Goat Pregnancies & Birth
It’s so fascinating to me that all of Gods animals carry their young differently and interact with them in their own unique way. I thought some of you might enjoy learning a bit more about a goat pregnancy.
Let me know what was surprising to you!
How to tell when a goat is pregnant?
As with most animals, it is very hard to know if a goat is pregnant until the end. They carry their “pregnancy weight” in the middle and often times will just look bloated some days. Which is totally normal for a lot of goats. There are two ways to know for sure if your goat is pregnant:
Wait. It will be evident near the end of their pregnancy. They will begin showing signs such as swollen midsections, enlarged vulva, they will begin to bag up (udders begin to get larger) and their tail ligaments will begin to soften preparing their bodies for birth. If you watch closely enough you’ll even see the goat kids moving! Not sure that part will ever get old for me.
Go to the Vet. A veterinarian can perform an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy. This is not the route we take due to the expense involved. But if were raising show goats or they were simply pets it might be something we’d consider.
How long are they pregnant for?
Goats on average are pregnant for 150 days or about 5 months. We like to place our Billie’s (male goats) with the female goats for about a month. This gives us a ball park due date, which is close enough for us. If you are looking for more exact dates you could place your Billie with one or two females at a time. We have chosen to make the whole process as natural as possible which results in less work for us.
As the due date gets closer you can check the goat’s vulva to begin pinpointing the date a little better. As she gets closer to her due date her vulva will begin dropping and begin to open preparing the way for kidding.
Signs your goat is close to labor.
The ligaments at the base of their tale will begin to loosen as it gets closer to the end of their pregnancy. Just like us, their bodies begin to prepare for birth.
Just like humans, they become all belly and start waddling. Sounds familiar doesn’t it.
They will begin discharging, indicating that the mucous plug is coming loose. When you notice this, they are about 24 hours away from giving birth.
As their vulva begins to drop and soften (and maybe become puffy) you know a baby is coming soon!
What is goat labor like?
As your goats get close to labor you may notice them becoming restless and maybe even a little ornery. They will naturally begin isolating themselves from the herd. You may even notice that they will begin pawing at the ground or head butting the fence. This is very common as labor can be a painful process.
The birthing process doesn’t last very long if all is going well. Some goats give birth standing, some lying down - just let them do what they want to do. Like humans, they know what to do, their bodies were designed for it. Labor usally last about 30 minutes or less. They will push and the baby goat will come out in a bubble or sac, this should naturally break. It’s important to not interfere unless mom and baby are visibly in trouble. Most goat births do not require human intervention. We have never even witnessed a full birth, our mommas have done all the work on their own.
Do goats need help taking care of their new baby?
Most of the time animals do not need humans helping them with taking care of their young. In our impatience, we feel like we need to intervene. I challenge you to step away for 30 - 45 minutes to allow the mother to bond with her babies and see if they can figure it out on their own.
If for some reason the kid is not latching onto mom, you might try assisting a bit. It’s very important for goat kids, just like human kids, to get colostrum in the first few hours of being born. Colostrum contains all of the nutrition and vitamins they need to be strong in the beginning but also for the rest of their lives. It is a superb immunity booster for humans and animals alike. If needed, you can purchase colostrum and feed it to the goat kid. This of course, means you have a bottle baby. This is fun and sometimes necessary, but in reality, it’s not what’s best for the goat.
Hopefully this served as a brief overview of goat pregnancies and birth. It’s amazing how God has designed life to continue and how He has set in mothers the natural ability to care for their young.
“For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10)
