So I got my first goat Piper who was supposed to be bred and now just 3 weeks from her supposed due date she is not showing any signs of being pg....no bagging up and still her regular plump self.
So tomorrow she is having a visitor for the next 3 weeks a really cute buck her age is going to pasture with her. Now I am worried I won't know the exact date she will be due...other than watching them is there some way to know if she has been bred...
sorry if this is a silly question...
Deb
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There is no reason to feel guilty about pen breeding. I really don't like pen breeding because the window for the due date is usually so huge! But I'm traveling so much this fall that if I want my does to kid in Jan/Feb, I don't have any viable choices.
Deborah, I am so glad you shared that, because I was feeling kinda guilty about the pen breeding I am doing right now. But I have to admit that I think I have learned a lot more about how the girls look in season and will get good results. I had half a dozen exposed and due to kid for fall but half of them seem to be in a full blown heat now since I decided to pen them with the bucks. I read over the forum info about the signs of heat etc. and I have been watching close.
What I did was to just take one buck out of their pen and put him in a second pen. Then I placed all the girls I had exposed to them earlier along with the ones that had not been exposed in the two pens with the appropriate bucks. I did this on the 4th and have been watching closely. It has been very educational and very funny. Within 2 days you could see definite signs of discharge, wet tails etc.
Quill keeps us in stitches just over his vocal antics alone. He makes noises almost constantly. The sounds he makes are just hilarious. Not only does he make a lot of noise he hugs (with his head and neck) all over those does and his hair all down his back is gorgeous. It reminds me of a horses mane. I realize that most of you know exactly what I mean but I also know that ya'll know they all act different and not all of them do this. Oak acts nothing like Quill. He is gorgeous but kind of boring. Quill on the other hand is gorgeous and ROMANTIC. He should have been named Casanova!
Any chance you wrote down the last time she seemed to be in heat? That would narrow down the window for coming into heat again. If you pen breed, you will just have to watch them like a hawk to see when she comes into heat and gets bred. I just pen bred five goats and was lucky enough to see two get bred. About 50/50 is the luckiest I've ever been. And it depends on how much time you have to watch them.
Yea, let us know. It does sound like maybe she is going in season. Best wishes.
She had twins about 18 months ago her first and was an awesome mom...I got her four months ago and she still had a little milk which I let dry out...she has always been plump (she keeps her weight well and of course is pretty spoiled having been a kids beloved pet...she loves her wet cob and alfalfa). I looked at other pg does on line and my doe is not bagged up her udders are shrunk up and she is the same little plump self she has always been. So if her due date is Oct 3rd she is not look pg. I also noticed a lot of rubbing and friskie behavior ever 3 weeks or so and this time when I looked she did have a slight discharge...
I haven't done a pg test and I suppose the vet has to do that? I probably won't. I have a small yard and paddock and spend hours every day with her so I will be watching her like a hawk to see if there are really changes as Oct 2 approaches and or if the buck and her do the wild thing...thanks for your insight...keep you posted
Has she ever had kids? Do you only think she isn't already pregnant just because she hasn't bagged up or have you confirmed it with pregnancy tests? We had completely given up on Butter and then we thought well maybe we are wrong she does look like she may be getting a little bagged up and wa la! the very next day a gorgeous doeling!