Palpating Your Doe

This describes the act of feeling a doe in her lower abdomen to ascertain whether or not she is pregnant. This can be done at various gestational stages and if a breeder becomes very skilled at this, palpating can yield some very valuable information such as stage of the pregnancy, approximately how many kits there are and perhaps the size of the kits.

Personally I like to palpate the does at about the 18-21 day. This is the same time that a testbreeding can be done and I prefer palpating to the testbreeding method. I take the doe and place her on a table at about waist level facing toward me. I take my right hand and place it over the top of her body to hold her gently in place. Then with my left hand, I try and feel her lower abdomen between her hind legs. I try and gently run the contents of her abdomen between my thumb and fingers to feel for "grapelike" masses. it is important to do this procedure gently but you can't be timid. You must try and feel all areas up between her legs to really feel what you are looking for.

Something that helped me to learn was to try first with a doe that is obviously pregnant. Try a doe in the last stages of pregnancy but be careful to be extremely gentle at this stage. The kids should be very obvious between your thumb and fingers and if you are patient you should feel them move. Then, try and feel a doe that is a few days earlier in her gestation. Then try a doe that is still a few days earlier than the previous and so on...  Also, be sure to feel a doe that is not pregnant and really feel the difference and the way the doe should feel when she is not pregnant. 

Basically, it takes practice and patience. I hope to some day be able to figure out exactly how many kits there are, but for now I am content to know most of the time if my does are going to kindle:) I will keep practicing and "educating my hands"!