I was wondering if a doe's estrus pattern can change after kidding. Juniper is a seasonal breeder, and the past two years she didn't start coming into heat until the end of September. Her cycles have been on the long side, at least 48 hours.
This year, after her first kidding, she came into heat this weekend, and it was different from her usual pattern. She usually is quite vocal the day before, then is really loud and restless the next day, then goes into standing heat for at least 24 hours or more. This time there was no warning, she was only slightly more vocal, then all of the sudden she was standing for our 10 week old buckling! (he was comically unsuccessful, of course) She did that for about 12 hours then it was over. She also had very little discharge, and she usually has a pretty messy vulva with her heat cycles. Could this have been a "weak heat"?
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Their heat cycles can vary from year to year.