~***~TigerLily Trail's 2012 Foaling & Kidding Thread~***~ PICS of Zoe's Bucks Pg 7 Post #65

~***~TigerLily Trail's 2012 Foaling & Kidding Thread~***~  Another Prego Added Mar,23,2012 with Pics (Page 3 Post #25)

FYI I call my place the TigerLily Trail ranch but its not our registered name or anything lol.

2 winters ago I purchased some pygmy & pygmy cross kids & decided that I would like to breed them someday. Now their all grown up & I think they are ready. Me: im in panic mode & they arent even bred yet so yeah. Ive done my research, but feel free to chip in any advice you have from your goat breeding experiences, anytime. I can always use more advice! Obviously both does & the buck, not to mention me, are maidens so im nervous all around. I know pygmies can be prone to problems (try saying that 5 times) so I do have a vet if a C section is necessary.

To begin with here is our parent line up (I apologize for the mess in the pics, but the weathers been horrible lately so we havent been able to clean the pens). My buck & the first doe can be registered, but a certain mother of mine "misplaced" the papers & the 3rd doe is mixed. The buck & the 1rst doe both come from the Prairewood Ranch in Edgewood, NM & were bottle raised from 1 & 2 weeks old. Purpose of these breedings is simply to produce pets & possibly show quality goats (if the above mentioned papers can be found). Im also hoping that selling the kids can help with the hay bill a little bit. Unfortunately I do not have mare stare so ill have to keep you updated from my comp (man I need a laptop). Ill try to get as many pics & vids as possible of the does as their pregnancies go along, their kiddings, & the kids up until weaning!

My Buck: Tonka, born March, 27, 2009, dark caramel buck. Father is also a dark caramel, mom is an agouti. (His name is actually Tatonka, as in Buffalo, because even as baby he looked like one to me hahaha)












My Does
Mei: Light Caramel doe w/headspot born March,23, 2009. Father is a white caramel, mom is a red caramel. She is the sweetest of the bunch. She just had a heat, but I do not want her bred till her next heat in mid-late January. Weird thing is that instead of a 3 day heat hers appeared to last around 7-9 days swelling & all . Not to mention she is still swollen. Its going down but I think she is already starting to mess with me .



Mei is worse that a dog when it comes to jumping. Whether Im standing up or bending over she is always trying to jump on me . Of course its not so funny when her hooves actually scratch my back .


Zoe: Agouti doe w/half belly band born Jan 2009. Last heat was November 16 so she should be cycling again soon.

Yep my does are definitely messing with me! Today it looks like Mei is in heat (mucous looking discharge, still swollen back end, is making odd sounds, & is wagging her tail more than usual) so I let Tonka in. Mei head butted & rammed him a lot & didnt let him mount her very much, at least while I was there (though she did go stand by the buck fence, lift her tail & pee). He did mount her about 4 times but only for a few seconds. Ill be keeping him with the girls for a few days. Yesterday I let him in with the girls for maybe 30 minutes just to see how they would get along, & his reactions between the 2 days are almost completely different. He is definitely more interested today while yesterday he just wanted to eat leaves. If she does take this time round she will be due (roughly) from May 1rst to May 17th. The NPGA's gestation calculator says May 3rd through May 15th (approx bred Dec 10-12), but since ive read goats can go 7 days before or after the 150 day due date ive added 7 days before & 7 days after the before mentioned due date. I really hope that last sentence makes sense .

Zoe still doesnt appear to be in heat however she walked up to the fence of my buck pen & let my other buck (non breeding & I need to wether him), Onyx, stick his face through the fence & lick/nuzzle her ears . I have panel gates to go from pen to pen so, at each gate, there is a square cut out of the fence so hands can reach through to wrap & unwrap the chains around the fence. The boys really enjoy sticking their heads through to nuzzle the girls xD.

To anyone following this: I'll keep you updated !

Zoe is in heat! Earlier she wouldnt let anyone near her hind end, but I just went out to do a late feeding for my horses so I checked on the goats to. She was very receptive to Tonka, & he was mounting her... A LOT. The thing that worries me is Zoe's height. He was having trouble staying on, but I think that if they stand on smooth ground, they were in their stall/barn in deep straw, he will have less trouble.

Thanks !

Zoe's heat appears to have come & gone already. Everything under her tail looks back to normal & Tonka did not appear to be showing any interest. If my guess is correct both does should be going back into heat around Dec 30th - Jan 2nd if they did not get successfully bred this time. I will still be monitoring them everyday & Tonka will be staying in with them for a while more. That way they stay used to him, & hopefully Mei will be more receptive.

Zoe & Mei are REALLY starting to play with my head . Today Mei had "mucous" under her tail, was swollen again, & when she would hold still Tonka was really trying to mount her again. Just to be safe I locked them in their "barn" from about 1:30pm to about 5:00pm. Not sure if any action occurred, but I have NO idea what is going on with her ! Anyone have any ideas? I really need to install a cam of some sort out there . Seriously im confused. Comments & ideas???

For the most part ive been lucky, & my girls whatever species usually have the exact opposite problem of acting like a rock, but anyways Im going to stick with my original guessing about their heats. The other thing that makes me is that Zoe doesnt appear to be in heat in anyway now (last time she was beyond vocal & VERY receptive), but now she will go over to the fence that separates her from my other buck Onyx, who she grew up with, & she will stick her tail up & not move at all while he licks her neck & ears & trys to mount her through the fence . Thats the main reason im leaving Tonka in with them even when I dont think they are in heat: so that they are familiar with him & hopefully more willing to get bred. By the end of this im going to be more squirrely than I was when my mare was pregnant .

For now things have calmed down. Waiting to see if either doe goes back into heat around the 31rst(hoping not ). I recently discovered Manna Pro goats treats (a.k.a "goat crack", mods if this is inappropriate please let me know so I can edit it out) & all of my goats LOVE them. Mr "good in the background" Tonka has now started jumping on me & even Zoe did it once O_O. Joy... Also Mei no longer cares if Tonka mounts her as long as im giving her treats . Pity I didnt know about the stuff when I was sure she was in heat. None of my goats are to good at eating a bunch of pieces from my hand so I give them one by one, & thats probably a good thing considering how much they like the stuff. Anyone else have goats that are beyond in love with these treats?