My first NDG's "Flower" and "Bling" (both First timers) are due to kid in April & May. When "Flower" came into heat in early November I took both of my does to the Buck's place. They both stayed with the Buck for 2 weeks. The Buck was immediately interested in "Flower". The Buck's owner witnessed several breedings over a couple of days. We left both does with him hoping that the 2ed doe "Bling" would soon come into heat also. The Buck's owner needed to be out of town for a few days over ThanksGiving --at that point she had never seen her Buck have any sign of interest in Bling and no sign that she had been in heat. I brought them both home. After a couple of weeks Bling seemed to be in heat , the Buck's owner was back in Town so I took both of my Does back to her place. This time (Mid December)The Buck and Bling had pleanty of interest in each other and the Buck's owner witnessed 3 matings in 24 hours. This gave me an April 16 due date for Flower and a May 12 due date for Bling. I sent Blood to Bio tracking and confirmed that both are pregnant. :- )
Now-- Flower (due in 3 weeks) has a small amt of mamary development and no significant increase in belly size (that seems fine at this point, right?) However, Bling has big increase in Belly size and has significant udder growth.....
So might this mean that Bling did concieve earlier in November (Makes no sence as the buck showed no interest in November and was witnessed mating with her in mid December)
My main question; would Bling have earlier mamary development if she is going to have a larger batch of kids comimg? Bling should not be due for 7 more weeks--do they sometimes show increase in udder size and teat growth 7 weeks before kidding?
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They are sooooo cute! I really like the little center triplet. The black and white one!
It is perfectly normal for them to butt heads for as much as 15-20 minutes after putting them back together. I've never had does butt heads to the point of getting hurt, but a couple of bucks did once. So it's pretty unusual for anyone to get hurt. Usually one realizes they're not the queen and backs down.
Give them a few more days before you try again. One of my does was super protective of her babes until nearly two weeks. :)
They are adorable!!
One month later....It turned out that Bling delivered on a due date that tells us she was bred when we thought she was. On May 11 she had a beautiful set of triplets. So, she did have noticible mamary development and an enlarged middle 7 weeks before she was due. I have attached pics. She had an easy birth and is a wonderful mom.
My current question is: when should I put the does back together...both does are nursing their kids and share a fenceline. I tried putting them together yesterday and they butted heads for 10 min straight. Flower has tiny scurs which were getting bloody so I separated them again. Youngest kids are 1 week old today. How long before I should try the reunion again? Is this ugly fighting expected? If I leave them together is it likely that they will quit fighting before one of them is badly injured? These 2 does have lived in a space together since they were babies and have never been best buds...they have always head butted some--never before as bad as yesterday.
Lucy+Kids 093.JPG
triplets 7 days old 050.JPG
I contacted Biotracking today. He said that there is no research on the fluctuation of values for due dates or for single versus multiple births. The pregnancy protein being measured comes from the placenta, the protein passes from the fetal side over to the maturnal side and then "bursts" leaving remains in the maternal bloodstream that can be measured.
I haven't used Biotracking myself, but I know their website says the goat has to be at least 30 days pregnant. Not sure about the values, but I'm sure if you called them, they'd answer that question for you. I knew you had to draw the blood 30 days after they were successfully bred, but if I remember correctly, there was about a one-month window for your does. If you drew blood 30 days after the last day they spent with the buck, then it wouldn't help you narrow down a due date.
Now that is interesting! I would like the answer to the "values" question too! If no one here knows, you should call Bio Tracking and ask them. They are very nice and can probably give you some info on that!
They were both past 30 days when I sent Blood to Bio Tracking. Bling's values were higher than Flowers. Do values get higher further into the pregnancy or with multiple # of kids?
Our story continues....Flower kidded on Sunday 4/14 with one doe. She was 3lbs 12 oz at day 148 per our observed breeding date. Flower never looked very big. The birth was easy and so far all is going well with nursing . It would be great if it was this easy for all of them! My Grandaughter named Flower's little Doe "Jasmine" after her favorite Disney princess. I have attached pics of Jasmine.
Bling is still pregnant--and MUCH bigger than Flower ever was...still wondering if she is due this week or near May 12 which correlates with the date we observed breeding. ?? Just have to wait and see!
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