Is it possible for a breed doe to give birth before 5 months? It seems to me that we have 3 out of 4 does pregnant. Two are not being milked anymore because they only give 1/2 cup of milk or less a day and the milk turned slightly yellow. The one that looks really pregnant like before is milking about a cup a day. All three would be due in October or November (we pen breed). However, we have only had the male since May. Any advice?
I am concerned about taking them out 5 days before estimated due dates, because of the pecking order. It would only make it worse.
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If the doe's production quickly dropped to a cup or 1/2 cup a day, she is probably due in two months. If it's just gradually declined to that point, then maybe or maybe not. It depends on how long they've been in milk and what their production is normally like.
Since you don't have exact due dates, it's probably not practical to separate them all at the end of September. But, if you have a goat that is really being picked on, you might consider separating her, along with the least aggressive of the other three, which would leave the two most aggressive does together. I mention this because trauma can cause premature birth. Katherine walked out of the milking parlor at the end of July last year just in time to see one doe slam into the belly of a pregnant one, and a nose was presenting. She was not due for two weeks, and we were very lucky to walk in at that moment, because the kids would not have survived if we hadn't been there. They were extremely small and weak, and the mother had zero instincts because the hormones hadn't kicked in yet. As soon as they were born, she stood up and walked away, looking at them as if they were from another planet. The other does had always been picking on her, but I was really shocked that they would be so mean to her while she was in labor.