Josie is as big as a house. She actually waddles side to side when she walks. I swear she gets bigger every day, and if the guy who sold her to us is right, she should be due to give birth tomorrow. (The joke around here is that she is not pregnant at all and has just gotten really, really fat!)
Since she is CAE positive, we are going to try our best and be there when the babies are born. If we can pull them before they nurse, there is a good chance that they will not catch the virus from their mother. So we are officially on goat watch.
Every night we get the big girl up on the milk stand for dinner and checking her tail ligaments and her udder. Just before a goat is ready to give birth, the ligaments on either side of the tail get soft and smooshy. Her udder should also feel very full and tight.
So far the udder is loose and the ligaments are tight so after a night of dreaming of goat babies, I left for work today with my fingers crossed that the girl will hold out another day.
The bad thing is, we still haven't been able to find any local colostrum so the kids will have to make due on powdered or mom's heat treated stuff. Not an ideal situation, but it's better than catching CAE.
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