May 5, 2013

Lily's Little Bag

And I don't mean handbag.

Woo Woo!

When I first bought Lily, her abdomen was flat with teeny little bumps for nipples. Now she is is beginning to show a little bit of udder, or "bag." This is sometimes called "bagging up" or "making her udder," meaning it is beginning to fill with milk in preparation for kidding.

Unlike Ziggy....

Hey Ziggy, are you sure somebodies in there?

... who made monthly visits to Gruffy (our Pygmy buck), Lily was with Elvis (our Kiko buck) only once. That means I can calculate a due date of May 9th for Lily, if she is indeed pregnant.

Why would I say "if"? Because in keeping with my "one-can-never-know-for-certain-if-a-doe-is-pregnant-without-a-blood-test-or-ultrasound," I should mention that there is such a thing as "precocious udder." This is when an young, unbred doe begins to make milk. I've never seen it but have read about it. Usually it is a sign of strong milking genes, and usually resolves itself if left alone.

According to my calendar, Ziggy's next (and last) due date would be June 3rd, unless I forgot to write something down. It doesn't look like she can go another month, does it? That would be the one due date that could make Elvis the daddy.

With Ziggy taking her sweet time, Lily's impending due date sets up a bit of a problem for me.

I have 2 goat stalls, The gated one on the left is the one I use as for kidding.
This is the one Surprise "owns." She's still mad about being turned out!

We started with one large box type stall to shelter the girls. Our first year of kidding, Dan divided it in half to create a kidding stall. I've also used it to separate the kids from their moms at night, so I can get the morning's milking. I can't do that so far this year.

Ziggy & Lily, enjoying their own stalls.

This set-up works well enough, but means I can have only one goat due at a time! The question is, what do I do with four goats when two are pending kidding at any time?

One thing this points to is a need for a better set-up. I showed you Dan's first idea for a "barn" in this post "The Princess Is Peeved". He's come up with a better idea since then, which I haven't managed to write about yet. For the time being, the best plan seems to do a goat shed shuffle. I'll put the boys permanently into the new shelter, put Surprise and Alphie into the original buck barn, and give Ziggy and Lily a stall each in the girls' shed. Surprise will not be happy about that arrangement, but at least I have a dry bed for everyone.

Lily's Little Bag © May 2013 by 

24 comments:

Unknown said...

She is HUGE...I'm speechless!

Tombstone Livestock said...

I don't think there is anyway that Ziggy can wait another 30 days, looks like she has quite a litter growing in there. Hopefully she will have an uneventful birth.

Farmer Barb said...

Are you sure Elvis never got to Ziggy, or perhaps a wandering rhino?

Leigh said...

Tanya, her's is a breed that commonly gives birth to multiples, so yes, they get huge!

TL, I'm praying for an uneventful birth too. I've had my share of assisting, and I'd rather not!

Barb, that's just it, Elvis jumped two fences to get to her the last time (January). :o

Carolyn said...

For cripes sakes Ziggy, will you pop already?!? You're making the rest of us hurt just looking at ya!

Nina said...

Poor Ziggy. No way she could go another month. She looks like she's going to drop two or three babes your way before too long. I can't imagine she could get much bigger. She looks like she swallowed inflated balloons!
Come on Ziggy! We're all waiting!

SmithGang said...

gracious! When I first saw the pic I thought woohoo she's had them scanned for how many lol. now I'm saying lordy lordy no way she can go to June. I have to say I do believe I would say her n Elvis must have had a secret date:) I have never seen a Moma goat that big:)!

Renee Nefe said...

Poor Surprise! Booted out of her bed yet again!
Your plan sure seems like a good one though.
And like everyone else here, I can't believe that Ziggy hasn't delivered yet.

Woolly Bits said...

every day I check your blog to see if Ziggy has done the dead... and still nothing:) tell her to get going or lily might overtake her!! or maybe that'll spur her into action?

Leigh said...

Carolyn, it's nerve wracking, isn't it>

Nina, neither do I! It isn't unheard of for quads or quints either.

SmithGang, I'm not sure if anyone around here has an ultrasound machine for animals. Probably, but I've not inquired. Not something I would ordinarily do, but if she doesn't deliver soon, I'll be calling vets and asking questions.

Renee, I would feel sorry for Surprise if she wasn't such a pill about everything. She looks at me like she can't understand the she is Queen!

Bettina, Lily might! Not much we can do about due dates though. :)

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

We're all pacing the floors waiting to hear Ziggy has finally delivered her little one(s).

Su Ba said...

It will be an exciting time when they're all born. Leigh, I'm curious. Do you hand milk your Nigerians or use some sort of milking device?

...Su
kaufarmer.blogspot.com

Sue said...

Have you seen babies moving in Ziggy, or felt for them? Is she bagging up yet? Curious minds want to know...

DFW said...

Come on Ziggy! Could she have quads in there?

Anonymous said...

Interesting Leigh, that you mention a precocious udder, I never knew it was called that. We had a doe (Pasha) once that was born on our property that did exactly that. She was an Alpine and we milked and milked and milked her.....that was a lot of milk. So thank you! :)

p.s. hugs to Ziggy and Lily, does have a very nice udder!

Unknown said...

Wow, she is definately ready to pop! I hope you share pictures of her baby. Love your blog! Shannon

Unknown said...

Aww Ziggy girl, come on already...Please. Oh my gosh she just looks so uncomfortable. Praying for a smooth delivery and that it's soon, I cant imagine another 30 days, yikes!

Jocelyn said...

You're going to be busy, too! I have three girls due in the next month and a half, and I'm counting the days.

I have a precocious milker. She would bag up around the time she went into heat and yes, she had milk. The udder stays very small, though. It doesn't bag up like your girl is bagging up. It's just a tiny udder with a tiny bit of milk. Actually it's pretty cool.

My precocial udder girl is due in June, and her bag is really big already. Really big. I am impressed. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when her time comes!

Leigh said...

Sandy, I confess I'm getting worn out with the anticipation, LOL

Su Ba, I don't have a milking machine so I've only milked by hand. I used to have 3 Nigies, but had to sell two of them because their udders were so small and my hands are too big. Ziggy has no rear attachments, so she has a saggy, baggy udder. Ugly but easy to milk!

Sue, yes, I've seen them move and I've seen her belly take on weird shapes. Her udder is still soft. It's the thing I'm keeping my eye on!

DFW, she easily could. :)

Pam, I learned about it from the goat lists. :)

Shannon, hello! This will be a big event, and I promise lots of photos. :)

Jen, if I forgot to mark my calendar (in terms of visits to Gruffy, which is likely), then her next due date would be around May 15. I'm hoping for that one!

Jocelyn, I was hoping to space my kiddings out, but when do goats ever cooperate with anything, LOL

Benita said...

Does one ever induce a goat? Ziggy looks beyond popping point. She must be very uncomfortable. I'm betting on triplets at least in there. What do you think?

Cat Eye Cottage said...

We never seem to have enough animal shelter, do we? I am having that problem with the chickens and rabbits right now. Good luck with the kidding. How exciting!

Rhonda from Baddeck said...

Will Ziggy be able to enter the birthing stalls with those 'saddlebags' she's carrying? She's definitely changed shape over the last couple of weeks - less 'general' roundness and now more defined. For everyone's sake, I hope she kids soon!

MTWaggin said...

Yup, think shuffling is your only option and hey, keeping Dan busy creating new things is also good! LOL

Leigh said...

Benita, Crystal from The Adventures of Noodleville mentioned inducing one of her goats. She had an exact due date however, which I don't!

Candace, that is so true. This situation is really confirming how much we need a new "barn."

Rhonda, LOL, she barely fits. Her belly is getting pretty hard now too, no more flabbiness. I hope she kids soon too.

Sherry, the timing of the new goat shelter worked out perfectly, didn't it!