I have a doe who is supposed to be a first freshener any day now. I'm starting to wonder if she has a precocious udder. I leased a buck and he left April 13th so that was the last possible day she could have been bred. Thursday, September 5th was 145 days later. I never noticed any signs of her coming into season after he left, but then again it was over the summer.
The first day I noticed any udder development was July 13th. Here we are 8 weeks later at 150 days. I've been putting her in a stall and feeding her one flake of alfalfa every night for 3 weeks now and I started her on sweet feed two weeks ago as I was fully expecting her to be pregnant.
However, her ligaments feel completely normal today and she's acting as happy and normal as can be. Should I be on standby for the next few days? Or is it pretty much safe to say I should be watching for her to come into season and attempt to breed her again?
Replies
The little black doeling is her only baby. The bigger, chamoisee doeling (Sami) was born on September 1st. Her and her brother were born very strong and healthy. No worries about them. They are so hyper and spunky, yet getting kind of chunky :)
Just saw the pics you uploaded. Your post only mentioned one doeling, but it looks like she had twins. Or is that another goat?
Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing the pictures!
Congratz!
Thanks, Patty. :)
Congratulations! So happy for you! :)
Well, 24 hours later her udder was fuller and even her teats were longer. Wednesday morning it felt like her ligaments were softer and by mid-afternoon they were gone. She started having contractions at 8:30 Wednesday night, and at 10:00 she had one little doeling! I guess I'm glad now that she went 151 days because the kid is pretty small. Not teeny tiny, but definitely a very small little girl. Fortunately, she was pretty hungry and it didn't take long for her to figure out how to nurse. She still feels so fragile, but is nursing and is as active as I would expect a kid her size to be. Momma is a fabulous first time mother - couldn't be any happier with how she's caring for her first baby. Pics will be added to My Pictures shortly!
Ok, I've been watching her udder and feeling her ligaments every time I go out there. Thanks for the encouragement - I'll be sure to keep you updated. Let's see what tomorrow brings...!
I had a doe go to 153 or 154 once, and boy did she surprise me! That udder looks pretty convincing. I've never had a precocious udder on a ND first freshener. I'm sure it can happen; it's just not very common at all. Keep an eye on the udder. If it suddenly gets a lot bigger, watch out. I've had goat ligaments go from 0 to 100% within a few hours, especially younger does, so I wouldn't give up on her yet.
If you witnessed a willing breeding on the 13th, then I'd vote that one is the one you should count from. Hang in there! She may be pregnant still! My FF didn't look especially huge, or show signs of delivery, so I missed her delivery all together!! Came outside, and she was standing there licking off one of her twins. lol I also had a doe miscarry this year, and I feel like it would be really hard to miss it.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next