HELP! Young goat, Open or Bred Pooch Test??!!

[bboyd1]

I bought a young doling, only 6 months old and she was in the field with a Nigi buck! Oh my oh my... The owners said they hadn't seen any breeding taking place, but since they were selling because they couldn't spend enough time with the goats, who really knows. Needless to say she is settling in now at my home, but I worry about her very small size and the possibility of her being bred. So here's a pic...

 

[cassie]

You are unlikely to lose her just because she is pregnant. If it makes you feel any better, I once had a doeling named Yoletta kid at 8 months of age, which means she was bred at three months. I named the baby Yoletta's Surprise. Yoletta wasn't the only one that was surprised, believe me. Yoletta grew into a fine big doe in spite of being bred so young, and she eventually died of old age at 14. Just feed your doeling well and as long as she wasn't bred to a full size buck she will be fine.

 

[enola]

A determination of pregnancy would take more than a picture of your goat's genitals . . .

 

[bboyd1]

There are people who are experianced with goats who can actually tell just from a visiual of the vulva and anus. Not 100% accurate of course, but those who know what to look for in a pooch test are a good place to start. Thats what Im looking for here, someone who is better at the pooch test than me. Usually its easier when they are about 3 months bred, or if there is a before and after pic, but since I bought her having no idea how long she'd been penned with the buck, I can't do that. A blood test can always be sent in to biotracking, but Im just wanting a few experts opinions if there are any in here.

 

[bboyd1]

Vets office won't be open again till tuesday, but thats another stop, although an expensive one for a 35$ goat.

 

[cassie]

The vulva does not look like she is pregnant, but that can change. The fact that no one saw any breeding taking place simply means no one saw any breeding taking place. I once loaned a young buck to a friend to pen breed her doelings. She complained to me endlessy about how he wasn't doing anything besides laying around chewing his cud. Five months after she borrowed him she found out why he wasn't doing anything. He'd already done it. As for your doe, I wouldn't worry very much about whether she is pregnant or not. As long as she gets plenty of feed she will be fine either way.

 

[bboyd1]

The vulva does not look like she is pregnant, but that can change. The fact that no one saw any breeding taking place simply means no one saw any breeding taking place. I once loaned a young buck to a friend to pen breed her doelings. She complained to me endlessy about how he wasn't doing anything besides laying around chewing his cud. Five months after she borrowed him she found out why he wasn't doing anything. He'd already done it. As for your doe, I wouldn't worry very much about whether she is pregnant or not. As long as she gets plenty of feed she will be fine either way.

Thank you! I'll watch her so see if anything changes. Ya, thats kinda what I thought about "no one seeing anything" lol She is just so tiny, maybe 30 lbs right now, so Im giving her the feed she needs, as well as lots of good hay (unlimited) and her vaccinations just like if she were preggers.

 

[cassie]

I am assuming this goat is a mini goat of some sort. Feed her all the hay she will eat but unless she is thin, go easy on the grain. You don't want to get her too fat.

 

[bboyd1]

Sorry, she looks so tiny but just weighed her and she's almost 40lbs, so not as bad as I thought, but not really up to par I think.. She' is a Nigirian Dwarf crossed with a full Alpine I believe (and thats what I was told anyway), and at this age she is the same height as the Nigi's she was living with before, but needs to grow alot based on her height/legs. She is for sure too thin, I can feel the separate vertabra on her backbone easily, no fat there and her hocks are awefully boney ... Hoping the deworming process along with less competition for feed will help her gain weight some. But will cut her grain out almost all together if I see signs of pregnancy in the next 2 months, and just give her unlimited good quality alfalfa, maybe some BOSS in small amounts too. I've heard giving grain even to a too small goat late in pregnancy (like the last month or so) can cause too big of kids to be born and risk getting stuck even more. So I figure I'll just focus on feeding her up to healthy until I see an udder start to form or some other change that makes me think she is preggers. Let me know if this is the right thing to do in your opinion, and keep your fingers crossed for me. I'd prefer to hold off her being bred till she is older and up to weight... I don't need milk badly enough to risk loosing her UGH