# When do they start to "bag up"?



## Jillis (Sep 11, 2005)

My Nubian, Esmerelda, was bred to my best Alpine buck. 

She started showing early and is quite houselike at this point. She is due on March 15. There is absolutely no chance of a mistake in the dates. I've long known what a good goat she is, and her pregnancy only confirms this for me. She is the herd queen, and she is glowing with health at this point. She's got big teats too. 

But yesterday I noticed her udder is GROWING. I thought they only bagged up within a few days of giving birth. Is this a good indication that she is going to be a high milk producer? 

I wouldn't call what is happening "bagging up", but her udder is getting much bigger than when she was not pg, or even just last week. :dance:


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## DocM (Oct 18, 2006)

Has she been bred before?

My goats typically start growing an udder and bagging up a month before they kid, the real filling starts a few days before they kid. Your doe sounds right on time to me.


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## Goat Freak (Jul 6, 2005)

I think that all goats are different in when they start to produce milk, we have some that get REALLY huge udders a LONG time before they kid, which is normal for them, and then we have one that does't even have a regular sized udder until right before she kids, she fills up right before or after she kids. Good Luck with Esmerelda, hope she gives you some great babies, p.s. one of our goats, the one that fills up afterwards, is as big as a house right now too, she's hopefully going to give us some triplets. Well good luck with Esmerelda, again, talk to you later Jill. Bye.


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## Jillis (Sep 11, 2005)

Thanks, guys!

DocM, she is a first freshener. I had her bred last year, but she didn't settle---I took her to a farm and left her there for a month, but I guess she wasn't having any!

I am personally fairly sure she has triplets in there. I am really hoping for doelings, because I just "feel" she is going to be a good milker, and the buck I bred her to has fantastic milking genetics. His dam milked 20 lbs. a day at peak as a first freshener. So their doelings should be keepers. 

I am sooooo excited! I really can't wait to see her babies! This will be my first kidding of the year!

My only doe to kid last year was my mature Nigerian Dwarf. And she was big early in the same way...and gave me triplet doelings. This year, she isn't nearly as big, so I am thinking twins, which will be fine. I'll take them!


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I have a 3/4 nubian that is a First timer too that has bagged up early. Her mom was a good milker and so I hope she will be too. She has been bagging up steadily for 4 weeks! and not due until after Mar. 1....with bad weather coming tomorrow I wonder if she'll pop!
She's not huge belly wise but udderly YES! and her ligs are fading and swollen vulva for a couple weeks but no discharge.
Goodluck!


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## Suemo (Sep 19, 2002)

Just a note that udder size and ligaments are not always sure indicators. I have a doe that had a belly and an udder twice the size of last year's for 3 WEEKS before she kidded! 
I've found that the very first (and rarely detectible to the untrained eye) udder development occurs 12 weeks before kidding on 1st fresheners, and 8 weeks on mature does.
Bess


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