I have a question about checking the condition of a doe. I have read about what to look for including some excellent sites with instructions but have not found anyone who talks about checking under the tail for fat or flat tails as some on here have mentioned. The reason I ask is, my doe Leela had a fat tail (like a rat tail) during her entire pregnancy while my other FF had a flat tail her entire pregnancy and the two had exactly the same diet up to kidding. Also, Leela (with the fat tail) had normal sized kids and it's been tough to keep enough weight on her from day one while she's feeding triplets. Am I reading the tails wrong or does this method vary in effectiveness from doe to doe?
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Can you take some pictures, Julia? That always helps.
Sorry, I'm not understanding what you mean by "flat across the triangle."
I guess I mean swollen-looking, sort of thick, with meat on it, as opposed to flat across the triangle. Does that make sense? The two does I'm talking about have that difference in their tails. One is flat across the triangle and one is raised but otherwise not overweight.
A rat tail is NOT a fat tail. Rat's tails are just bony with no fat on them. Not sure what a flat tail is. A perfectly condition goat has a tail that is usually triangular (fat at the base and tapering to a triangle at the tip). If the tail is like a kielbasa (fat from the base to the tip), it's likely overweight.
The reason you haven't seen other sites mention checking tails is because I picked up that bit of info due to the fact that we also raise sheep, and with so much wool, it can be tough to judge body condition on them. It translates very well to goats though. I've never seen an underweight goat with a fat tail.
It you are still not clear on this, could you post a picture of the underside of her tail?