[suzi]

i took on a couple of goats this month not in good condition. painfully thin and in a phantom pregnancy.

vet gave me antibiotics and an anti inflamitory as well as worming them. i did it all and they have put soooo much weight on.
the weather is doing really really well. im pleased with his progress. the doe on the other im more worried about.  she is putting and keeping weight on beautifully. but rather than the her milk drying up shes producing more and getting a fuller udder.
she was in the field with her whole brother when i got her.

i was hoping to get some advise before i speak to my vet

[Anke]

How long have you had her and she did have a cloudburst before or after she came to you? If you are worried about her still being in kid, then you can either have the milk tested or the vet can scan her.


However if she is eating well, you are milking her and she is keeping the weight on then you may just be very lucky that she is recovering well. How much is she milking? This is a Guernsey girl?


If she had the cloudburst before she came to you, maybe she did not have a phantom pregnancy but a real one, and any kids were dead...

[suzi]

i got her this month so not long at all. im stabbing in the dark trying to piece it all together.

evidently other does in the herd have had the same (odd they all have phantom pregnancies. but the previous owner said they were fat even though they were actually painfully thin.

shes rather grumpy and doesnt like coperating beforehand she would comply with what i needed done as long as it was ok with her (shes a goat after all).

ive not bred much so learning the hard way!!

i did wonder if she aborted at some point but is producing milk.

[Anke]

It is unlikely that a thin goat would produce milk unless she aborted very late in her pregnancy, the udder doesn't normally gear up for milk production until the last couple of weeks or so.


Phantom pregnancies are actually quite rare, but there are things which can cause wide-spread abortion in sheep flocks - like Toxoplasmosis, enzootic abortion etc.


I don't thjink you will find out what has happened to her at her previous place, but I would watch her closely - even if she couldburst/aborted/kidded fairly recently she may well be back in kid. If she is not I would expect her to be coming into season any time now as well, if that hasn't happened by end of October I would definitely get her scanned.

[suzi]

shes being scanned by my vet on monday afternoon. i am watching her like a crazy person. im camping in the tack room and jumping up at every noise i hear thats a goat lol. shes clearly feeling well because she tried to go into the neighbours field for the 1st time today!!

[Anke]

shes clearly feeling well because she tried to go into the neighbours field for the 1st time today!!

Just hope your neighbour hasn't got any laurel/rhododendron bushes... she may well have been more "free-ranging"  (and I mean this in a not taking fences as an obstacle kind of way, becuase the food looked better on the other side) in her previous home. Very difficult to get her to stop that. If you have main electric fencing it may work.

[suzi]

i have livestock netting on main electric. shes out. ive tried hurdles, their both out.
atm they are in a large stable when we arent there. their free roaming when we are there and outside keeping an eye on them.