calcium? She gets grain, alfalfa, loose minerals, and browse. As for her udder, it is filling in a bit. I posted about it in her waiting thread. It was pretty saggy when I posted this and now it feels like handful of more firm softness. Sorry, hard to describe. Lol.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

They get calcium from both the minerals and alfalfa. It is very good that you have her on alfalfa as having them on just grass hay and grain can cause them to have too much phosphorous in the diet and not enough calcium. 

I had an Alpine doe that developed the "meaty" part of her udder about 2 weeks pre kidding but didn't actually fill her udder until the day she kidded.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

If she is getting alfalfa and minerals, that is good. The calcium cannot be absorbed without the proper mineral content.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Very interesting. Having goats these past few months sure has been a fun learning experience, for the most part.


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