Well, goats are creatures of habit, and Fiona is no exception. Fiona kidded for us on day 147 of her pregnancy – just like last year! This is her 3rd freshening, and the first time she didn’t have twins. Although her early ultrasound showed twins, she had large singleton doeling. I think she is a Mini Me of Fiona. She has the same coloring; same wide nose and rear-end. Goat breeders say that width starts at the nose, and in this case, that’s true.
Like all my late-term goats, I kept a close eye on Fiona over the last week. I checked her ligaments 3 times or more every day and paid close attention to her udder. On day 146, I went ahead and did her kidding clip as all my milkers also got their udder clips that day. This helps keep mess and infection down as kidding occurs, and during the postpartum period. I noticed her udder was getting a little bigger and expected her to kid the next day. However, I was surprised the next morning when her ligaments were still present. her udder was a little tighter though, and I did notice that she was acting a little quiet and preferring to stay by herself in the polydome rather than eating and socializing with the other goats. This behavior continued through the morning, so around 1pm I went ahead and put her in the kidding stall. An hour later she lost her ligaments, and two hours after that her water broke. Her baby was born around 4:30pm and she delivered the placenta quickly after that. Fiona’s story brings up an important point: it is critical to understand the behavior of your goats. If I had not been in-tune with Fiona’s typical routine, I may have made other plans for the day and missed her birth altogether. So often we rely on ligaments to tell us when kidding will occur, but it is important to assess the big picture.
Because I have Fiona, her yearling twins and two other of her relatives, this doeling has been sold.
You are such a good nurse, all kidding aside. 😉