Last year my does started their heat cycles in September, now it's the end of October and we still have some who haven't come into heat yet. Is it a weather thing?

-- gita (gschmitz@directcon.net), October 28, 2001

Answers

Response to Are your does taking their time about coming into heat?

I don't know where you live or what breeds you have, but usually heats are tied into day length for the Mediterranean (la mancha, Spanish) and alpine (alpine, saanan. togg, etc.) breeds of goats. The equatorial breeds like nubian and Boer that come from areas of fairly even day length seem to be more tied into environmental conditions like richness of food, etc.,and can cycle nearly year around; the modern nubians have some of the alpine breeds bred into them. You might try enrichening their diet with wheat germ oil and carrots as well as good leguminous fodder like alfalfa. Naturally.. if they've been on fairly lean feed, you want to bring the new stuff in slowly. My girls get a carrot a day year around as well as dairy quality alfalfa and they're very close to being plump, but considering all the milk they crank out and the heavy kid load (triplets and quads) they need it. A friend used the wheatgerm oil treatment on a doe that came to her undernourished.. even though she had gotten the doe into good condition at breeding time, she didn't really cycle properly until her reproductive system got that vitiamin E boost. I always breed my girls at the same time every year.. I like those late March, early April kids.. so even though my does begin cycling in late June, they don't become really juicy until October.

-- Ellen (gardenfarm@earthlink.net), October 28, 2001.

Response to Are your does taking their time about coming into heat?

We are in WA state and most of my friends are having the same problem. I bred all of mine the end of July except one, and am now waiting for this one to cycle. I had the lights on during kidding in late Dec/Jan last year and think that this may have thrown the does into that early cycle. I think most people will have late heats, I know some people who were going to AI and since they are taking there time just put the buck in because they want March/April kids.

-- Leslie in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), October 28, 2001.

Since your other does are bred I'm suspicious of this one's reluctance to cycle. Did she have trouble kidding? Down here in western CA I haven't heard of cycling problems.. have you had a dark, wet summer? Forgive me for asking.. I just really interested in new information.

Have you ever used wheat germ oil? A spoonful (start with a tsp. and move up to a TB) on grain can stimulate some girls. I first started feeding carrots when I read an old testamonial about putting carrot oil in feed and all the miraculous side effects including cessation of all mastitus in the herd, easy birthings, and rich cyclings.. sounded a bit snakeoilish but my vet said carrots certainly couldn't hurt and that they are a good cheap supplement, so after two years of carrots I have to say I have easy birhtings and cyclings and nice healthy udders.... but I always did! It's just that the friend with bad problems has seen relief since carroting her goats.

-- Ellen (gardenfarm@earthlink.net), October 28, 2001.

If the response was in regards to my one doe that hasn't cycled - I actually have a couple but that is the only one staying here. I have had no problems kidding and she did come into a light heat with the others the end of July, but I didn't breed her then (and she hasn't gotten in with a buck). One of the others that wasn't bred in July just came in heat today, so I do thing it is a weather thing and that perhaps the lights gave them the light cycle in July (most were only in for less than a day).

-- Skip in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), October 28, 2001.

Are you feeding beet pulp? A very curious thing has happened to us this year. I co-own a very nice Nubian buck with a gal who mixes beetpulp in her grainmix. Heath went to visit Becky in July, and lived their through end of September. He came home to breed alot of my girls and also several outside does. He is a big robust, healthy nearly 3 year old. After breeding the does, we ultrasounded and an 8 year old and two 2 year old were still open. Not a bad conception rate, but bad for us and our very "romantic" bucks! Essential, my 6 year old who hasn't had beetpulp a day in his life, easily bred all his girls plus more outside does, than Heath, he also was leased and bred many more girls July through September than Heath. Then I met a dog breeder, turned Nubian lover and he told me that it is very common knowledge that beetpulp fed to dogs can cause lowered fertiltiy. The only hard eveidence in goats we have on this is that beetpulp can cause an rise in the incidence of urinary calculi. So..though I am not a big feeder of beetpulp, just soak it in hot water and offer it daily to my old ladies in the winter, I am telling everybody this story so they can look into this for themselves. And of course like all things goats, not a shred of scientific fact to any of this. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 29, 2001.

I actually got to talk with Harvey Considine about this when he judged a local goat show. He suggested only using beet pulp to slow the down-curve in milk production at about 5 or 6 months into lactation. He said finding the proper balance was innitially difficult.. too much and the goats would fatten, too little would give no effect.. I thought he said something like a few tablespoons a day on the grain, then back off at the end of lactation for drying up time. I've never tried it since I feed a daily carrot and my goats have a very slow downcurve anyway; as well, they have a real tendency toward fat from their meat-goat side. I don't think I'd ever feed it to a buck. What was the rational for feeding it to the buck?

-- Ellen (gardenfarm@earthlink.net), October 30, 2001.

She has a start up dairy. The goats are not pastured by live in dry paddocks. She hays and grains them so her grain is a lactation pellet, black oil sunflower seeds and beet pulp is almost all fiber. Since she does things herbally, black raspberry leaves, kelp etc. I am sure there is more to the beetpulp than fiber. She has excellent very showable stock, I just purchased two of her yearlings. Her son is also an ADGA judge. I know the bucks will no longer receive beetpulp in their rations. I know my older goats love it! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.