I like to look at search engine terms that get people to my blog. Occasionally a term keeps popping up over and over again that I haven’t really covered, so I feel like I should. “Stages of goat pregnancy” is one of those phrases. I’m guessing people want to know what changes take place in their doe that would help them know if she’s bred and how much longer until she’s due.
Dolly about a day before delivery
That’s tough. You can look at a pregnant human and come up with a decent guess of how far along she is once it becomes visible. Goats aren’t so easy. My beautiful Stormy didn’t hardly show at all. The picture below was taken just a day before she gave birth…
Stormy day before having triplets
to triplets. Yep, they just kept coming out and I have no idea where she had all that kid. They weren’t little kids either. All four goats below were also within a week of their due dates (you can click on a picture to enlarge).
Bambi carrying one kid
Pam with twins
Joe and Millie both with twins
If you’re looking for signs of how to tell when your goat is close to kidding, you can check my post on those SIGNS. This post is about the stages of pregnancy and how the kid(s) develop(s) during the five month gestation period.
Like humans, the pregnancy can be divided into trimesters. In goats, each trimester consists of about fifty days, with an overall gestation period of 150 (145-152) days. The third trimester is the most critical in nutritional needs for the doe. If she is not provided adequate nutrients the developing kids will rob her and become little parasites. This can lead to a frequently fatal condition known as ketosis.
Kid Development
| Day 1 | 2 cells |
| Day 1 ½ | 8 cells (morula stage) |
| Day 3 – 4 | Enters uterus |
| Day 6 – 7 | Blastula stage |
| Day 12 | Attaches to wall of the uterus; beginning of embryonic period |
| Day 20 | Heart begins to beat |
| Day 28 – 35 | Limb buds become visible |
| Day 42 | 1 ½ inches (37.5 mm) long; major tissue, organ, and systems are defined; end of embryonic period; it is now a fetus |
| Day 42 – 49 | Mammary buds/empty scrotal sac appear |
| Day 49 – 56 | Ear canal opens |
| Day 56 – 63 | Nostrils open |
| Day 60 | Fetus is 4 inches (100 mm); eyes, eyelids and nostrils are identifiable |
| Day 77 – 84 | Horn pits appear |
| Day 90 | 10 inches (250 mm) long; after this size varies greatly according to breed |
| Day 98 – 105 | Hair around eyes and muzzle; tooth eruption |
| Day 119 – 126 | Hair covering the body |
| Day 141 | Fetus is viable (can survive outside the mother) |
| Day 145 – 152 | Born |
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Maggie giving birth to Winnie
Linking to Homestead Barn Hop.
Sources: [Edit: I have removed links to sources that no longer work.]
Goat Dairy Library
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
The Biology of the Goat
The Boer and Meat Goat Information Center
Goat-Link
Teresa
Eden Hills 
A great post for those just beginning to raise goats — and likely old hands like yourself as well.
Must be quite common for goats to have twins?
Thanks. One or two is normal. Triplets is common. Quads are not unheard of. I’m happy with one or two, whichever the mom can handle.
wonderful post 🙂
Thanks. It was fun researching.
Great post! It’s amazing how different the goats look just before kidding. Bambi hardly looked pregnant at all!
I like when they have two, it seems easier on the mom and evens out the udder usage! 😉
I’m fine with one or two. As Millie has gotten older, she does better with raising just one. I’m really not a fan of triplets (the concept because I’m in love with quite a few individual triplets), and I don’t want to try anything more.
This was interesting Teresa…one more question for you though. At what age do you breed them for the first time? I know with cows, it’s planned that they freshen around their second birthday.
On another note …our neighbors goat just had a set of quads! I had never heard of that, and haven’t seen them, but wow!
There’s some debate on when to breed. It’s pretty common to breed them to kid around their first birthday. In the last few years, I’ve held off and only bred my March girls to have kids in June so they are fifteen months before kidding. This year I did breed some for around their first birthday because of the genetic issues I’ve been dealing with. I just decided Boeris bred Coral when he escaped, so she will be due at eleven months. I’m really worried for her. Hopefully it will work out.
Neat picture of Maggie giving birth.
Yep some don’t look more than overweight!
It amazes me how different they look. 🙂
That was interesting! I’m sure that there are people just starting out who will be saving this post.
I sincerely hope so. You’d be amazed at all the search engine hits and e-mails I get on this topic.
Pam looks very heavy. Very nice post here since I am planning to raise goats ^_^
Thanks for the visit I do appreciate it.
Jelly Beans
Goats are wonderful. Sometimes it’s hard to find good information, so I do what I can. 🙂
Good stuff here, it is so tough to figure how they are doing as every girl carries their kids differently.
They are all so different!
Bred my first goat on New Year’s eve. Have been polarizing her abdomen daily and was quite sure she was pregnant .. Could feel a tightening just forward of her udder. And last week or two could feel her udder developing and a roundness just anterior to the udder. Ultrasound yesterday showed 2 babies!
We own four fainting goats for pets. Two does and two wethers. Well one wether still has an undecended testicle. I noticed he looks more like a buck too. Can he get my doe pregnant? I noticed when the does were in season he was very interested. I wouldn’t mind if the doe was pregnant but am just curious. One of the goats nipples look like they are larger? Thanks
It would be possible for him to breed her.
Hi, our goat has 4 teats,2 are a bit larger than the others. I noticed a few days ago as she squatted to urinate the 2 larger ones hanging down. I have never seen them like this before. They look like my pinkie about that size, I don’t know if this means she could be pregnant. If she is how far would you expecther to be. She is fat so size won’t determine it. Many thanks
It depends on her age. She might be in heat. Has she been near a buck? Is she making an udder? Are the glands themselves getting bigger? That would be a better indication of pregnancy than just the teats. Does she have any other signs of pregnancy such as springing? Have you seen her flagging (switching her tail a lot) like she might be in heat?
We rescued her 2 years ago, and she was about 8 months old. Her udder looks a bit wobbley as she walks, but still could be fat! No we don’t have a buck but we have a flock of sheep with a ram………. it is a question, maybe i am thinking a flase pregnancy-we had a lamb born in november. Not sure what to make of it as she has never had her teats so pronunced as this.
If there is not a buck around, she can’t be pregnant. There is a possibility of infection. Is there any liquid that can be squeezed out? Is there a smell or does she have a fever and act sick in any other way. If not, goats (especially dairy goats) can come into milk without a pregnancy. My retired goat, Minnie, dried up and then came into milk the next spring, and I milked her all summer.
No, she has no smell or infection, we do have a far amount of wild animals, deer, dingoes could be a buck, no one would ever be surprised. Will just have to watch her and wait . I was told she was a minature, but she is not, maybe they meant meater-the boar goat-she is white but does have a few patches on the back of her neck and hip of light brown flecky hair. Many thanks
my goat is breed on feb 3rd i had to know when she will kid i m from india
pls let me know what should i do n what should i give her to eat at this time. this is my first time so pls let me know
Hi i wrote to you about my goat on the 2nd of march this year, asking about my goat. You commented about her definately not being pregnant by the ram, welll she was., she aborted nearly 2 weeks ago. I was at work when it happened, when i saw her the next morning bleeding was not sure of what had happened. As we have foxes and wild dogs/dingoes we were not able to find it. They all free range on 50 acres, but get locked in at night. Today she is out there rubbing up against the ram, wagging her tail backing on to him, prancing around then head butting him. We have never seen her behave like this before. Now she is locked in by herself, and she is not happy. Just thought you would like to know, I don’t feel so silly now. Jenna
I do get a lot of questions from people, and I don’t remember the situation you are talking about. I hardly ever respond in absolutes because it’s almost impossible to be definite about a goat that I don’t see and know well. I might say something as definite as she wasn’t bred if she came into heat. Sorry to hear how things turned out.
Hi Jenna. i have been trying to do some research to see if female goats can fall pregnant to a male sheep. i keep getting very strange looks from people i tell and even vets telling me that it is impossible. I have a female goat (about 5 years old) who definitely looks like she is pregnant. there are no other goats around us for miles but there are rams. i too have found my doe “backing” up to the ram. i am so sorry your story did not end well, and i am also worried about my doe. She is like part of the family and would hate anything bad to happen to her. i can feel and hear something/s moving around in her tummy and she has filled out a lot in the top of her usually scrawny back and behind. She is also starting to bag up and act differently. if you have heard anything else in relation to this sort of thing, i would be very eager to hear more.
thanks. by the way, you did not sound silly to me.
Sue
After going back up and refreshing myself on your situation, Jenna, I did a google search, and according to Wikipedia, it is possible for a sheep to breed a goat; however, you are most likely not going to get a viable baby. It will most likely end up being aborted or still born. This is because they are not the same species. The goat has 60 chromosomes and sheep have 54. I have not done any academic research on the matter, so take Wikipedia’s answer for what it is.
We just had this happen to a boer doe we purchased in January. She started aborting around the 1st of March and we were shocked because she was suppose to be open. I call the breeder we purchase her from to find out she had been in a pen with Barbados rams (they had the same theory that they would not breed). I called our vet and was told that they could breed but the pregnancy will always abort between 75-90 days.
you are saying you have a goat and she was bred by a ram so a goat and a sheep bred? I think that’s why your question was so confusing a ram is a SHEEP and a BUCK/BILLY is a goat
thank you for this blog post!! I grew up raising goats but havent done it in so many years I feel like I am forgetting everything my grandmother taught me years ago. My mama Nubian was bred in May around the 16th and was with the buck for three weeks. I am pretty confident she is pregnant as she has suddenly filled out around her usually concave hip/back area and is abnormally quiet and happy. I also catch her in funny positions on the ground scratching her belly. Maybe its too soon to truly notice any changes, but it sure seems like I can see a difference to me. When we rescued her two years ago she had just delivered triplets. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this research. If i am doing the math correctly shell be due to kid sometime in middle of october?
That math sounds correct. I’m glad you found this useful. 🙂
Thanks for this! I have my first goat, an almost 5 yr old Saanen who is due with her 5th kidding. I was hesitant to buy her from the sweet 90 yr old lady who was selling off her small herd because I really couldn’t get alot of care history information on her, other than she had always been a great milker, and had kidded 4 other times, her first being twins, followed by two sets of triplets and last year a set of quads. (YIKES) She dosn’t look too big to me, and the lady was expecting her to freshen in Auguest, she had bred late, which I know is a bad sign in a goat, but she was otherwise healthy. Her udder looks well attached despite those years of use also, and for our family she seemed like a good start. She didn’t have trouble kidding before and I thought that was important since I’ve never helped a goat with kidding complications. Thats about it. Other than she was bred to another Saanen. We are looking for a young buck to keep also (maybe an Alpine since we aren’t worried about papers) and a weather to live with him, and will either keep her kid/kids if she has a doe or purchase another to live with her for company. I don’t know how this will all turn out, Im worried about her having babies soon, so anything I find on here will be helpful. Thanks again for the site!
Glad you’ve found this information useful! I know when I started, it was really hard to find good information on goats. I do think it’s getting a bit easier though.
Can I ask, do you ever have trouble with your goats having thier horns? I’d like to leave mine natural, but people look at me like Im cross eyed when I say that. The buck we buy will be dehorned (or whatever you call it) since he will be several months old already when we buy him and everyone around here disbuds, but my girl thats due soon is actually polled, so I don’t know if her baby/babies will have horn buds or not, but Im not interested in burning them off if they do. Also, do you know anyway to know if a baby is a herm if its from polled stock? I worry about keeping a doe only to find out she can’t be bred, but can’t think of a way to know without a trip to the vet.
The easy answer to the horns is no. Now, there’s going to be an exception once in a while. I prefer my goats to have horns. They are easier to handle and work with. Much easier. I’ve never had a serious injury from horns. I do get the occasional bumps and bruises, but they are accidental and usually me being careless.
I don’t know how you would tell at a young age if a goat was a hermaphrodite (proper term is freemartin). I gave one doe away, and then she began acting like a buck and the vet did say she had both male and female organs. I also have one polled doe that is a freemartin. She occasionally comes into heat, but she is also interested in the other girls when they come into heat. She doesn’t settle. I’m not sure the vet could tell me on her because her physical appearance is perfectly female. Did they tell you that she was naturally polled? I don’t know many Saanens that are. If she is naturally polled, about 50% of her babies will be because polled is the dominant trait.
Actually, I got to thinking, and the freemartin is not because of being polled. It’s because she has a twin brother. The hermaphrodite is more random due to being polled. I’m not sure how you’d tell at an early age.
Ya, I was told she was naturally polled, and thats why the lady got her to begin with. She is Saanen, but not papered so of course there is a chance her line was crossed somwhere back, but as far as size and looks you’d never guess that. I think I will just let them grow if they have horns at all. Thanks for all the info!
Hope it helps.
I like having goats but they cost much .I want to know how to raise good ones with little cost .
I’m not sure that’s possible. Of course, having enough land to provide your own feed year round helps, but they do require a lot of care.
Great information!!! I have “pinned” this page & I’m sure I will return to it often as I am a new “goat momma” & my does should be being bred this month (fingers crossed my buck gets the job done, he’s young & seems confused as to what “that thing is”)
I love my goats, they are so fun to watch!
Goats are wonderful! I do feel sorry for those poor young bucks that just don’t get what those hormones mean. 🙂 Good luck!
My grandpa has a momma goat she had twins 3 days ago & is still pregnant. With atleast one, maybe two! How long could she go for? I can feel them moving around. She still goes out to the pasture & eats. She acts fine
I’ve never heard of a situation like this. I would recommend calling a vet. Did you reach in to feel the kids when she was giving birth to make sure she had delivered them all?
I am going through this right now. My pygmy goat had triplets early this morning. After about two hours I realized that she had another one movie inside. I called the vet and he had me give an injection to induce labor. Labor started and stopped without another birth. More time has passed and the baby inside is still visibly movie. Momma goat is tired but not in distress.
I have a goat that bred approximately the last week of May or 1st week in June. Her teats have swollen, but it seems to have stopped growing. Her teats have swollen, but they have come to a point and stopped. There is no swelling of her vulva. Is this unusual? I’ve never raised goats before and I’m worried something is wrong. Am I worrying for nothing? I have to borrow a trailer to get her to a vet.
I meant to say her belly has swollen, but seems to have stopped.
It’s hard to say. Some goats show early; others you’d never know if they were bred until right before it’s time to give birth. If she was bred the first of June, she would be due approximately the first of November, so she still is a ways out.
Hi,
How much land do you think would sustain a herd of several goats, 6 large breed does, 2 pygmy does, 1 large breed buck, and 2 pygmy bucks, for a year? I keep the pygmys and large breeds seperate and the bucks are together in a pen. All the does have been bred this month and I want to let them on pasture until the babies are born. I really like your page and found your information extremely useful! Thanks!
I’m glad you found the information here useful.
It’s really hard for me to say because it would depend upon the land and quality of browse on it. Maybe there is someone nearby that could give you an idea. If they seem to have it eaten down, you can always supplement with hay.
I bought a goat about 21/2 months ago. Little info was known about her when I bought her. She still will not let me pet her. Over time she has gotten closer to me, but only when I feed her. In the last few weeks I’ve noticed her belly is growing outward. I have had pregnant goat once befor, but I knew she was pregnant. I can’t catch her to take her to the vet. I want to be prepared for her birth. What do I do????
If you’ve had a the experience of a pregnant goat before, I’m not sure what information you want. Obviously, it would be best if you could tame her down or at least get to a point you can confine/catch her if she needs help. Good luck.
I want to know the price of goat meat in your country ,Tawfick
I don’t know. Market value of a 55 pound kid was $100-120 in July. That’s the closest I can tell you.
I have a Pygmy doe I acquired that came off a farm already breed. They thought she only had another month, but that time has come and gone. Her tummy is getting bigger and I can see the kid(s) moving around in there….but her bags have yet to start filling up and she is showing no signs at all! I know this can all happen moments before labor….but this girl has me guessing everyday…not that I mind being kept on my toes…:) any thoughts?
Not really any way to tell easily. A vet might be able to do an ultrasound and give you an approximate idea. Checking ligaments will also give you a clue, but there’s no great way to tell when they are due if you don’t know when they were bred.
Yeah, I know this….I am just getting impatient and had to talk it out…:) looking forward to meeting the new kid(s)! Can’t hardly stand it!
🙂 Around here, we refer to it as “watching paint dry.”
I have a female and a male goat, that have been together since we got them, they are a small sized goat. I think the female may be pregnant. She used to be able to fit between the rails on our porch, and so could the male. But now she can’t fit thru them any more, her belly looks like it has gotten bigger on both sides. But my question is how do I know when she will have the baby, since they have been together all the time.
It’s best to watch the heat cycle and see when he is breeding her. Most times, it is best to only have the male and female together to breed. That way you also have a better idea of when they are due. There are signs you can watch for, but it’s really hard to know when they are due if you don’t know her heat cycle or see him breed her. You can check HERE and HERE for signs.
We had a goat named Honey to give birth to 5 kids at her first kidding. She hated kids after that… can’t really blame her…
can anybody help me informing why or how goat produces twins or triplets
my goat is of five years old. She is pregnant and stops milking. I am in-experience and didn’t know how many days are left for kiding so help me how to determine and she’s tits are small.
thanks
I honestly don’t know how to help you. Some goats will dry up naturally. Others will just keep making milk as long as you keep milking them. That is not dependent on her due date. It’s best to quit milking at least a month or two before they are due to let them completely dry up and be able to produce colostrum for new kids.
The way to determine when she is due is dependent on knowing when she was bred. They have an approximately 150-day gestation period. If you know when she was bred, she is due approximately five months later. It can be really difficult to tell when they are due if you don’t know that date. You can check HERE for more help on telling when she’s close.
This has been very helpful. We have 6 goats. 5 are female of which 3 are older like 5-6 years old. 2 are very young I’d say 8-9 mths old. Our boy is a year old and today my husband noticed that he was mounting one of the older females and she was standing still to let him. We acquired all of these goats from people just giving them to us. The two youngest came from some family members who thought they could have them in their backyard. We live on a ranch so we took them after the city got after them for having them withing the city limits. Can the little boy get the older female pregnant?
Absolutely!
Hi, i find this blog very interesting. we looking into rising goats and have some questions, like how old could the female be as to get pregrant and how many times per year can this happen. At what age is it preferable to acquire the female breed. Are there seasons where they strave better? thanks.
Goats mature quite young, so males and females should be kept separate by the time the girls are three months old. I do not breed my girls until they are at least seven months old. It’s possible for them to become pregnant and have kids twice in a year, but I would not recommend it. They need time to recover from kidding. You can acquire them at any age; I’m not sure that any age is better than another. I’m not sure what you are asking with your last questions.
goat help plis? my goat is pregnant and something come out at her lo0ks like a bag with i cnt explain but n0 baby…
i cant find my goats baby… she is untied and let her out to eat then when i came to fetch her found sumthing came out her like a bag of afterbirth but theres no baby tobe found… did she already gave birth? or just natural way b4 giving birth plis help?
If you haven’t checked, you need to go in and probably pull the kid. If there is a vet around, they might be able to help you.
Very informative, god bless you dear
Thank you.
I have a goat at least 90 days pregnant.when do I separate from others, and what can I do to get pen ready….thx, Dana
It depends on your goats and your setup. When I had just a few, I never sorted them off. Now, I shut them in when I think they are in labor and try to return them as soon as possible after they give birth. You want them to have a clean place to kid. If the weather is cold, you’ll need it to be warm or be right there to dry them off (I recommend towels and a blow dryer).
I have a 16×7 boxed shed…with one end open will that be ok for a birth.it is separate from others when she is ready… its a new pin. I put 2 bales of hay down.it has a 7 x 12 fence in front gated off from others ..what is a early sign for labor..she looks really big to me…thx, so much…Dana…I had goats in the 90’s forgot so much…I have 6 total on 2 acres.now….
I do have a couple of posts that might help with the early signs of labor. HERE and HERE.
Hi, I believe my doe is pregnant, but I’m really unsure. The reason I believe she is is because when I squeezed her nipples there was a consistant stream of fluid that came from them. I’m wondering is this a good indication that she will be having kids? Her lactation bag has not gotten to be a large size, and I tried to feel for the kids, but she moves too much for me to check properly.
She shouldn’t have a stream of fluid unless she’s close to kidding. Is it milk or a different consistency. They can have an infection that would cause them to have a discharge (pus can often be white). It’s also possible that she is producing milk. Not sure why you were squeezing her teat, but that can actually bring them into milk. I’m not much help without knowing more and actually seeing the goat. Have you seen her come into heat? Has she been running with a buck? Lots of possible explanations.
I bought a doe a couple days ago and her teets looked full there for we thought she had recently given birth and they took the babies from her. Today when I went to feed there was blood that looked like jam in the kennel. I’m not sure what’s going on. Do you have any advice?
It could be normal discharge if she gave birth recently. Without knowing her history, I can’t really help you. It might be worth having a vet check her out. Hard to say.
Thanks for the picture I was worried about the little sunken in spot right in front of my goats pin bones but I see that some of yours had this as well.
Glad it helped!
U r doing a gr8 job. Pls i hav a question: can a doe b conceived still being chased to met by a bull? Can a doe hav miscariage if been meted during few weeks or days of pregnancy?
I’m not sure what information you are asking for, but I’m going to try to answer. Bucks will sometimes breed a doe whether or not she’s in heat when they are in rut. If she’s aborted, she will likely have a lot of hormones, which would also cause a buck to jump her. She could in theory abort any time in a pregnancy from various causes. If it has been just a few days after breeding, it’s not necessarily a miscarriage. They will sometimes have a heavy discharge a few days after breeding. I would watch closely and see if she comes back into heat.
My goat is starting to pop out on both sides, some days more to one side. She doesn’t have a bah, but there is definitely something there. Why isn’t she getting a bag yet?
I don’t know. It could range from she’s not actually bred to she’s just not far enough along or the colder weather or she’s a horrible milker. There are so many possibilities that I cannot possibly guess.
I bought a Nigerian mixed doe in milk back in October, to milk. The man I got her from said they had just taken her kids and she is likely bred again. She was in a field with bucks and does. But he had no idea how far along she was. He wasn’t even sure how old her kids where because he has a field full of goats. I’ve read they can breed back right after giving birth. Thursday I noticed a white mucousy discharge on her and then the next day there was a a redish string hanging that was about 2 inches long that is now dried up looking. That is all the discharge I’ve seen so far, today is sunday but she has been laying around a lot in the past few days. She will get up and eat, she is still eating good, maybe wonder around a little and lay back down. She hasn’t been as vocal as normal either. Is this normal late pregnancy behavior? Could that mean she is getting close to kidding if she is pregnant?
It’s hard to say. It could be that she aborted, or she could be close to kidding. A vet would be able to help determine what it is.
Your post helps alot dear.. My Billy is close To her second delivery.. But I hv no idea nor any experience how To handle her.. If possible suggest some more advices how To care her and her coming kid(s).. Thanku!. 🙂
Make sure she has some place clean and warm. Try to keep close in case she needs help. Good quality feed with a proper balance of nutrients.
Wow! Nice pictures👏 I have two Nigerian dwarf does one due in February and one any day now. This will b my first time having a goat that kids… Thought I was guessing how many she would have, but now I’m not so sure…. Thanks for the great post!
Thanks, and good luck!
Very good way to know the care rules about our animals
What do you suggest as far as nutrition for a doe during pregnancy?
I never offer advice on feeding because it is so unique to a geographical location. For general information, HERE is a great link.
This is my third kidding. First one did not deliver very large still born. Second she seemed to just not want to come so i left the barn came back from work to a beautiful doeling. This one though has me stumped she seems to be a week past due ( guestimated , we did not intentionally breed her )nothing yet but over the last few days she has gone from barrel to slim and really low but has not shown any signs of labor today she looks like she did the day after her doeling was born . swelling has gone down in her v area but no noise not bleating, stretching, no signs of labor ligaments are softening …. She will not let me touch her belly or check her bag.she’s very aggressive towards anyone but me head butting and trying to bite which is not common with her. I’m anxious the first one she seemed to just have her labor stop and it was a month before we had to deliver a stillborn for her.
I would recommend calling a vet.
I just put my Nigerian dwarf in with a Pygmy buck. They had been together for only two days. I did not see any action except for the buck continuesly urinating on his face and sticking his face in my does behind. Even though not any mountingwas done when I was watching. Do you think my doe could become pregnant ?!
Any time you have a buck and doe together it’s possible for them to breed. Keep in mind, the doe will only be in heat for a day or so every three weeks, so it might take a bit longer before she gets bred.
Hello, your information is very useful. I have a few questions. 4 years ago I purchased a female pygmy goat kid and named her ‘Blaze’. I had no idea about keeping goats and unfortunately rather than having another goat as company, which I realized was not ideal, Blaze had sheep for company. 4 sheep which tended to bully and gang up on her. As a result of this, and of the lack of company from another goat, Blaze became and still is very attached to me. She will follow me like a dog and come when I call her. Several weeks ago the sheep had to be moved and Blaze found herself alone, I quickly realized that dull isolation was cruel and began to search for a companion for her. By this stage I was well informed on all aspects of pygmy goat care, I soon found a female which was 1 inch above the maximum height and wasn’t wanted for breeding. I went to see her and on arrival was informed she had 2, 8 week old kids who had been conceived by mistake. The female kid already had a home planned, a friend of the breeder. The male kid, however had no plans. On seeing him and being reminded of my baby, Blaze I couldn’t resist taking him as well. He has been castrated and I now own 2 does and a wether. The 2 New ones, once the kid was fully weaned were introduced to Blaze, who on seeing them, rushed behind me and hid. The mother now named ‘Fern’ is extremely dominant and still has a very strong bond with her kid. The 2 New ones, Fern and Flower go around the field together and completely exclude Blaze, evicting her from her favourite spots, not letting her feed and being downright mean. All of this is from Fern an Flower is still only a kid. Blaze has no idea how to act around these goats and now spends her days standing by the gate or along the fence calling for me and crying every time I go outside. I know this is 100% my fault, but I realize this and want to fix it. What can I do to help Blaze? How can I stop her being so excluded? And how can I prevent her being so vocal?
Thanks and sorry this is so long but my baby needs help.
It’s hard to fix something like this. The best quick fix you might be able to do is get her company that is not bonded with someone else. That does not mean the other two you have now won’t continue picking on her. You could also breed her and let her keep her kid, but she again might still get picked on and that’s at least five months out.
Sorry I forgot to mention, Blaze is pregnant, would I need to get a mediator before the kids are born?
I have no idea. It’s very dependent on individual personality.
Thank you so much. It seems like our goats have been pregnant forever. They are due soon. It’s a relief to feel like I’m not guessing so much anymore.
Good luck with kidding!
Hi, I have a doe who is due this week, but has not dropped. Do all does drop before labor? Thank you for your time.
Every doe is different, and it varies from one pregnancy to another.
I have a first time kidder and she started bleeding this am but isn’t due for a couple weeks. It is dark blood she’s not bagged up and ligaments are tight. She’s still on food. But I also don’t feel any movement. Any help?????
Call a vet.
My female goat is pregnant, but suddenly she is acting and bleating like the male, eats any thing even from the ground, scratches her face and wounds come out. These habits are unusual.
Your link to goat dairy website has some weird porn links that I didn’t click but thought you’d want to remove your link to that weird site. Thank you for your helpful article though.
Thank you. It seems most of the links no longer work, so I have removed them.
Hi
I have a go at that could be pregnant when I bought her although she was in poor condition. They would be due next week. I had her scanned 3 weeks ago and was told she wasn’t pregnant but her stomach has grown and she is losing a very small amount of reddish fluid. Is it possible she might be?
I have no idea what you mean by scanned. If you had the vet do an ultrasound, I should think they would be able to tell you; although, the ultrasound is not as reliable farther along.
we have 5 does and one nanny who were all put in with a billy july 20th. one doe gave birth 2 weeks ago and the other 5 look as if they are ready to go any day. Is it common for near delivery does to go headbutt crazy? all 5 of the still pregnant does are headbutting each other as if they just met for the first time. of the five still pregnant there are two sets of twins and one single though that doesnt seem to matter whos headbutting who. it all seems to be fairly gentle and just horn to horn, nobody is getting butted in the bellies, and other than the butts they eat next to each other and seem to get along fine.
Headbutting can increase with hormones. They will also want a more private place to kid. Confinement for winter can increase it as well.
With the shorter daylight hours we have been shutting them in earlier and letting them out later. So between that and the hormones I bet that’s it. They have 2 birthing stalls that were leaving doors open on and a couple nooks and crannies in the barn for them to pick a spot.
Have you ever heard of a goat having 5 kids at once? I have a doe that is like HUGE! I have 4-6 other goats and 4 are big I’m assuming they have twins or maybe a triplet filled doe but Silvie is our “House” goat as in as bit as a house.
The most I have ever had is four. Not sure what the record is. We have a lot of fat goats here because of our mild winter.
I have a pregnant goat that has been showing signs of getting close to labor. She’s bagging up and has been swollen in her private area for a month . A couple weeks ago she started acting really skittish and would get startled and take off to corner with her head in corner. Just real jumpy. Now today she’s got a dicharge and acting kinda scared. She’s breathing different too. Is this normal or should we be concerne?
I bought my goat with pregnancy but I do not know d due date n drugs to give her .
it has taken me almost two years looking for information about goats because it’s something ifeel inside me Ican do on a large scale but ever since I found this site it has given me everything and let the party begins.
Am glad to hear from you.
I love all animals
Is the gestation timeline length nose to butt or nose to hind foot?
I have no idea what you are asking.
I have goats that seem to be passing a cough and snoty noise around. I have had the vet out here a few times about this. nothing seems to help. You have any idea. Fever of 103, still eats, I’m clue less .
Souunds like they have a cold. It happens.
It appears your link to SIGNS is not working.
I did this a long time ago. None of the links work anymore.
My goat was only around 7 ish months but I read she would go into heat around August and we noticed our buck chasing her at end of May and june we saw her vulva bright pink but didn’t see if her mounted successful however, we now feel kicking and today her body looks like the picture above of Pam with twins. How far along do you think Pam was in the picture? We noticed a week ago she is laying down a lot and she’s become more friendly than ever. This is my first kid to my heard so I’m afraid she may need help with her first kid. How far along do you think Pam was in the picture? I really don’t want any completions if we can avoid it.
Thanks.
One of my Boers should be around seven weeks and had a small bump on the right for a couple of weeks now. Seems to be there all of the time.
Jim
I have a goat that has been pregnant for what seems like forever. To be honest I’m not 100% sure about when she got pregnant but it seems like she’s close and I was curious about how to really tell when she is close and what the best kind of birthing partners we should have around her to help ease the birth.
I have a Norwegian dwarf first time pregnant doe and I’m just wondering how to know when she’s in labor or possible signs this is my first time as a goat owner. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Do does bleat and run around bulk while heavily pregnant?
I am a new owner of goats. Female goat just appeared in my yard out of nowhere. Male goat I purchased from an auction close to home. My question is how can I figure out the age of my female goat & also how do I know of she is already pregnant? Please any advice is appreciated.