Aargh! How frustrating!

[Keren]

I have been watching my new does closely since I got them, as they are quite obviously pregnant but since they were not intentionally joined (ie. the buck got through the fence) we are not sure when they are due.

So I have been trying to guess. At shearing time they looked like they would kid within a month. It has now been 3 + weeks and they still look 3 - 4 weeks away.

So I'd been looking and thinking, and finally decided the maiden doe was the closest, and the oldest doe had the longest to go, judging mainly by the udders on them. I was quite happy with that decision.

So this morning when I go out, the oldest doe has bagged up HUGE (she was the least full a few days ago) and definitely the softest around the vulva and in the pelvic ligaments. So now I'm thinking 1 - 2 weeks for her and 3 - 4 for the others.

But who knows, eh?

:lol: So frustrating . . . cattle are sooooo much easier to tell with :lol:

But then again, if it was all easy it wouldnt be interesting or fun . . .

Hope everyone has a great day

 

[dun]

I have been watching my new does closely since I got them, as they are quite obviously pregnant but since they were not intentionally joined (ie. the buck got through the fence) we are not sure when they are due.

So I have been trying to guess. At shearing time they looked like they would kid within a month. It has now been 3 + weeks and they still look 3 - 4 weeks away.

So I'd been looking and thinking, and finally decided the maiden doe was the closest, and the oldest doe had the longest to go, judging mainly by the udders on them. I was quite happy with that decision.

So this morning when I go out, the oldest doe has bagged up HUGE (she was the least full a few days ago) and definitely the softest around the vulva and in the pelvic ligaments. So now I'm thinking 1 - 2 weeks for her and 3 - 4 for the others.

But who knows, eh?

:lol: So frustrating . . . cattle are sooooo much easier to tell with :lol:

But then again, if it was all easy it wouldnt be interesting or fun . . .

Hope everyone has a great day

Don;t know where you got the idea cows are any easier. They're all the same when it comes to birth timing. The only thing certain is that there isn;t anything certain!

 

[Keren]

Well dun, our cows seem to follow a much clearer pattern than the goats, I can say with a fair bit of confidence whether the cow will calve in 1 week, 2 weeks, etc.

Re:

The only thing certain is that there isn't anything certain!

I know! I know!

When I went out this morning to check them the middle-aged doe had twins!!

One down, two to go . . .

 

[Keren]

I have to correct myself - two down, one to go. Just had another set of twins.

Only the maiden left now.

 

[msscamp]

I have to correct myself - two down, one to go. Just had another set of twins.

Only the maiden left now.

Congratulations! I'm hoping to be indoctrinated into kidding this coming early summer. Not having a lot of experience with goats yet, I'm a little reluctant to try kidding during our unpredictable spring weather months. You got it - I'm a chicken! :lol: :lol:

PS I love your signature - very, very true! :lol: :lol:

 

[Keren]

Just to update this post, the maiden kidded all by herself, in between the two hourly checks I was doing on her. She had twins. Got three sets of twins from three does, and each set was boy-girl. So thats pretty good.

Msscamp, I hope the kidding goes well for you. Its spring here but you wouldnt think it with the weather we are having. It had been like summer. Then, on Saturday the maiden dropped her kids. An hour later we got the scariest storm I have ever seen. Within five minutes it went from blue skies to overcast, and the next five minutes it was belting down. We got 40 mls in 45 minutes. I went out to check on the does and kids - they are in a three-sided shed - and realised the rest of the place was flooded, and the poddies were up to their bellies in water. I ended up putting them in the feedshed - the only dry place left. Luckily the kidding shed was also dry as it is on the highest point of the place. So yeah, pretty unpredictable weather here too.