donkey foaling

Question
I rescued a Jenny that has been running with a Jack for months.  I have no idea when she got bred.  She has a large belly and definitly looks pregnant.  She started "bagging up" about 4 weeks ago.  I have had only one foal in my life about 30 yrs ago and This is my first donkey foal.  OK now the wierd part.  When she first bagged up, if you looked at her from the back it looked like she had testicals (alot of swelling) 3 weeks later here teats are enlarging and her udder feels hard but the swelling "testicals" are gone???  Is that normal in donkeys?  The teats don't leak anything and she eats and acts normal. I keep her stalled a night and in a paddock during the day.  I not sure of the signs right before foaling Any help  I don't want to miss the event.

Answer
Hi Shirley,

If your jenny's udder started filling about 4 weeks ago, then you may only have a week or two left before she foals.  The "average" I have found is that a mare's udder will begin to fill approximately 30-40 days prior to foaling.  That's just an average.  I've had some mares go as long as 50+ days.

Swelling near the udder that comes and goes is totally normal.  I had a mare 2 years ago who swelled from her udder up into her butt cheeks!  I had never seen that before and it was her first foal, but the swelling finally went away.  The udder itself will even go up and down in size.  The day of foaling, the udder will appear larger than it has been, even if just by a little, and will stay that way all day, even after turnout.

If she will let you check the fluid in her udder, that is going to be the best indicator you have that she is ready to foal.  The fluid will go from being clear, thin and watery, to yellow and thick and finally white.  If you're consistent at checking the fluid, (like at least once a day) you will notice even subtle changes.  Not all mares will have white milk prior to foaling, but you will notice a change in the fluid.  If you see even just a hint of white in the fluid, then foaling will generally occur within 48 hours.

Another thing to watch for is changes is behavior.  If you know her normal routines, look for her to do things that are out of the ordinary.  She may stand in a different part of her stall than normal, or if she is in the paddock, she may stand facing a different direction or something like that.  She could start acting uncomfortable and somewhat "antsy."  Some mares will develop cow-pie like manure and go to the bathroom often and some will not seem too interested in their feed.

They key to knowing when foaling is close, is just close observation.  If you start paying close attention to their normal behaviors, you will know when something is different and then the all night watch begins!

Best of luck and happy foaling,
Sandy