My Juniper has about 4 weeks left in her pregnancy. She's not terribly wide, so I'm guessing she'll have the typical first freshener singleton. Though she's not sticking out side to side much, I can't believe the changes in other parts of her body. For one, her normally soft black vulva is big and swollen and pinkish. There are also big changes in her udder. When I first noticed her developing an udder, it just filled the palm of my hand. Now it's easily 3 times that large! Her teats are not very large unfortunately, but her bag is wide and well-attached. Will her teats get bigger after delivery?
Some of her behavior is different too. When we go out to browse, she seems to prefer the grasses now instead of her usual favorites of tree leaves and vines. She's clearing out every bit of clover she can find. And while we're browsing, she's become quite vigilant. She notices every "unusual" noise and movement. Before she was pregnant, she'd pay no attention to passing squirrels, birds, etc. Now her head shoots up and she watches them till they're gone. She's not tolerating our dog as well as she used to either. If he gets too close to her she'll move away, whereas before she'd hardly notice him. I'm assuming this is her hormones telling her to be more wary and protective. It's so interesting to watch her and see her changes. I've become so attached to her, she has the wise countenance that my beloved German Shepherd, Katie, (whom I lost a few months ago) had. I know Juniper will most likely have a buckling, but if it is a doe I'm going to name her Katherine in honor of my darling dog.
The world of animals is so fascinating, isn't it?
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Birth announcement!
Me, TOO!!!
Julia @Woody Glen Farm said:
Gaahh, I'll be waiting with bated breath!!
Wait, you HAVE to tell us within this thread so we'll all be notified! Please!
OH Julia - say it ain't so! Twins would be great, but triplets? Arrgghh!
As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on my side porch with Juniper, the only place I can take her that isn't a soggy mess in this rotten wet weather we've been having. She entered active labor just a little while ago. She's doing all the classic things, soft vocalizing, grimacing, laying down and getting up, arched back, and golden goo. She's pressed up against me for all she's worth. My precious girl. So far everything seems to be proceeding normally.
Oops, she's started pushing, got to go! I'll let y'all know how it goes in the Birth Announcements. Wish us luck!
Oh, I'm glad all my posting and fretting has at least helped someone else. Haha. :-) I've found it really helpful to pour over as many threads posted by others as I can lately.
It really sounds to me (and all my vast experience of a single kidding 2 weeks ago... haha) like Juniper could be close. Many similar signs with Maple, at least, and then it was just happening! But you're right, nature's time has a mind of its own. :-) What an awesome goat keeper you are, taking your goat mama-to-be out for a walk. She's a lucky goatie.
Can't wait to hear the news!
Julieanne Cook said:
Julianne, check her ligaments. They are really good indicators of impending labor. A "huge" bag is another good indicator that she is going into labor soon. I have found that size of bag does indicate how many are in there-- when I had a doe with only one (only ONCE!) she had a very small bag. My does who have 2 or more always have had bigger bags. She might surprise you with 3! They can hide them in there very well. Especially if your doe is nice and long :). Can't wait to hear!
Thanks Old Haunt, I've learned a lot from your recent kidding experience.
I took Juniper out for a walk by herself today, thinking that might move things along like it often does for pregnant women. She is contracting, but not strongly and it's irregular. Her bag is just huge today, and her teats stick out like a flight attendant pointing out the exits! But she is still eating like a pig and there is no discharge so I'm thinking nothing is going to happen today either. All in nature's time, I guess.
You write about this so well, Julieanne! Keep us posted. :-)
Julieanne Cook said:
So, we're on Day 146 and Juni has decided that it would be fun to do all the "is she or isn't she in labor" things to me. Night before last I DID NOT sleep because I was so sure she was starting. By morning she was bright and happy and hungry, acting like nothing was going on. This morning she was the same, but now she's going off by herself again. I have a feeling we'll be doing this for a few days and she won't go until Day 150. Why in the world did I think she'd make it easy on me?
And did I mention it's been rainy and icky this whole time and I just got a delivery of 25 new chicks? Thank goodness they're doing well. I really didn't want Juniper to go past her due date because I'm afraid she only has one in there and I didn't want it to get too big. But we rarely get what we want when it comes to animals. It's almost as if they don't care about our agenda! ;-)
With about a week to go, Juniper has decided to start challenging Daphne for herd queen status! I've heard of that happening, but didn't think my Mighty Mite would go for it. They're not actually fighting, but Juni is over letting Daphne have first go at things. She yells at her and uses her smaller body to maneuver around Daphne and get first crack at food, pets, etc. Too funny!
My wether, Pokey, is following Juniper around a lot now, sniffing her and nuzzling her. They've been best buds since they were 8 weeks old. It's kind of sweet, really. He seems to know she's changing fast and something is different. I have a feeling he'll enjoy having a kid around.
Juni's udder GREW just since this morning when I looked at. It's not super firm or anything, but I'm surprised at how big it is since she's a first freshener. Hopefully that's a good sign.
The only other changes are that she seems to be a bottomless pit when it comes to food and minerals. She's never been a big hay eater but now she's always chomping at it. She's still not very big though, she reminds me of the women I was jealous of back when I was pregnant. You know the ones, they don't look pregnant from behind and just have a little basketball under their shirts. LOL I looked like a Weeble compared to them.
My Daphne however, also looks like a Weeble. That being said, I'm not sure she's even pregnant. She's not a first freshener and she's 6 years old, so her very wide shape could just be a result of that. The only indications that she's pregnant are lack of heat and a somewhat swollen vulva. She's not bagged up yet with about a month to go. I really want her to be pregnant because she was bred to a gorgeous buck from strong dairy lines and I want to keep a buck out of her. But if she's not, we'll just try again in the fall.
It's so fun to watch these critters. I learn so much from them.
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