Hello! I just joined. I have owned a small herd of pet "Fainting goats" for about 8 years. We have a small farm near a suburban/rural area, and people tend to offer us animals that they took on and decided they can't handle. I was recently given a few Nigerian Dwarf goats. The doe is pregnant, but I only have a general idea of when she was bred. She has gotten quite large, has started to bag up, and yesterday had a good amount of obvious mucus discharge. She hasn't had any since. I've been doing all the basic "checks" that are suggested. Tendons are hard to find now and her bottom is soft and puffy. Are there any other indicators. With dogs, we take their temperature and when there is a drop, we know labor is within 24hrs. I feel like. Being winter, I've been staying close so the kids aren't born and freeze...
Views: 108
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
You might not always be able to see it that clearly, but you can feel it. Normally during pregnancy the doe is pretty smooth across the spine from side to side. When the kids are starting to get into position, you'll at least be able to feel a divot between the ribs and hips up there.
Being that you are totally new to this goat, the udder is not a great indicator. Usually you can start to see it a month before kidding, but if you go out there one day and say, "whoa!!!" because the change from yesterday to today is really drastic, that usually means you're getting close.
Also, if the doe stops eating, that usually means she's getting close, although some does are pushing while still eating, so it can't necessarily rule out the onset of labor.
As for mucus, a little string of mucus doesn't mean much. It could still be a week away, but if you see mucus that's the size of your thumb, that usually means it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours.
Replies
Welcome to the group! In addition to what you've already mentioned, you usually see the upper part of the belly get sunken in like this doe here:
http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/photo/lizzie-hollow
You might not always be able to see it that clearly, but you can feel it. Normally during pregnancy the doe is pretty smooth across the spine from side to side. When the kids are starting to get into position, you'll at least be able to feel a divot between the ribs and hips up there.
Being that you are totally new to this goat, the udder is not a great indicator. Usually you can start to see it a month before kidding, but if you go out there one day and say, "whoa!!!" because the change from yesterday to today is really drastic, that usually means you're getting close.
Also, if the doe stops eating, that usually means she's getting close, although some does are pushing while still eating, so it can't necessarily rule out the onset of labor.
As for mucus, a little string of mucus doesn't mean much. It could still be a week away, but if you see mucus that's the size of your thumb, that usually means it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours.