Early signs of goat labor
I'm stealing Mark's spot
to hit up our readers for timely advice. This morning, I became
convinced that Abigail was going into labor, but now I'm not sure if
what I'm seeing counts as contractions. At intervals, I'll see a ripple
slide across her baby bump, often with a bulgy kid-part pushing out in
an ungainly fashion. Once, I put my hand there and felt a hard kid hoof.
Is this simply kids repositioning pre-labor, or do those movements
count as contractions?
Other signs of imminent
delivery abound. I caught Abigail arching her back like a cat once this
morning, she's been yawning frequently, and she seems intent upon
scratching the top of her head against the fence. Actually, our usually
standoffish goat even came over and lay down right in front of me, then
put her head in my lap asking for a head scratch. Meanwhile, Abigail has
also been adamantly chasing our little doeling out of her immediate
vicinity. Otherwise, though, she seems content to eat hay and chew her
cud as usual.
So, what do you think ---
should I be camping out in the starplate coop and locking our doe in
her kidding stall, or relaxing until tomorrow?
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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No advice really since I have never owned a goat, only cows and sheep. Probably what you're seeing is the babies or baby getting in position. She'll be uncomfortable and will seek you out and want your other goat to leave her alone because frankly it hurts a bit.
She's getting close! Good Luck!
Hi Anna,
I found your blog recently and I am enjoying the reading.
Do you know when your doe bred and when she is due? Is this her first kidding? These are things I always take into account when watching for signs of labor in a doe.
The last few days before giving birth, my does usually, but not always show some specific signs. Are her hips spread and loose? Has her udder been filling, but is still soft, or in the last 24 hours has it really filled in and become much firmer? This does not happen with all does, but it does with many of them in my experience. The yawning and arching of the back may be signs of the kids shifting into position for birthing and an expression of the pain that comes with the final days of preparation of the doe's body. She may also pass some mucous, some but not a lot, a few weeks before she goes into labor.
Right before hard labor, if you happen to be in the vicinity, you will be able to see her vertebrae from her hip bones down to her tail become very pronounced, with the hips looking very boney and hollow. Sometimes you will see her vulva suck in rather dramatically with the onset of hard contractions. Once she is in hard labor she may lay down and get up many times. My does will usually, but not always lay down for a hard contraction. Sometimes if they are standing there is a very pronounced sudden arching of the back. If they are laying down, many times the back legs will be stuck out straight and their heads are pointed straight up. Be ready. Some goats holler, loudly, as they have the last hard contractions right before birth. Some don't. The first time I heard that I really thought something was wrong, but it wasn't. But it could be.
If your doe is laying down and pushing for all she is worth for 30 minutes or so and nothing is happening, there is probably two kids trying to come out together. Then you have to go in and sort them out, so they can be born. The doe will not be able to give birth otherwise and will tire herself out trying. I really hope this doesn't happen to you. It can be very nerve wracking, but still result in a successful birth and healthy animals. The first time will be the hardest. Then after that, you'll know what to do.
I have quite a few articles on our blog detailing and showing pictures of many of the things I have tried to describe if you want to look them over. I hope this has been some help to you and that your doe has strong healthy babies. By the way, if I'm there when the kids are born, I scoop the mucous out of their mouths and dry them off with a towel, while leaving them laying right there with the doe, right after they are born. Especially if it's cold. We have never used a heat lamp or any source of outside heat. Just make sure they are dry and fed and have fresh dry hay to snuggle in after all of the birthing liquid is passed.
Please contact me with any questions I can help you with. I love having goats, milking, and making cheese. It's a great way to live. Best of luck.
Fern
http://thoughtsfromfrankandfern.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_6.html
http://thoughtsfromfrankandfern.blogspot.com/
In my experience, the doe sometimes becomes more vocal and looks around at her backside beginning a couple of days before kidding. One of my girls always starts licking me around that time. The udder will bag up noticeably.
The ligaments around the spine above the tail loosen considerably, so that you can almost wrap your hand around the spine right there.
The vulvar area spreads out and looks soft and pink. Look at her bottom as often as makes you happy.. look for the mucus. It will be a big drippy strand. When you see that, labor is imminent. Good luck to you and Abigail!