Hey guys. My doe Annie kidded whopping healthy buck twins at day 142 last year, so I have been thinking she might go early again this year. Today she is at day 139. I am pretty certain about due date, she was only bred once, then Biopryn confirmed.
Anyway, today she is acting off. Ligaments are looser, she was rubbing her belly on a tree a lot (she is huge and very uncomfortable). more vocal than usual. I put her in the barn around noon today, partly because there was a storm blowing in and I didn't want her to have to jostle for a spot under the shed since she is the bottom of the pecking order, and also wanted to spy on her with the camera.
She really didn't do much all day except sleep...no real pawing or anything. But she does have the slightest bit of gray mucus this evening, not dripping out, just a tiny bit right at the opening of her lady parts. She has a 12x12 horse stall with a little outside pen that is maybe 10x4.
Should I keep her in there until she kids? She has a little friend who is equally low on the pecking order that is also due this month. They share this stall at night, I could leave them in there together tomorrow or I could put them in a separate pasture from the rest of the herd...
Would keeping her quiet in a stall possibly help her make it another day or two? She is not in active labor. If she kids tonight have they got a pretty good chance at making it?
Also, I have to take my daughter to a dr's appointment tomorrow and I'm afraid to leave Annie. I'll be gone half the day. If she kids on her own at day 140 would they be able to get up and nurse? It will be warm...has been in the 80s during the day.
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So far so good...I am fussing over them constantly trying to be sure she gets enough to eat. Our overnight low tonight is 45 and they are bundled up, she has her little fleecy on...which is probably overkill lol.
Juliana, I am just now reading this. How are they all doing? Hows your little doeling?
Warmth is the key...and to make sure she is getting enough milk (one way or another : ) She may have trouble competing with the bigger fellows; I don't have experience with it, but believe there is potential that she may take longer to feed. Probably worth watching her weight gain for a little while? I'm sure someone who is experienced will see your post and give expert advice.
Congratulations!
Sandra Hess
Heartland Midwifery
Fresno, OH.
I totally understand! Some of these poor girls are so big and miserable by the end. I was always pretty wiped by the end of pregnancy myself, and I only ever had one at a time! :)
Well I kept her in the barn today with her little bff. I have let them out twice while cleaning the stall, refilling buckets ect so they could wander around the barn some and get their circulation moving. (Not that it's a small stall but I am watching her on the cam and she eats some hay, lies down, eats some hay, lies down, she seems just wiped) I guess I would be too if my belly was as big as hers!
Interesting to know that just because she went early one year doesn't mean she will this year. The weather is kinda raw and nasty anyway, so I think I will just leave her in the barn another day or two till she is closer to full term. If she hasn't kidded yet I will probably put her back out on the pasture...once she's full term I'm happy for her to go on and have them, I can't WAIT to see them!
This is Annie who is about to kid and she was so close with her sister Penny that when I tried to take away one of them while the other was kidding, she cried and carried on and wanted her sister to stay. Annie and her new bff aren't that close, but I have a fence panel in the wall so I can easily move her to the next stall to be moral support but Annie still has her space.
I am relieved that she is still not in active labor. Still kinda off, ligaments look even looser than yesterday, now doing some yawning that I didn't see yesterday, but not looking like babies today (phew). I bedded her stall deep because she looks so uncomfortable lying down (and then I think to myself, this is why I will never make money on my goats. I am constantly spoiling them with excess bedding and extra care but I guess I'd rather they were happy than make a profit :/
Some does will act off for a couple days before kidding. When we were new to goats, I would get so frustrated with some of them. But there isn't anything you can do about it. A predisposition to give birth late seems to be more predictable than giving birth early. I've had a doe here and there give birth at day 142 or so, and they never repeated that. On the other hand, I had one that gave birth past day 150 twice.
It is usually a good idea to keep two does together unless you know that one really is close to kidding. Even then, if they get along, you can leave them together. Our does kidded together for years before we created our kidding barn.
Sorry for the lack of definitive answers, but in so many cases, the answer is, "it depends!"