Both Belle and Serafina are verra verra preggers. Because I let the bucks run with the does all the time, I have no idea when they got that way.
Goats have a 5 month gestation period. Angoras are seasonal breeders - pretty much, they can get preggers from September through January. That's a long time to try to figure out when these two goaties got knocked up.
Serafina is a bitch. She is getting a little less bitchy than when I first got her, but she will not let me check her to see if she is 'bagging up' - which means her body is getting ready to produce milk for her kid and her udders start growing. Generally, when they start bagging up, that means they are nearing the time for kidding.
Belle doesn't mind me checking her, but she is very funny about it. She acts like I have cold hands or something when I check her udders and hunches up funny. Belle's udders are kinda squishy at this point, and growing, but I hope she is still some time away from kidding, but darn, I could be wrong!
My friend, Robin, had 2 of her milk goats kid last month - she knew they were pregnant, but did not expect them so soon, and Robin has been raising goats a lot longer than I have! So, every morning, I go out, I call Belle and Serafina and check to be sure they have not already dropped their kids.
I'm honestly not too concerned about Serafina - this will be her 5th delivery (she is 6 years old). Belle, though - well, this will be her first, and she is a smaller goat than Serafina. Right now, she looks almost as wide as she is long.
I have all the kidding supplies ready. Non-latex gloves if she needs help getting the kid out - the iodine for dipping the umbilical cord in, and nutridrench for goats to give the does a good boost of energy after they give birth. (among other, emergency kind of things). I still need to build a mama/kid temporary stall where they can bond to each other for a couple of days before letting them out with the herd at large.
I will take pictures as soon as the new arrivals get here. Stay tuned!
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