Pooch test???

I have been reading about pooch tests. Anyone feel like they are experienced enough to weigh in on accuracy. Had the vet out to the farm to confirm pregnancy on goat and he said he couldn't give a definite yes or no. He palpatated her tummy and first thought he didn't feel anything. But then when he was showing me how he thought he might have after all. She has a bag on her and it is looking good and her ligaments are starting to loosen. I think I'm not 100% I'm in the right spot. The vet tried her udder for collustrom but only got "honey?" Not sure what that means...

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  • Congratulations!

  • Yay! Congratulations! :-D So happy for you!

  • She had her babies today at 11:00 AM. They are perfect and beautiful.

    image.jpg

  • The pooch test can be incredibly accurate depending upon how poochy the goat's vulva is. Some goats look like they're going to explode any second, so in those cases, it's 100% accurate as a non-pregnant goat would never have a vulva that looks like that unless maybe a nest full of hornets stung her vulva. Some goats just look a little puffy. Generally the closer they are to kidding, the puffier they are, and some do start to look puffy a couple months before kidding. It's not a yes/no thing. There is a huge continuum of puffiness.

    Palpating and bumping seems to be a gift that some people have and others don't. I've not been very good at it myself, and I know someone who's been breeding for close to 20 years and says she's never gotten the hang of it either. Unless your vet actually raises goats, I wouldn't put too much weight on his assessment of the situation based upon palpation.

    As for the colostrum ... personally I'd leave the teats alone because they have a "plug" in them that keeps out bacteria until the kid starts nursing. You don't want the goat to freshen with mastitis, and besides that, there is simply no reason to see what is in her teats. A clear, thick, sticky liquid is normal at this stage, and it is not something that you need to be evaluating. The size of the udder is a good indicator, and there are no risks in simply looking at the udder.

    I totally understand that you are really excited about your goat kidding, but try to relax. :) A number of us on this board have pen bred at various times, and ultimately it is not a really big deal if you don't have an exact due date. And at this point, it would be impossible to get a good due date. Goat science is simply not that advanced. You can look at some of the older posts in the "Kidding" section on here to see pictures and read experiences of others as they awaited their first kids.

  • I don't have an answer to your actual question, as I have never tried a pooch test/bumping myself, and I have no idea what "honey" is unless a bee has made it...but I wanted to share that, for future reference, if you'd like to be sure that a goat is pregnant you can get them blood tested through Biotracking. :) They accept owner samples as well as vet samples. I've used them for CAE testing before, and I usually order red top tubes from them, and they have been great to work with.

    http://www.biotracking.com/goats

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