# Overdue Pregnant Goat?



## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

Hello everyone!

I just found these forums while searching for a location to ask a question about our pregnant doe. I bought two bred yearling Nubian does at the beginning of April. The farmer who I bought them from was sure about the due date for one of them, and was right-on (he said May 1st, she kidded May 2nd, all went very well). He was not sure about the due date for the second doe, but insisted that she was pregnant and said that the buck had been in the pen until February 1st.

So, we figured that the latest her due date could be would be July 1st. And, yet, here we are on July 9th, with no kids yet. She has had many signs of approaching labor: she is quite bagged up, the babies have dropped, she's had mucus discharge (white or clear, no smell) on and off for the past couple of weeks, at one point I really thought that her ligaments were gone, but now they have returned (or maybe they never really disappeared?). Sometimes her vulva looks swollen, sometimes not so much. She was off her feed for a day a couple weeks ago, and I thought for sure that she was about to go into labor, but the next day she went right back to eating. 

I can feel the kids moving, and the doe seems happy and healthy. Is there anything I should be concerned about? I know that with humans it's normal for babies to be 2-3 weeks "late," but I thought that goats didn't often go later than 5 days post-dates. Is there anything I should do? How late can a goat go?

Thanks!


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

First of all, Welcome.

Now do you have a picture of her? Is he bag big and tight? It will get really tight. The white discharge is her plug. You could go another month or sooner.


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

Goats are pregnant for 150 days, give or take 5 days on either side. If I absolutely knew for sure when the last breeding date could be, I'd induce a goat at 159 days. Since you bought her bred and can't be certain a buck didn't sneak in with her after Feb. 1, I'd hesitate to induce. Since she's doing well, I'd just watch her. She should kid soon.


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Welcome! And by now you know you've been initiated into the "hurry up and wait club" for goat breeders.  I had a doe go 161 days this year (a first-freshener). Ugh!


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

Thanks for the replies so far. 

The buck left the farm on February 1st, so that is absolutely the last day she could have gotten pregnant, which puts her now at a minimum of 159 days gestation. Her bag is not super tight yet, it doesn't have that "shiny" look to it, but it is quite full. She didn't start making an udder until mid-late May, and it is now twice as big as it was a few weeks ago.

How would I induce her, if I were going to? And what would be the reasons to? Are there any risks of induction besides potentially inducing prematurely?

Thanks!


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

Any news?


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

Still no babies! I really thought it might happen yesterday because she was laying down for several hours, and then got up and pawed the ground a bit before laying down again. But then, the next time I came to check on her, she was out grazing in the pasture. :shrug:

Today is 161 days, at a minimum. 

We think that she might be having triplets because she's just so huge (and the farm where we got her from has a strong history of triplets, even with some yearlings). Would triplets be causing her to go so late?

Any other advice?


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

Larger litters can cause a doe to kid later. If you choose to induce her, give her 2cc of lute IM. This is a RX item from the vet. I've never heard of a goat going this far over her due date.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

If the babies are still wiggling about in there, please don't induce her....WHY??? Is it really so hard to wait for the blessed event? 

I say this of course because I'm one that would be out there in a tent doing hoo-doo-voo-doo to try to make her kid!


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

The only reason I would induce her would be if there was some danger related to her going so far "over." I also wonder, though, if the reason she hasn't gone into labor yet is due to the position of the presenting kid, in which case it seems like inducing would be a bad idea, and waiting might allow the kid more time to get situated correctly. 

But it is certainly nerve-wracking to have her be so overdue and to not know if that means that something is wrong.


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## ShyAnne (Jun 18, 2008)

Hope you have kids soon! 
I am still watching Hollie also. How does her udder look?


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

Her udder is not super tight yet, but it is plenty big enough. I was just looking at the picture I took of Chive (our other doe) ~ 18 hours before she birthed her twins, and her udder definitely looked tighter. But Petah (pregnant doe) is SO much wider than Chive was, she's at least twice as big, probably more like 3 times as big.  I will try to take some current photos and post one since the last one I have is from 2 weeks ago (I also welcomed a _human_ baby two weeks ago, so haven't been as on-top of the goat birthing situation as I would be otherwise). 

I just feel like I know nothing about what the possible complications could be. Why would she not be going into labor on her own? 

On the upside, I do think she looks even more "dropped" today. I think the ligaments are still there, but I'm not sure, I can definitely touch my fingers around her tailbone.


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## Natural Beauty Farm (Feb 17, 2003)

Where do you live, maybe someone here is close enough to come on over and give an opinion. I had one this year that was huge and she would not go into labor, she was carrying 5. 
We were 110% sure of her breeding date, and used dex after her due date.

Last fall it was hard to get does to settle, I heard this all over the country last winter. This year the ones that did delivered singles, trips and quads very few twins at the farms I visited. I also saw a lot more induced labor than normal. It will be interesting to see what happens this breeding season.


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

I live in Hadley, MA . . . it would be wonderful if someone on here was local! 

I've decided that if nothing has happened by Monday, I'll call the vet. I hate to pay for a vet to come to the house, but I don't want to put such a pregnant goat in my car either. 

Apparently this goat's grandmother had 14 babies in the last four years (two sets of triplets and two sets of quads), but since our goat is only just now 14 months old, we really didn't expect her to have more than twins . . . until she got so huge! I still won't be surprised if she only has twins, but I won't be surprised about triplets either. 

I really hope she goes into labor tomorrow.


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## DairyGoatSlave (Dec 27, 2008)

dubble check the goat breeding calander


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

DairyGoatSlave said:


> double check the goat breeding calender


I emailed the farmer to double-check and make absolutely sure that there's no way she could have been bred after February 1st. I still have yet to hear back, but hopefully he will get in touch later today. He was never sure of an actual breeding date, and previously just said that it could have been any time up until February 1st. 

Her vulva is super swollen today, but her bag is still not yet tight. Also, I can still SEE the babies moving when she's lying down. I think I remember reading that if you can see/feel the babies, the birth won't happen for at least 12 hours. Is that true?

Waiting, waiting, waiting . . .


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## goatmama1114 (Jul 9, 2009)

Just wanted to post an update. I finally got in touch with the farmer who I bought our goats from and, though he was vague, he just said in his email, "it's possible that she was bred after February 1st." So, even though that information contradicts what he told us at the time of purchase, I'm so relieved that I don't care! 

I do think the kidding will be sometime this week, but I'm no longer stressing about it at all.

Thanks for all the support!


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## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

I had not heard the "no movement 12 hours prior to kidding" thing before. I've seen kids moving right up until the birth.


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