Is Goat Labor Imminent? How to Check Ligaments

Is your doe ready to kid or kidding around?

Is Goat Labor Imminent? How to Check Ligaments

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Is goat labor imminent? Breeders advise checking for the ligaments. This lets you know if the doe is ready to kid or kidding around.

GOATS ARE NOTORIOUS for tricking us with their pre-delivery antics! They paw or nest, talk to their bellies, distance themselves from the herd, or hide in odd places; they might get extra cranky or extra affectionate. Or they give no signs at all, and then suddenly, KIDS!

One of the things that longtime breeders will tell you when it comes to goat labor, is to “feel for the ligaments.” This classic “tell” lets you know if the doe is ready to kid or if she’s just fooling around. A doe can show all the signs of goat labor, but if you can still feel her ligaments, then you have time. On the other hand, if she’s showing no signs but her ligaments are gone, you need to be ready.

Anywhere from several days to weeks from kidding, the muscles at the base of the tail will soften and stretch. You may notice an indentation on either side of her spine just above the tail, and if you feel these muscles, they’ll be soft and squishy. You may even be able to wrap your fingers around the spine just above the tail. Many people mistake this for “losing her ligs” when in fact, it’s only the muscles that have relaxed.

The ligaments run at an angle from the goat’s spine to the pin bones. The pin bones are the pointy nodules on either side of the tail head. You must place your fingers well out to either side of the spine to find the ligaments. You’ll miss the ligaments if you feel too close to the spine. The ligaments are about the diameter of a pencil and remain rigid until the due date approaches.

During the last few weeks, they’ll begin to slacken and feel more like taught bowstrings than rigid sticks. As the due date nears, the ligaments often get softer and sink deeper into the muscle tissue, but they’ll still be present until pre-labor begins. When goat labor is eminent and a doe’s ready to kid, the ligaments slacken to the point where you can no longer feel them at all. If a doe’s ligaments are “gone,” it’s time to be ready with the kidding box! True labor will start within a few hours at most.

Things Start to Change

This particular doe was bred by mistake, so I didn’t get a breeding date. There was a window of about 6 weeks where she was exposed to an unweaned buckling belonging to another doe in her pen. In this photo, she is due sometime in the next 3 weeks. I noticed a slight indentation on either side of her tailbone that wasn’t there yesterday. The muscles in her rump are beginning to soften and relax, creating a small depression on either side of her tail head. Since I don’t have a due date on this doe, the appearance of these depressions reminded me to start checking her ligaments twice a day.

Don’t Make This Mistake!

This doe’s muscles have relaxed to the point where I can easily wrap my fingers around her spine. However, this isn’t where the ligaments are located. This is a classic beginner’s mistake. The ligaments are running at an outward angle further out from where my thumb and forefinger are. Looking closely, you can almost see where this goat’s heavy winter hair is creating a ridge along the top of her taut ligaments. She isn’t ready to kid. I can feel safe letting her out to pasture with the herd today.

The Ligaments are Here

This is where my fingers should be. I can feel the ligaments sticking up well above the muscles, which have relaxed and made the ligaments more obvious. As she nears her due date, these ligaments will begin to slacken, but they won’t “disappear” until she is imminent. At that point, her entire back end will feel squishy and hollow, like she’s full of liquid beneath the skin. The bones may appear prominent, and you can feel them easily. A distinct hollow on either side of the spine will be where those ligaments usually run.

A Closer Look

Here’s the left ligament. It’s tight enough compared to the surrounding muscle tissue that I can pinch it between my fingers.

Here’s the ligament on the right side. This doe has a ways to go yet. I can feel confident that she isn’t going to kid today.

How Long Until the Doe Kids?

I’ve read that a doe can “lose her ligaments” as much as 24 hours before kidding, but in my personal experience, 3 to 4 hours is more typical. Some does (especially maidens), won’t fully lose their ligaments until about 30 minutes before kids arrive. Once those ligaments are gone, it’s time to be on active kidding watch and have your box of kidding supplies ready! The doe in this article kidded 15 days after the ligament-checking photos were taken. I checked her ligaments during evening chores on February 25th. They were very slack but still present. I put her in the kidding stall, and she delivered around 2:00 a.m. February 26th.

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Nan Hassey and her husband Phil live on 40 acres in Rye, CO where they breed pack and dairy goats. They bought their first packgoat in 2002 and started their own breeding program in 2012. They love Alpine/Nubian crosses and have trained their wethers to pack and to pull carts and carriages in single and team hitches. www.goatorama.com


Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.

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