Hi, Can anyone give us some advice. We have had a pet goat for two years (kids pet). She is lovely, like a member of the family. For the last few weeks or so I have been wondering if she is pregnant. We live in the country, she comes and goes from our property and the neighbours as she pleases. She has never been pregnant before. Her udders are swolen up, and they have milk in them. It could be possible she may have wandered and 'helped herself' to a 'stud'. How do I tell if she is pregnant, and is having milk present a sign that birthing may be close? Thanks, Jenny

-- Jenny Donald (jenflur@ihug.co.nz), November 29, 2002

Answers

I was hoping someone more experienced would anwser this. We have not had a doe come into milk with out being pregnant. Are there other goats in your area? Wish I could give better info.

-- bergy (bbergbower@hotmail.com), December 06, 2002.

Some does do come into milk without being bred, sometimes without ever having been pregnant. Also, sometimes they can get mastitis even if they are not or never have been milked, and the mastitis cna cause udder swelling. there only sure ways of detecting pregnancy are blood tests- B.E.T. Reproductive Laboratories, Inc 6174 Jacks Creek Rd. Lexington, Kentucky 40515 859-273-3036

I believe the cost is now $15.00 per sample

or ultrasound ( talk to your vet) or simply waiting to see what happens. Are there other goats in your vicinity- if there are she may well have been bred by a neighboring buck somewhere.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 06, 2002.

Thank you for your advice about our goat. She is looking and acting very 'well'. I believe our neighbour does have a buck - but she would have had to negotiate through three or four fences to get to him. In the mean-time, she is definitely 'fat' looking. I feel that her tummy has 'dropped' in the last week. I definitely believe that she is pregnant. Can anyone give me some idea of how I can tell how far away her birthing may be? - eg. signs to look for. She seems to have a reasonable amount of milk present.

Thanks, Jenny

-- Jenny Donald (jenflur@ihug.co.nz), December 07, 2002.

There's no easy way to tell exactly when she's due. The gestation time is 5 months and most does, at least the swiss breeds, around here, start coming into heat in late august at the earliest, with September being more common. So she would be due early Feb or late Jan at the soonest. If she is a Nubian, La Mancha, or Spanish type goat, she may be due earlier. Watch her udder: if it fills up so full that it's tight and shiny she will probably be having the kid(s) within a day or less.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 07, 2002.