I am having a problem in my herd this year. I bred two Saanens to an outside S. buck. One has settled nicely the other isn't bred I'm sure. She is flirting with our buck and has been since we brought her home in Jan. She won't stand for him though and his interest is ceasing. She had a horrible birth last year- the kid was too big for her to deliver and was dead by the time we got it pulled. It was her third freshening. I am also having a problem with three other does. They were bred? to one of my bucks( a second year breeder). They looked pregnant in Jan./Feb., they all had milk, and I thought I could feel movement. Two of these does are four time fresheners and one is a second year freshener. The older does still seem like they maybe pregnant but the younger doesn't. I know the buck was good because two other does did produce and the year before was successful. All the does look healthy (shiny coats, etc.), are active, and are current on worming and vaccinations. I've seen no signs of miscarriages or dead fetuses. The only thing I can think of is last winter,Dec. and Jan., we went through a bad cough we couldn't get rid (other goats in our area had it, too). At different times we gave Nuflor, Probiotics, Excenel, Reticillin,(which finally worked) and even Bovine Rhino-Parainfluenza vaccine (the vet was really reaching). I don't want to blame the vet but I don't think he was very interested in helping just prescribing. All we had was a runny nose and a cough that wouldn't go away-seemed like a lot of antibiotics for that . The three older girls never had the problem and only had the meds when he said do the whole herd(Nuflor and BRP) One doe that did produce was the one who had the most meds! She's fine now. Also I thought I had the dates wrong but I sold the buck around Thanksgiving so they don't have much time left! I didn't buy a new one until the end of Jan. All of the girls were showing signs by then and have shown interest in the new buck (I've been watching) I'm wondering if they could have absorbed. Any thoughts would be appreciated, Thanks,Jean

-- Jean (ritz1@fgi.net), April 24, 2000

Answers

Response to goat problems

I would guess absorption, plus a very early up to 3 month abortion would still be the size of a large shrimp and could eaisly go unnoticed. I would doubt any Saanen buck would be in rut right now and as for a Sannen being in season, I would worry that she was cystic from all of this. I am by no means a Sannen buff, I have Nubians and LaMancha's. But I would get these does in good shape, not to fat over this summer and use Bo-Se or Mu-Se injections, or supplement with Vitimin E and Selenium (Jeffers sells a great feed additive that you can sprinkel on their feed in their Equine Catalog) You also might want to go to EGroups.com and join Saanen Talk, great knowledgeable Sannen breeders on their, its definetly worth your while to talk to Sannen breeders about your gals. I know that Sannen's are very high copper users. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 25, 2000.

Response to goat problems

Jean,

All of the goat people around here had problems getting their goats bred this year as well. I don't know if it was the very warm fall and winter or what. All of my goats bred late. I put the buck in with them in August for Jan babies and I had one freshen in Feb and the rest in late Mar and April. Just had the last ones this past week-end. We didn't have any illness and neither did anyone else that I know of.

Could just be "one of those things".

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), April 25, 2000.