How long does a pregnant goat walk before giving birth to a kid? Typically, pregnancy lasts 150 days. A healthy female gives birth five (full) months after insemination. Childbirth may occur a week earlier or later than expected. Typically, a goat gives birth to the same number of kids at a time as the mother or the female herself had kids the previous time.
What determines the duration of pregnancy
Pregnant goats are called pregnant goats. Pregnancy, or pregnancy, begins from the moment of fertilization and ends with the birth of a kid.Its duration is five (full) months, that is, 150 days. It is necessary to know when a goat becomes pregnant in order to transfer it to dry land and start it (stop milking) in time. Pregnancy at home is determined by its appearance (the abdomen becomes enlarged, the genitals become swollen, the goat stretches like a cat, and there are no signs of heat).
In a normal, that is, physiological, pregnancy, the female carries the fetus without complications, and after 5 months gives birth to 1-2, less often 3-4 kids. When vital processes in the animal’s body are disrupted, a pathological condition develops, which can be interrupted prematurely and result in spontaneous abortion. Causes of the pathology: poor quality food, lack of vitamins and minerals, poor living conditions.
Sometimes goats can experience false pregnancy. This happens if after the sexual cycle insemination does not occur or it occurs, but turns out to be infertile. During a false pregnancy, the female’s abdomen enlarges and the udder swells. True, there is no fetus in the uterus. The abdomen becomes enlarged due to mucus and fluid accumulated there.
The favorable course of pregnancy is influenced by the feed and conditions of keeping the animals. Long-term confinement and lack of walks lengthen the duration of pregnancy. If the goat carries males rather than females, lambing will occur a little later. Primiparous goats have a longer period of fruiting. Dairy females give birth at 140-145 days.
The moment of lambing may shift a week later or a week earlier than expected.Childbirth is a process when a mature fetus, having completed its development, emerges from the mother’s body. It takes 5 months for all organs and systems of a kid to fully develop. Goats of early maturing breeds usually give birth earlier than late maturing ones.
Pregnancy Calendar
Suyagnost normally lasts 150 days. The onset of pregnancy is difficult to determine. It is usually calculated from the date of coverage. In the third month of pregnancy, the fetus is already palpable in goats on the right side of the abdomen. Using a phonendoscope, you can even hear the baby goat's heartbeat.
An ordinary, that is, normal physiological pregnancy in a goat lasts 145-155 days. Ideally - 150 days. You can determine the moment of birth using a table. The only thing you need to know in this case is the date of insemination. As a rule, the female is covered in autumn, less often in winter.
Table for determining lambing:
| Insemination date | Lambing date |
| September 1 | 28 January |
| October 1 | February 27 |
| Nov. 1 | March 31 |
| December 1 | April 29 |
| 1st of January | May 30 |
The goats are covered with late canopy so that the offspring that are born can be grazed in the meadow in the summer. After all, grass is the cheapest and most valuable food. Throughout pregnancy, it is necessary to monitor the animal’s condition, not expose it to stress, and provide high-quality and nutritious food.
How many kids is born to a goat?
The fertility of goats depends on genetics, that is, hereditary traits. There are females that constantly give birth to one kid at a time. Some animals, on the contrary, are very fertile. African goats usually give birth to at least three babies.
The first time a goat gives birth to one or two kids. Rarely does a female give birth to 4-6 cubs. In 67 cases out of 100, pregnant goats give birth to twins at the time of lambing.The kids are born one after another, with a break of 10-30 minutes.
Housing conditions and quality of food do not affect the number of cubs. Only the viability of the kids depends on nutrition. If a goat eats nothing but hay and straw throughout her pregnancy, she will give birth to weak babies. During pregnancy, especially in winter, the female must be given some vegetables, silage, grain, spruce or pine branches, pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals, salt, chalk, and bone meal.
How long does labor last?
Lambing in a goat occurs 150 days after insemination. By this time, the fetus has completely completed its development in the uterus of a male or female female. At the moment of birth, the fetal fluid and membrane come out.
It is possible to determine that the female will soon give birth to a kid by external signs. The goat's genitals become swollen, mucus is released from them, and the udder enlarges.
Labor begins with contraction of the uterine muscles. Contractions last about 3 hours. The female usually lies on the floor before giving birth. The membranes rupture, the fetus is expelled through the cervix, and the umbilical cord breaks. In a goat that has not given birth before, labor lasts 60-90 minutes. The baby goat usually moves forward with its legs and muzzle. If this is not the first pregnancy, then labor ends faster, after 40-50 minutes. Sometimes a female gives birth to two kids within half an hour.
After childbirth, short contractions occur with long pauses, facilitating the passage of the placenta. In nature, goats produce offspring on their own, without human help. After giving birth, the female licks the kid and gnaws the umbilical cord. The placenta also leaves the uterus on its own.
A person can help remove mucus from the kid's nose by cutting the umbilical cord 4-6 cm from the umbilical ring. True, a goat must lick its baby.Biological substances in amniotic fluid stimulate the passage of the placenta.
Usually the place comes out after 1-3 hours; you cannot pull it out with your hand. In case of delayed placenta, the female is given an injection of Oxytocin. The place that comes out of the uterus must be removed immediately so that the goat does not eat it, otherwise an eating disorder may occur.
After giving birth, the female is given warm water with sugar and the colostrum is expressed. Baby goats that are born should eat no later than 40 minutes after birth. The cubs remain under the female for the first 2-3 months of life. Then they are gradually transferred to plant foods.
