Ok I am apparently a stupid, horrible goat mom. I *knew* the buck was in rut but I thought he would focus on the adult Nigies and leave the two Lamancha doelings alone. Plus I thought the LMs were more seasonal breeders and I didn't expect them to come into heat until at least September. And I WAS watching for any interest on their part and they just ran if the buck came near them. Then in the blink of about 30 seconds the 4 1/2 month old doeling was peeing and letting him mount her. I was on the phone with a Mennonite fence guy and he got quite an earful as I was yelling at the buck, calling for my husband and generally freaking out! Now girls are with girls and the boys are back in their buck pen and I will have to deal with worms as best I can until the new fence is up. In the meantime...what do I do?! Is there a way to induce an abortion without harming the doe? And if there isn't, what will happen to her if she is really bred? I can't believe I let this happen, after I have spoken so harshly about people who breed too early. Please, someone tell me what to do. I love this doe and don't want her hurt.
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It's really your call. If she's bigger than average, that's good. And it's possible that she didn't get bred or that she won't actually get pregnant. I've used Lutalyse before -- when a LM buck got in with my NDs, which is why I don't have a LM buck any longer -- and there didn't seem to be any unwanted side effects or problems associated with it.
And when I said that smelling a buck makes them go into heat, I didn't mean instantly. It takes days or a week or two. I wasn't sure how long your buck had been with the does. Having him in a neighboring pasture has the same effect though. I always try to keep two fences between bucks and does whenever possible. Keeps my stress down that way!
And in the scope of goat mistakes I've heard about, this one really ranks as a small mistake, so stop beating yourself up. At least you saw her get bred, so you can decide what you want to do, and you'll be ready if she does freshen.
So which would be better? Should I give her Lutalyse to get her to abort, or leave it alone and let nature takes its course? I suppose it is always possible that he mounted her but she is NOT bred. She is pretty big for her age...her breeder even commented on it. At least 50% larger than the other LM doeling who is a month younger. <<and not going near the buck until December. Thank you for the kind words, Deborah, but I still feel like an idiot who shouldn't be left alone with the goats!
And don't feel bad. We all make mistakes. For future reference, they say that putting a buck with does can cause them to go into heat -- something about the stinkiness of a buck. If someone without a buck isn't seeing their goats go into heat, they'll rub a rag all over a buck and take it home to their does, and sniffing the rag is supposed to get them to go into heat.
Well if it had to happen, a ND buck breeding a LM is not so bad. I have seen 10 month old goats on milk test before, so it is not unheard of to have a goat kid at that age. A mini mancha will be a couple pounds less at birth than a purebred LM.You'd be looking at a Jan. 3 due date if she is bred, so this really is not out of season for a standard goat. You see plenty of them kid in January.
If you really don't want her bred, you should be able to get Lutalyse from the vet, which would cause her to abort. You give it to her seven days from the date of breeding, and she will probably act like she is in heat a few days later.
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An update on this...that doeling is NOT pregnant due to that breeding. Whew!
It's really your call. If she's bigger than average, that's good. And it's possible that she didn't get bred or that she won't actually get pregnant. I've used Lutalyse before -- when a LM buck got in with my NDs, which is why I don't have a LM buck any longer -- and there didn't seem to be any unwanted side effects or problems associated with it.
And when I said that smelling a buck makes them go into heat, I didn't mean instantly. It takes days or a week or two. I wasn't sure how long your buck had been with the does. Having him in a neighboring pasture has the same effect though. I always try to keep two fences between bucks and does whenever possible. Keeps my stress down that way!
And in the scope of goat mistakes I've heard about, this one really ranks as a small mistake, so stop beating yourself up. At least you saw her get bred, so you can decide what you want to do, and you'll be ready if she does freshen.
Well if it had to happen, a ND buck breeding a LM is not so bad. I have seen 10 month old goats on milk test before, so it is not unheard of to have a goat kid at that age. A mini mancha will be a couple pounds less at birth than a purebred LM.You'd be looking at a Jan. 3 due date if she is bred, so this really is not out of season for a standard goat. You see plenty of them kid in January.
If you really don't want her bred, you should be able to get Lutalyse from the vet, which would cause her to abort. You give it to her seven days from the date of breeding, and she will probably act like she is in heat a few days later.