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Mranimal Farm

All About Silkies, Nigerian Dwarf Goats & More

By MrAnimal Farm 9 Comments

Goat Gestation – How Long are Goats Pregnant?

Goat gestation

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.

Need to know all of the information on breeding goats?  Including Checklists and Record sheets?  Check out the Ultimate Planner for Breeding Goats.

Goat gestation

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.

Goat gestation

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.

Goat gestation

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.

Goat gestation

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!

You Might Also Like These Goat Tips:

Goat breeds
How To Care For Goats In Winter

Filed Under: Breeding, Goats Tagged With: goat gestation, goat pregnancy, length of goat pregnancy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sallee Keller says

    at

    My Nigerian dwarf doe is definitely pregnant. I thought she would kid in September. Obviously I was way off as it September 39, still no kid. I keep looking for any fluid but nothing. Her shudders are engorged. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • MrAnimal Farm says

      at

      Hi Sallee,

      First, was she only in with a buck one time or multiple times? That will help figure due date. Is there a chance she has a false pregnancy or is not pregnant at all? They can go up to about a week past their due date sometimes.

      Best,
      Kristin

      Reply
  2. marcie cartwrighte says

    at

    I just bought a Nigerian goat she is 2 years old. How can I tell if she is pregnant, previous owner had her in with a billy for several weeks?

    Reply
    • MrAnimal Farm says

      at

      We have a post that might help you out 🙂 You can find it at http://www.mranimalfarm.com/pregnant-goat-how-to-tell

      Reply
    • MrAnimal Farm says

      at

      We have a post that might help you oug – http://www.mranimalfarm.com/pregnant-goat-how-to-tell 🙂

      Reply
  3. Kimberly says

    at

    Okay so I put my female Nigerian dwarf goat with a buck September 16-23, 2019 and well she is about ready to pop. She has they’re really huge utter has milk
    my question is I know she is due any day now up until the 15th of February 2020 due to me not knowing exactly what date they had tied up and she got pregnant I just got from the 16th all the way up to the 23rd of September 2019 and it tells me the due date of February 9th through the 15th 2020.what do I need to be looking out for as this is the only goat that I do have and she is a little over two years old that’s the first time that I have bread a goat what do I need to be looking out for when it comes toearly labor signs?

    Reply
    • MrAnimal Farm says

      at

      Hi Kimberly,
      There are several signs you can look for including full udder, loosing tail ligaments and changes in behavior. We actually have them all detailed here: https://mranimalfarm.com/5-signs-goat-kidding-time/
      Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck with your kidding! 🙂
      Best,
      Kristin

      Reply
  4. Heather says

    at

    Is it a concern if they go more than a week late? I have a doe who was due a week ago now. She is a Nigerian Dwarf and I am absolutely sure on the date because we took her to the buck for a 30 minute date so there is only one possible day she could have been bred. I’ve checked my dates over and over and it’s spot on. I can squeeze a bit of milk out of her teats but her udder hasn’t developed, only gotten a little soft and her teats are slightly bigger. She hasn’t come back into heat either so I’m sure she is pregnant. Do I need to do something or just keep waiting? I’ve never had one more than 3 days over before.

    Reply
    • MrAnimal Farm says

      at

      Hi Heather, I usually start to get concerned when they are over 7 days late. Two things we have seen here are kids get SO big it’s hard for them to kid OR there is an issue (malpositioned kid, dead kid etc) which is delaying labor. If you are 100% positive on breeding date, I would contact your vet to see if they think it is OK to induce her. We have had to do that a few times here. Are you sure she’s bred and not a false pregnancy? She should be developing an udder, ligaments should be loosening etc

      Best,
      Kristin

      Reply

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