[Tgmcr]

I'm posting a little early but I am getting excited for kidding and hoping that this helps the time go by faster, lol!
Unfortunately out of the 3 girls I had planned to breed, only 1 took. The other 2 are first timers and are still in with the buck. They're going to get a preg. test just incase, and I'm having a vet out to assess them. BUT...this is about my girl Juno!
This will be her 3rd time kidding, and her 2nd time kidding with me. I bought her bred last year, and she was in with the buck for almost 2 months. She looked like an absolute blimp for well over a month, so there were LOTS of sleepless nights watching her. This time she just had 1 date with a buck, and boy am I glad to have an actual timeline this time!
She is due April 5th, her ultrasound(s) showed 2, but my vet said she would bet there is more. Last year her ultrasound also showed 2 and she had 3.
She had a bit of a scare a few weeks ago where she was stretching, star gazing, breathing heavily, sitting, and laying flat out. I sent a video to the vet and thankfully she came right out. We were worried she may have been aborting, but she improved within an hour and the vet said she probably had a bit of an upset stomach. We did another ultrasound just to be safe and babies all looked good (thumbup)
She's got 2 months to go now and she's getting pretty round! I really love the buck she is bred to, so I'm excited to see how these babies turn out. This will also be the first time I get to register kids under my herd name!
The weather here has been horrible so I don't have any super recent pictures of her but I'll try and grab some decent ones.
In the meantime here is her napping in her kiddie pool from a couple weeks ago just because she's cute

And here's her last year in early may. She delivered on June 26th.

And another of her face because I just love her!

 

[MissMiniNubian]

Aww! Good luck!

 

[MadHouse]

What a cutie!! I am excited for you.
Good luck!
Very funny pricture with the horse!

 

[ksalvagno]

Good luck!

 

[SalteyLove]

Exciting! Show us the buck she is bred to!

 

[MellonFriend]

What a cutie patootie! She has such an expressive face.

 

[Tgmcr]

This is the buck she is bred to.

I had planned to breed one of my other girls to him too but I ended up buying a buck of my own.

Here is Juno this afternoon. Those are her daughters from last year poking their heads out behind her lol

 

[MadHouse]

Good looking buck!
Juno is so cute! I love that picture of her with the two kids peeking out behind her! It looks like you had them set up just so!

 

[toth boer goats]

Nice goats, good luck.

 

[GoofyGoat]

Aww, what a sweetie! Good luck.

 

[Tgmcr]

Juno has me a little worried this afternoon. For the past few days she hasn’t been as interested in her alfalfa pellets, which i found a little odd. She meets me at the feed room door for her grain while the others eat instead. It’s kind of hit or miss with her grain the past couple days too..she does eat but not as much as usual. Today she ate a tiny bit of grain and hay pellets but was more interested in following me around. She even turned down animal crackers, which she never does.
I did notice her stretching a few times and she’s currently laying down while the others all pester me.
There is finally not snow on the ground for the first time in a month so that could also be a factor...maybe she just wants to enjoy it and that’s why she’s laying down. Her ligaments are still totally there and there is little to no udder development.
she is laying quietly right now and I am currently waiting for her to pee to test ketone. Is there anything else I should do? I’m trying to get better about panicking and calling the vet immediately (because that’s what I always tend to do) but I want to be safe. I’m also paranoid after the scare she had in January.

 

[toth boer goats]

Get her temp in case.

 

[Tgmcr]

Her temp was normal, as was the ketone test. She still doesn’t seem too interested in food. I have also noticed that she’s got some clumpy poo. She had a fecal done last month and the vet didn’t advise deworming her because her count was low.
I did have to switch them over to first cut last week as my normal hay person is all out until may. I’m attempting to track down some 2nd to see if she would want that instead.
I put her and her 2 daughters from last year in together in a pen so I could keep a closer eye on her. She’s acting normal otherwise so I’m hoping her appetite kicks back up soon

 

[toth boer goats]

Yeah, if it is new hay, it may not taste or smell as good as the original loved source.
I have some who like the hay and others who don’t mind the change. Picky eaters.

 

[Tgmcr]

Another little update!
So, we had another scare with poor little Juno last weekend. She was acting pretty uncomfortable and just very off so the emergency vet came out and ran a bunch of tests. Babies are still doing great, but the vet thinks she could have had the beginning stages of polio. She was off feed, had lose stool, and I found her sitting down like a dog. She seemed pretty dazed and overall uncomfortable the morning I called the vet. After some TLC, vitamin B, and some other supportive care she is doing much better! I am keeping an extremely close eye on her. She has just about 5 weeks left now until her due date! She isn't nearly as large as she was last year with her 3, so I am thinking she just has 2 in there. I'll have to get some updated pictures of her! Here is her and her daughters hanging out in the golf cart the other day. They're just too funny!

I also separated my other 2 girls out from my buck the other day and pulled blood for pregnancy tests. I was almost positive neither girl took. Minerva was going into heat weekly, I was actually going to have my vet out to see if she was cystic. My other girl Rose (who I desperately wanted to get bred) I never saw go into heat at all. The test results just came back and unfortunately Rose is open ... BUT! Minerva is pregnant! She is my only unregistered doe, but she is full nigerian! She is super sweet, and I think she'll be a good milker. I took her to a buck in early December, but she went back into heat in early January. I put her in with my young buck I had just bought and she has basically been in there since. She went into heat weekly for the next month and he bred her every time. The last time I saw her go into heat was January 28th. Her due date is going to be a bit of a mystery. Technically the earliest it would be is May 1st, however, I don't think she took that first time. The latest date would be June 22nd. Because I sent the blood only 25 days prior to the last breeding I'm not sure if she took earlier or if the test just caught it that early. I guess only time will tell!
This is Minerva. She is a hefty little thing! I'll have to get some better pictures of her.

This is my buck, Zuko. His registered ADGA name is The Michael of the Morning. He's only 8 months old and is a little firecracker! He doesn't sit still very often, so I don't have many pictures of him. When it warms up a little here I'll clean them up and take some nice pictures

 

[wheel-bear-o]

Oh Zuko is a really handsome guy! Juno is so cute, I can't wait to see this year's kids.

 

[SalteyLove]

Phew glad Juno is feeling better!

Sorry Rose didn't get bred. Maybe it was just too early for the test to pick up?

 

[Tgmcr]

I'm slowly starting to lose hope with Rose, but I guess there is always a chance. In September my vet said she had a really low heart rate and said she could have a heart defect. I was devastated so I took her up to TUFTS and got an echo done on her. They said that her heart looked perfect and they saw absolutely no reason for her to not be able to be bred or anything. I thought she maybe went into a faint heat a couple times but every time I took her to a buck she would not stand. I called another vet and they recommended luting her to see if she would go into heat, so we did that and nothing came of it. He said I could take her in to try again, but I may wait until fall at this point. I literally bought Zuko for her because I figured maybe she needed to just live with a buck for a while instead of doing driveway breedings. I did see him very interested in her a few weeks back but every time he tried to mount her she would lay on the ground (headsmash)
Every vet she has seen has said that everything looks good and she shouldn't have an issue. So i'm not sure what to really think. Maybe a mineral deficiency? Or maybe just lack of experience as this is Zuko and Rose's first year breeding.
Who knows. Maybe she just cant have kids :shrug: I would hate to have to admit that after spending a ridiculous amount of money to make sure she was sound to be bred, but at the end of the day it is what it is. I'll still love her regardless!

 

[toth boer goats]

Sorry you are having so many issues.

Nice herd you have there.

Hope things get better for you and your goats.

Is the doe who cannot get pregnant, copper deficient?
If so, give her some copper bolus.
I found it can interfere with conception.

Does she eat loose salt and minerals?

 

[MadHouse]

What you have with Rose, I have with my doe Willow. My vet assessed he and said she looked fine. She gets all her minerals, had copper and selenium, as did the buck.
I just ordered 2 kinds of herb tinctures from LOH for her (Female reproductive formula and Hormonal Changease formula extract, along with wheat germ oil). I was advised to give one round now and another round before breeding. I can’t say anything about it yet, as we are going to wait till fall and then try to breed her again. If she doesn’t take on the first breeding after the herbal treatment, I will do a hormone shot.
Good luck with Juno and Minerva! They are beautiful! I love Juno’s thoughtful look. And the picture in the golf cart is hilarious!