Hello, my name is Julianne and I live in the western piedmont of North Carolina. My little menagerie consists of 2 German Shepherds, 1 orange cat, 10 hens, 1 rooster and 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats, a doe and a wether.
I purchased my two ND's last year, I'm a first-timer. The doe is named Juniper and the wether is Pokey. I'd love to have more goats, but I thought it would be sensible to start slowly and gain experience so I don't get overwhelmed. I'm a voracious researcher, so I think I have a good handle on the book learning aspect of goat husbandry, but I know there's no substitute for years of hands-on experience. That's why I'm so glad I found this site, so I could learn from people who have been there.
The drawback from reading so much is that I learn how much can go wrong with goats. I think I've been just plain lucky so far, because I've have very few problems with my goats. They've been very healthy and robust. I've tested them against the body condition standards and they always do very well. They are full of energy and are very playful. But that may change soon, because I've just bred my little Juniper for the first time.
We did a driveway breeding just a few days ago, so I have no idea yet if it took. I think it went well though, she stood for the buck and had the first successful penetration within a couple of minutes of their introduction. There were two more penetrations within the next 45 minutes to an hour. All three times she did the butt tuck and semen was visible. But now I'm nervous because I've seen several people here say that driveway breedings don't work well. I guess time will tell.
Overall, I adore my ND's and I'm thoroughly enjoying having them. Looking forward to getting to know this community and learning more.
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I've tried to keep them in a natural goat environment as much as possible. In the spring, summer and fall, the bulk of their diet was browse. We live in a wooded area so they were happy to gorge on oak, poplar, locust trees. They didn't care for the sweetgum leaves though, they can be quite choosy!
Now that it's winter, I'm feeding them free choice hay and minerals, of course, and supplementing with alfalfa pellets, oats, and Noble Goat. They've grown really thick winter coats, it looks so cute.
Thank you all for the welcome, I'm happy to be here.
That sounds like a successful breeding to me. :) The problen with driveway breedings is getting the timing right. If people have to drive any distance to breed the doe, and then she won't stand for the buck, that's a bummer. The other thing that sometimes happens, and which you should watch for, is that sometimes a doe has a false heat in which she will stand for the buck, but not get pregnant. In that case, usually the real heat happens about 5 days later. Hopefully that's not what happened in this case, and she is pregnant! :) I've only had false heats happen here twice. All other times, if the doe stood for the buck, she was indeed pregnant. Best wishes! :)
Welcome to the group! It can be worrisome when you read a lot, but just remember that goats have survived since the beginning of time without us, so they are naturally hardy. We just have to make sure that by domesticating them and putting them into barns and fences, we don't wind up accidentally keeping them from something they need. Sounds like you are off to a great start though! I wouldn't worry too much about the driveway breeding. The biggest challenge is getting the doe to the buck at the right time, and since she stood for him three times, that sounds pretty hopeful. As long as she was standing of her own free will, that's a good sign. Now, if you were holding her while she was trying to run away, that's not good. Those are the breedings that don't usually take.
WELCOME!!
Driveway breedings can be tricky, but it sounds like you understood what you were looking for in a standing heat and successful breeding! Good job! I look forward to getting to know you here!