Do female goats go into "heat"?

I really need some help figuring out what might be going on with our little Emmie. :?

I am going to apologize now for the length of this, and hope that some one
kind and knowledgeable takes the time to read through this, and give me some advice...

Here is some back ground info on our situation.
I have never owned a goat before, thought about it though.
Aug. of '09 a friend of ours gave Emmie to us as a surprise "Barn Warming" gift.
The friend was guesstimating her age at about 3 months old.

She was kind of a rescue, she had been living with a woman who got her just to keep her horse company. Apparently this woman was NOT a nice person, Emmie ran away to a distant neighbors house, and when the woman found out, she said she was coming over with her shotgun to kill her. Seriously.
The neighbors called up my friend to see if she could take her in, and "walla" I now have a sweet little goat!

So, since she was very young, she has not known she was a goat. She went from living with that horse briefly, to living with my two Llamas.
They absolutely adore each other!

Getting to the point here...
Rarely, if ever, do you hear a peep out of her. She is extremely quiet for a goat.
We live up in the mountains on acreage and have some neighbors, at a distance, that have milk goats that you can hear bleating fairly often at times of the day, but especially later in the evening because they only milk once per day, at night. Emmie has never shown that she even acknowledges their presence.

Last night Emmie started just "wailing" away and acting all skittish. I was fairly concerned because like I said, you never hear a peep out'a her!
I checked her out physically and found nothing wrong, I checked the barn, paddock and stall, nothing out of the ordinary either.
I stayed around and watched her for awhile, she seemed to be looking off into the dark woods when she would bleat.
My miniature horses, and the Llamas were all as calm as could be, but I did a walk around to see if I could find any predator tracks in the snow, and saw nothing.

She was fine when I went out and checked on her at 3am, and then at both feedings today as well. But I did notice after I fed tonight she started to bleat occasionally, and she was looking off in that same direction.

It hit me that she seems to be always looking towards the neighbors with the goats!
Is it possible that after almost two years, she is maybe realizing they are "her kind"?
My other thought is maybe they have a Billy. If they do, would she maybe be in a heat and calling out to him?
Am I just an absolute idiot, or does this happen?

I would so appreciate any thoughts, ideas, or advise on this.
I did not sleep at all last night, (still thinking it was maybe a predator I guess...)
I don't think it will keep me up tonight, but would sure like to have a better idea on what might be bothering our little Emmie! And what I can do to help her with it.

Thanks in advance!

 

Oh, thank you so much for the quick reply, and the welcome!

Thank you for giving me more ways to "diagnose" the situation. Tomorrow morning she will certainly be getting a behind the scenes examination, so to speak...LOL!

She has always kind of held her tail alert, and been a little waggly.
I did notice that this morning and tonight while I was hanging around after I fed, that she is not just diving in like normal. Seems a bit pre-occupied, nibbles a little and then looks off, maybe calls out, and then wonders back....

So at approximately a year and a half, she is not too young to be displaying this behavior then? I know horses "mature" at 4, when are goats considered an adult?

She just started acting this way last night, so if she resumes her normal behavior in a couple or so more days, that will also be a good sign she was in heat then too?

Sounds like this may be my answer. Hopefully I will see some of the other physical signs when I peak tomorrow. It would be a relief to know that is all she is going through.
I was kind of in a panic to tell you the truth. I did not know what I was going to do if she was ill. We live in a pretty small rural area, and it seems that there is only one Vet that will even take a look at goats, and even that one will tell you the goat's "value" is not worth treatment, it is cheaper to just get another goat.
I certainly don't agree with that, and it would have been heartbreaking! :cry:

I believe I will be calling the Grants tomorrow, at a decent hour, to see if they have a Billy for sure.
If they don't, any other suggestions for me?

 

Thank you all very much for making me feel welcome, and not stupid. :hugs:

I guess my own deductions were pretty good, but it is so nice to have more detailed info so that I could know for sure.
Makes me feel much better!
This morning I took my behind the scenes peek, and she certainly was swollen!
That combined with the other signs makes me feel with certainty that she is in heat.

Now, even if the neighbors do not have a Billy, she will still behave this way?
Not that it is a bother, at all, just want to make sure I know what to expect....

Emmie's breed is a bit of a mystery. I know for sure she is a Lamancha cross, just don't know with what?
I did try and put her pic as my Avatar, but had problems with the sizing and all, so gave up. Let me see if I can post a few pics here.
In the summer when she is shed out, she has a smooth coat, and she's very soft, not course at all.

Oh, and yes, our male Llama, Gus, is a great "watch dog".
Love him! Especially living out in the mountains where we do.
He would most certainly protect Emmie with every thing he has. He absolutely took her under his wing so to speak, the very moment they laid eyes on each other that first day, it was love at first sight for sure!
(They even "curl" up together to sleep)
Our female Llama, Molli, took a bit longer to warm up to Emmie. Now they are so funny to watch, they actually play together, it is very cute.

Seems like the only pics I have on this computer are winter, or in their shaggy spring look, But here they are...
:chin: Ummm, not sure that it worked?
When I preview my post I do not see them. I guess I will go ahead and submit, and see it they show up.
If they don't, could some one walk me how to do it? Thanks!

 

Okay, going to try one more time to post some pics.....
If they do not show up in this post can some one walk me through the process? :?

Oh, I see what my issue is now.
Even though they are down sized all ready, they are still not small enough to post.
I will work on that and be back to try again.

I am anxious to get all of your opinions on what her other half may be! :whatgoat:

 

All right, think I have it figured out. :wink:

Would love every ones input on what Emmie's Lamancha half is mixed with.....

 

Oops, not quite figured out..... :sigh:

Here are a couple more pics.

 

Thanks Bellafire Farm, I love the pic of her in the snow too.
RowdyKidz, compared to other goats I've been around she is certainly on the smaller side....

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!!! :stars:

 

catchmeaway, LOL!
Well she does really think she is a Llama......