# What does "in heat" look like?



## cindyg (Jun 3, 2011)

New to goats, have an older doe and a younger one, how do you know they are in heat?  How long do you have to get them to the buck or should they actually be living with him?  I don't have a buck and don't want to get one so any advice on the logistics would be helpful.  Thanks.


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## elevan (Jun 3, 2011)

Heat is different for each doe...but you can look for tail wagging, being loud, swollen and / or pink vulva, acting bucky.  There are other indicators but those are what I notice most often in my girls.

There are 2 schools of thought for time with the buck.
1. Leave them with the buck for 45 days (covering 2 heat cycles)...you don't know an exact due date this way though.
2. Take them on a date and hand breed them.  Put the buck and doe together and witness 3 successful mounts.


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## willowbreezefarm (Jun 3, 2011)

All three of my girls have the same heat signs. 
1. squatting and "fake" peeing. This is not pee that is coming out it is clear fluid and once she is done some times she will keep squatted and there is gooie  looking mucus just dripping out.

I have one doe that is our herd queen "leader" who will act like a buck. She will stick her tung out and bleep to the doe that is in heat and also will try to mount her. So that is a good sign too.
My Nigerian is the only one not pregnant now and she is in her second day of heat and Binky who is our herd queen still bleeps and runs after her like she is a buck in rut! Silly girl is in her last couple weeks of pregnancy and she still is acting like a buck!! 

Every doe is different in showing heat.  But once you get the idea of what your girls do its VERY easy to know!!


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## julieq (Jun 3, 2011)

Without a buck it's very hard to tell if a doe is in heat.  In fact our bucks tend to know when a doe is coming into heat faster than the doe does!  If our does are in heat then they will be standing by the buck pen fence and flagging their tails and of course the bucks will be yelling like crazy.


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## cindyg (Jun 4, 2011)

Hmmm, well I've not seen anything like described so will keep waiting.  I have a four year old Pygora doe, I only got her in March and she was milking then, having kidded in December.  I was feeding my ND doeling from her, but they really didn't "bond" and so I went to cow's milk for the doeling and the doe dried off.  I really want milk from her so hoping to breed her soon.  She's not too old is she? I'll be looking to breed the doeling in the fall as well, so have to figure this stuff out.  Thanks all.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jun 4, 2011)

I notice that my girls's vulva's get pink, and mucous coming out.  Most baa and baa for the boys. Otherwise they are very quiet so it's easy to know when my girls are in heat.


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## Chirpy (Jun 4, 2011)

I totally second the statement that ALL does are different.   Some of my does are really easy to tell when they come into heat; showing some or all of the above signs...  

Two of my does have 'silent' or almost silent heats... it's almost impossible to tell when they are in heat.  I don't have a buck here so I have to be able to tell so I know when to take them to the buck.  I've even used a bucky smelling rag (the breeder wiped a rag all over the buck and immediately put it into a glass jar).  When I thought the doe was in heat I'd open the jar under her nose to see what response I'd get -- nothing.

Over the last few years I've finally learned how to tell when one of them is in heat ... I have to watch her multiple times a day and she gets a little pinker/swollen (I mean very little) on her bum... that's proven to be the time to get her to the buck.  The other one I have yet to ever know when she's in heat. So, each fall, I take her to the buck and she stays for about 40 days.  

My (limited) understanding of the Pygora goats is that they come into season in the spring and in the fall.  So, that would also factor in to when you would watch for her to cycle.

The large breed dairy goats only come into season from roughly August to December/January.  The small breed goats (Nigerian, Pygmies) come into heat every month year round.

It is much less stressful on you if you know when your does are bred.  You then have an actual due date so you can keep a close eye starting a few days early.   When you have a 40 or so day potential breeding spread... that gives you two months of not knowing for sure but needed to be watchful for those kids to be born.   I've done it both ways and am ok with either but would prefer to know the actual breeding date.  I do have a camera system for my barn so I can watch my does 24/7 from the house.... that makes it so much easier and less stressful for me.  The first few years I'd run out to the barn every hour or so day and night to check on my does.... that got real old after a month and still no babies!


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## elevan (Jun 4, 2011)

cindyg said:
			
		

> Hmmm, well I've not seen anything like described so will keep waiting.  I have a four year old Pygora doe, I only got her in March and she was milking then, having kidded in December.  I was feeding my ND doeling from her, but they really didn't "bond" and so I went to cow's milk for the doeling and the doe dried off.  I really want milk from her so hoping to breed her soon.  She's not too old is she? I'll be looking to breed the doeling in the fall as well, so have to figure this stuff out.  Thanks all.


You can safely breed your doe until around age 10 (that's my cut off).  You want your doeling to be at least 12 months old before breeding her (15-18 months being even better for her).


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## Jake (Jun 5, 2011)

I much much rather take the doe to the buck for breeding rather then leave her with him, if that happens she stinks as bad as he does.


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