[Violetsprite]

Hi all - do goats get phantom pregnancies?  2 of my goats are sisters around 3 years old - both the same size in height but one has a very broad belly (- it's not bloat)  - whilst  her sister looks fairly slim she is sticking out considerably on both sides and has more developed teats & udders. The only male we have is a castrated pygmy so she can't actually be pregnant - i just wondered if like dogs they can have phantom pregnancies to cause this? either that or she is just a good doer i guess    .

[shygirl]

one of my nannies has a huge belly though shes not pregnant. we do try and feed hay daily plus their grazing/browsing incase its her diet that gives her a big belly.
i dont know about phantom pregnancies - do they follow the natural seasons? if so goats arent usually mated til autumn so wouldnt be preggers at this time of year anyway.
if you turn the goat onto her back and pummel her belly, you should be able to feel it if shes in-kid. if you have ever felt your own pregnant belly, you'l know what it feels like - long before any feet can be felt kicking.

[Violetsprite]

Thanks for the point about Autumn mating. Never had kids though - goat or human - so no experience of what they feel like when you pummel a belly!

[shygirl]

a heavily pregnant belly is quite full and tight, but a mid-term pregnancy is like "feeling for a waterballoon under layer of marshmallows" - you can feel something to know its not empty but cant actaully feel the baby - sorry its hard to put into words. try it on both nannies when they are not full of food.
are they on grazing 24/7?

 

[Violetsprite]

They are on 24/7 grazing and ad lib hay but both on same regime so surprising to see such a difference - i've had goats for 15 years and never seen such a wide belly - hence the question - i guess time will tell but just thought if someone else had experienced phantoms in goats that it might explain it 

[jaykay]

They can have phantom pregnancies.

On the other hand, on apparently the same diet, one of my goats is positively skinny and the other is significantly round  She had a single kid last year and after she'd produced it, she looked no thinner!

[ballingall]

They can have phantom pregnancies. Although it might in theory be the wrong time of year, in practice this time of the year is common for cloudbursts (the phantom kidding of a phantom pregnancy). When did she last come in season? My running through girl came in season regularly from October until February, so 5 months from February is July! She is enormous too, so I am not sure if she is having a phantom pregnancy or not. Generally when it's a phantom, it is just excess water they fill up with.


Beth

[fiestyredhead331]

our Daisy is due to kid in 2 weeks (we hope!) as the vet sent a blood sample which was then lost by the lab and they don't scan up here apparently so I'm going by my own experiences with children. She's moody, waddling, eating everything and lying down lots (just like I did!) but I'll be devastated if it's cloudburst    it feels like I'm going to be 'granny' for the first time