goat "pre-labor"

My doe is on her third year birthing. The last two were singlets but this year she looks like a beached whale, thus maybe twins?

Her belly has dropped, ligaments are gone, udder has filled partially and is making milk. She is biting at flanks some, getting up and down and a fair amount, yawning and eating and drinking like a pig! She will try to lay down flat but then cant seem to get comfortable so sits up again. Her respiration rate has been quite high-30 at a low to over 80 at a high point per minute, so visible breathing. Peeing and pooping regularly, sometimes maybe straining as she poops.. If you pester her she moves around vigorously but otherwise is kind of ignoring you. The challenge-this has been going on for 2.5 days.

I dont see any mucus, blood or bubbles that usually indicate birth is eminent. I also dont see visible contractions or obvious hard straining of any sort like she is pushing. I did give her a calcium/glycol drench, as well as every 4-5 hours grain covered soaked in honey, vit B shot, and free choice coastal hay (She has had ketosis in a previous pregnancy and is CAE positive, so keeping her in good condition can be hard during pregnancy).

Ive seen guidance that goats can be in pre-labor for about a day, but trying to understand when it might be a good idea to palpate and make sure nothing is tangled up or creating an issue. Could it be that as the babies shift for delivery, they are just putting extra pressure on her lungs, thus causing discomfort or that she has a longer than normal pre-labor stage?

 

Ok, I think I’m being paranoid lol. Pics of my land whale. I’m used to my little minis looking huge, but normally this girl is a very lean, long bodied girl, so is looking rather stout lol.

 

That was another weird bit, as she wasnt with the buck until 9/1 thus her earliest due date should be 1/29. She seems perfectly happy now and is naping serenely in the sun with that far away momma goat look, so I figure she was just getting them in place. I just didnt realize that happened! The nigerian is progressing right on time and was exposed that same week and now has a mucus plug, so should be a number of kids by the end of the weekend.

She is a very beautiful doe and my understanding, was bred as a show doe. I bought her and an alpine doe and a mixed buck from the same breeder when I first got goats-all were CAE+ and the buck also had CL. I euthanized the buck, had the alpine doe die from pneumonia at 2 and have nursed this girl back from pneumonia twice and she is only 4. Fingers crossed she has at least one doe, as Ill remove it from her and bottle feed and leave her any bucks to raise. I culled most of my goats this year so it was just a few last ones I had a sentimental attachment to left over, and Im going to begin partitioning the CAE positive animals separately and no longer breeding. Try to get a fresh start with non-diseased animals ugh.

 

My lamancha momma doe is still a land whale. She has had several days where she will having fairly strong contractions that you can actually see roll down her side and go through that for several hours, up down, up down, biting flanks, yawning, lots of drinking. Just as soon as I get excited, things slow down and she is back to normal, lol. I misjudged her ligaments as only now can I wrap my hand around her whole tail and her udder has started fully filling out more in the last day or so and very dry around the back end, no fluids at all and never any pushing.

She is currently being treated like a queen with her own horse stall (with pygmy friend on the outside of the mesh). Two days ago I went to check on her-and she had rolled upside down and got stuck on her back as she was too big to get up . She just gave me that goofy lamancha look and waved a leg at me for help, which is so funny as normally she is so dignified and a little aloof! I rolled her back over and she hopped right up-we are both pretending it didnt happen!

Hopefully babies any day!

 

I’m now almost a month later and still no kids!! However all three foes are have been moaning and groaning for three days and are now all heavy breathing. The little one has started grunting so I think maybe pushing.

The original doe in this story has been breathing heavy on and off for about three days. Her udder is literally gigantic. I guess how long should I let her alone before palpating her. Images attached of my lovely mothership La Mancha and her two sidekicks. (Apologies for the barn, I have to rebuild the walls as the horses tore it up)

 

There are white tail deer literally everywhere here. Part of the “pasture” for lack of a better word is rocky then heavy Oak and cedar forest that lines a moist creek bottom that plateaus into a seasonal retaining pond. During dry times I let them graze there, albeit recognizing all their nutrition is really hay and supplemental alfalfa pellets. I don’t see slugs but do see a ton of snails and frogs. Ugh, I’ll research. I routinely worm with ivermectin based on famamcha.

 

Ok I took a peek at symptoms. She is a strange doe and has always been a little off. Like I sometimes see head tilting and sort of odd gazing and I’ve noted when in labor she sometimes shows an odd twisting of head and neck that I noted in the CAE encephalitis baby kid I was given. She is CAE positive and has had two rounds of serious pneumonia that I’ve nursed her back from. I’ve also noted her and her grand daughter to seem “dandruffy” so treated with ivermectin about two weeks back wondering if mites were there.

 

I’ve not noticed any stumbling however or tripping-I’m so glad you mentioned this though as my property seems like the perfect spot for them to get exposed. I’ve been culling all goats but these last few who I love, due to cae and am trying to start over by pulling babies. However I’m also buying some very expensive sheep lambs-and it would have been awful to end up with this issue in them. Sounds like the low area should just be off limits!

 

Ohhhhh we have weird gooey oooky vagina stuff!!! Babies are imminent !!!!!!!!!!!