# She won't settle... PLEASE HELP!



## emilypaonia (Jan 15, 2011)

Hello everyone!

I am looking for advice, ideas, stories.

My best milker, Shedaisy, seems to have some trouble breeding.  Her first kidding was in March 2009, she was almost 2 years old then.  I did not own her then, she had a successful kidding to two bucklings, but one died because they were born at night in a snowstorm.  I got her in July 2009.  In the fall of 2009 I brought her to a neighbor farm with her sister to breed, her sister bred immediately, but Shedaisy did not.  I kept them there for 4 weeks to try to get Shedaisy to breed, but apparently she never came into heat - she lived with the buck the whole time.  Seemed strange to me, but I just kept milking her and figured "there's always next year."  Then some strange things happened last spring.  A few days after her sister kidded I saw Shedaisy's water break, but then nothing - confused because she was supposed to not be pregnant, I brought her to the vet.  The vet did an ultrasound and said she saw a placenta.  So I brought her home and waited.  Nothing happened.  Called the vet again only to have her tell me she is not a goat expert and she has no idea.  Shedaisy seemed fine so I just let it go and waited.  She started coming into heat in August so I assumed while I had no idea what was happening to her in May, everything must be fine now.  

This year, to make it easier on her and because now I am breeding 4 does, I bought a Nubian buck and bred Shedaisy in late October.  She is the dominant goat, the herd queen, and even after she was bred, she kept coming into heat, but only when the other does were coming into heat.  I assumed it was a sort of empathy heat or a "hey, well if you're coming into heat, then I will too".  Each time she did this, she was bred, just to be sure.  By the beginning of December, all my goats were bred, and everyone stopped coming into heat.

Today I wake up and Shedaisy is in heat and has been bred (thankfully I still have the buck living with them).  

What is going on?  The buck seems fine since all my other does have settled.  I have read about cysts on their ovaries, could it be?

She is an excellent milker, consistently producing over a gallon a day even after being milked for 21 months.  She is a challenge to dry up, and I almost have her dried up.  I was expecting babies from her in late March, but now I am so confused.

My friend suggested giving her hormones in case she has cysts.  

Anyway, any advice would help.  Thank you for taking the time to read my story!


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 15, 2011)

I don't have any experience with this, but you might google "cloudburst" and see if it's consistent with what your doe experienced.


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## emilypaonia (Jan 15, 2011)

Yes, it could've been a cloudburst last spring.  I have no idea, and neither did the vet.  Since there was no blood or abnormal discharge, she was eating fine and her mood did not change, I assumed she was healthy.  When I saw her come into heat a few months later I felt good that maybe it was a false pregnancy kind of thing but now she was "normal" again.

I will also add that my buck is a young guy, now 11 months, and I have read that dominant does won't tolerate a young, inexperienced guy.  But it seems like she likes him, I have seen her stand for him numerous time, and today she is rubbing up against him, all starry-eyed and lovey.


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## Calliopia (Jan 15, 2011)

I have a doe that has been cycling every 20 days since September.  Not really strong heats though. Finally found out she was copper deficient and got her bolused and she came into a crazy strong heat about 4 days ago...   Of course this was a week after I sold my buck.  


<head/desk>


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jan 15, 2011)

Two of my girls were having similar symptoms, one was having silent heats, I never knew when she was in heat because she would show a "sign" at a totally random day for 4 months! 2 weeks after I started her on kelp she went into roaring heat and was bred by my buck. She must have settled because she hasn't come back into heat and it's been almost 2 months. One I think may have copper deficiency that I am working naturally on fixing. Just a couple weeks ago she was acting bucky and let my buckling mount her so we'll see if the supplements I've been giving them are enough yet.

Lack of selenium and copper, and really a number of other vitamins and minerals will cause reproductive issues. Many times you don't need to do hormone therapy when you fix the mineral problem.

If you do end up looking at hormone problems then try vitex (chaste tree berry) and red raspberry leaf before you go to the vet. They are cheap and effective hormone regulators.


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## emilypaonia (Jan 16, 2011)

Thank you!

The girls get Hoegger's Golden Blend loose minerals, which has copper in it and also their Thorvin Kelp.  I give them a few scoops, fresh everyday in the mineral feeders.  It is usually gone by the next day.  I have noticed that while the other goats dive for the kelp when I bring it in, Shedaisy is very interested in the minerals.  Perhaps it does not have enough copper and I need to supplement just copper.

What is a bolus and how is it administered?  

Thank you CrownofThorns for the herbal advice.  I too am very interested in solving problems herbally/naturally.  Perhaps I will start her on vitex and red raspberry leaf and see if she stops coming into heat.

I was about to sell my buck, but I am thinking now I will keep him, at least until babes are on the ground, but probably through till next breeding season as well.  If Shedaisy is going to keep this up, I would like to have him around so I know for sure she will kid this year!


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## Calliopia (Jan 16, 2011)

There is a great post in Diseases about copper supplements and how to administer them.


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## byardbabe (Jun 12, 2012)

Emilypaonia,
Hi, I know that this post was from a long time ago, but I was wondering if Shedaisy finally got pregnant.  The reason I am asking is your situation sounds alot like mine.  We bought a yearling last year.  We have her full blooded sister and 2 other does, also a buck.  Anyway when we got ready to breed the girls it seemed the new girl (Skipper) would come into heat every 6-7 days or so.  Well everytime she would come into heat I would put her back in with Bullwinkle.  Finally after all the girls were bred except Velvet, who I was going to try to milk through, she stopped coming into heat.  I thought good she was finally bred.  Well 3 weeks later when Velvet came into heat again so did Skipper.  I put her back in with Bullwinkle.  He did what he was suppose to do, but really seemed much more interested in Velvet.  Anyway to make a long story short...er, she never got big, although she was a FF and I have heard sometimes they may not get real big, but she started to get an udder(about the size of a half a grapefruit).   She never did kid(the others did), I never saw any indication of an abortion ect.  They all have free choice golden blend mineral as well as kelp.  She did not have that fish tail I associate with copper dif.  Also her color was good and she wasn't wormy.  So I don't know if I should have the vet come out and check her,or just put her in with Bullwinkle for a week or 2.  That was the advice from one of the  farmers down the road. (they have meat goats)
After I saw your post I thought I would find out what you did or didn't do.  Or even to see if anyone else had any advice, or a simular situation.


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