Goat Gestation – How Long are Goats Pregnant?

Have you bred your goats and you know they are pregnant, but are now wondering how long are goats pregnant? The length of goat gestation is important to know if you are breeding your goats.

So, while you learn about when to breed your goats, how to take care of your pregnant goats and what kidding signs are, you will want to also make sure to know how long goats are pregnant. In general, the gestation period for goats is around 5 months.

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The first step in figuring out how long are goats pregnant is to know what size breed you have. Goat gestation length does vary a bit based on breed.

Typically miniature goats (like Nigerian Dwarf Goats or Pygmy goats) will have gestation period of 145 days.  Standard goats usually have a slightly longer gestation period of 150 days.  So, the answer to how many months are goats pregnant is about 5 months.

Is the answer to how long are goats pregnant an exact science?

Once you know the answer to the question how long are goats pregnant, you may think you will get kids exactly at 145 or 150 days.While these gestation periods will let you know approximately how long your goats will be pregnant, they do not guarantee that goats will kid exactly on these days.

You may see your goats kid up to 7 days early or 7 days late.

If their gestation period goes much earlier than 7 days, you may see some health issues in the kids.  Pre-mature kids earlier than 7 days will likely need some type of incubator.  They are also likely to have under-developed lungs. So, it is important to know how long goats are pregnant so you are prepared if one starts to kid too early.

Even though goats may not kid exactly on day 145 or day 150 (and sometimes they do), these gestation periods at least give a good idea of when you should start keeping a closer eye on your goats.

Also, again not always, but often certain goats will have a pattern. So, if you keep track of how long your goats are pregnant you can usually use that as a track for subsequent years.

For example, we have one girl that almost always kids on day 145 while another girl is generally 2 days late.  If you know how long your goats are pregnant typically, then that can help you know what is normal for each specific goat in terms of gestation times.

How to calculate goat gestation?

Now that you know how long goats are pregnant, how to you calculate their due date?

If you are trying to decide when to breed your girls or have already bred them and want to know their due dates you have a few options.  The easiest option is using a goat gestation calculator.

There are several goat gestation calculators available online.  The one on AGS’s website is particularly easy to use.  A nice feature of their gestation calculator is that you can choose if you have a miniature or standard breed.

You can also make your own goat gestation calculator in Excel.  This is one way to have it automatically calculate due dates and have it saved within your goats health record without manually looking it up and entering it.

If you aren’t into Excel, but still want automatic tracking, this app will calculate how long your goats are pregnant.

Last, the most manual way to figure out the due date is counting out the days on your calendar.  Since you know how many months goats are pregnant, you can count out from their breeding date.

This goat gestation wheel is a great tool to have if you like to manually figure out due dates.

It’s important to know how long goats are pregnant so you’re prepared and alert when kidding time arrives.

Any questions on goat gestation time?  Leave us a comment below!

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