Nigerian Dwarf doe not in heat

[Wild Bug Ranch]

Yes the wethers are Nigerian Dwarf/La Mancha mixes and they were banded and they have no balls. The wethers are about 2 years old. I check Dixie everyday to make sure she isn't in heat because I record it. She hasn't had her heat cycle and still hasn't

 

[Ridgetop]

Are you planning to breed her? Is that why you are watching for a heat cycle?

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

yes, the breeder gave us Dixie for free and offered a stud service for free

 

[Ridgetop]

So you want to get her bred to kid in 2021. You will want to plan the breeding for September to kid after January 1, 2021.

What are the age class break downs in the Nigerian Dwarf shows? Since you want to show Dixie and her offspring, you need to know what the show classes consist of.

Since Nigerians breed year round, do the class entries count ages from date of birth or from January of the calendar year? In standard breeds the cut off date is December 31 of the calendar year. Any goats born on December 31 or prior are considered to be 1 year old on January 1 of the next year. In other words although the kid may be born on December 31, 2020, it cannot be entered in any kid classes in 2021 since only kids born after January 1 of 2021 would qualify as kids. Then those kids born in 2021 would be divided into different age classes depending on their birth dates. The number of kid class divisions in the show would depend on when in the year the show was to be held. For instance in shows held in the spring there might be only one kid class sfor kids born January 1 through ?. For summer shows, there might be 2 classes with the senior kids divided by ages Jan 1-February 28, and junior kids born March 1-May 30. There will be dry yearling classes, yearlings in milk, and then does in milk. The size of the show will determine how many classes will be held. Sometimes Aged Doe classes will be added, Dairy Herd, Get of Sire and Produce of Dam.

You need to know how the classes are broken down since you don't want to breed Dixie and have her produce kids in December if the cut off is December 31. Older kids show better than younger kids. You can see how bad it would be to have a kid born in December that would have to show at a few months old in yearling classes! You also want Dixie in milk by the time she enters shows since a 2 year old (which she would be considered) shown dry won't even be considered and might be DQed for not being in milk. The udder counts for 50% of the judging points in milkers. You might also want to consider pulling her kids and raising them on bottles to keep her udder in top shape for showing since kids butting against the mammary system has a tendency to break down and strain the udder suspensory ligaments. You don't want anything to remove part of that 50% points on the udder.

Call the breeder and ask when the best time would be for Dixie to kid for her kids to have the best chance in the show ring. Then breed for that birth date. Gestation is 5 months and 5 days. Breed no sooner than 5 months before the cut off date to make sure that the kids are born in the right time period. 4-4 1/2 months is better to aim for. If she takes on the first breeding she has January kids. If she misses then you have a chance to rebread and her kids are still a good age for competition.

Have to get off the computer and get dinner on. Let me know what you decide.

 

[JoyfulGoats]

Nigerian Dwarfs are year-round breeders potentially, but not always. Many do not have heats every 21 days year-round. They can tend to skip during the summer. Most of my does do not really have heats in the summer. They usually kid around May - June, and then come back in heat around September/October. Some still have heats in the summer, but not all. Usually those who do have summer heats are the younger ones who haven’t given birth, but not always. They can also skip cycles in the summer sometimes.

 

[BellaM]

I have a one year old Nigerian Dwarf doe. And it has been over a month, coming into a month and a half that she has not gone into heat. We have no bucks around since we are not interested in breeding right now. How come she isn't in heat?

My ND doe is very chilled in general but also doesn't make a fuss when she's in heat. I have to rely on my buck to let me know. So she may very well be going about her business without drawing attention to herself .