Um... was she or wasn't she in heat?

[PJisaMom]

I have a ND doe that I recently acquired and I'm trying to get her bred. On New Year's Eve, when I had NO time to deal with it (of course), she appeared to be in heat (gooey, loud, flagging, mounting, etc.). So, I drove her to the buck (about 45 minutes away) and she stood for him three times. Came back home.

Now, five days later, she's louder than ever, her vulva is swollen and she's gooey, in a really messy kind of way, like chunks frozen to her tail almost?

Is this just a hormonal shift from the beginning of a pregnancy or did I misinterpret the "heat" she was supposedly in, or what?

I am thoroughly confused. She's just started this nonsense today, and I have plans until later tonight, so she'll probably need to wait until tomorrow if we need to see the buck again, but I'm confused.

Would she have stood for him even if NOT in heat? (We tried last month and she would have nothing to do with him at the end of her heat cycle.) I have never noticed her vulva swollen like this in heat before.

Any ideas about what's going on?

 

[glenolam]

It could be that she has a longer heat cycle. If it's not too much trouble you could bring her back to the buck just to be sure.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

I agree with longer heat cycle possibly???

I personally have never had that expirence if were bred. My expirence has been that they wont go into heat..and then you know things were successful.

Just to cover all, I would take a temp to make sure she dos'nt have any type of infection. I would rule that out anyway...IMO...just a suggestion.

 

[Ariel301]

Sometimes a doe will have a weird cycle where she comes into a second heat a few days after the first. What happens is that the hormones build up, but the egg for whatever reason is not released, so the hormones will start up again and the egg will be released in the second heat a few days later. The first heat in this case is usually not fertile. I have a doe who does this every single heat, it can be annoying if you are breeding her to a buck in another location!

 

[Our7Wonders]

Sometimes a doe will have a weird cycle where she comes into a second heat a few days after the first. What happens is that the hormones build up, but the egg for whatever reason is not released, so the hormones will start up again and the egg will be released in the second heat a few days later. The first heat in this case is usually not fertile. I have a doe who does this every single heat, it can be annoying if you are breeding her to a buck in another location!

This is true for humans, so likely true for goat as well. Ovulation signs can begin but something (usually a stressor of some sort like an illness/injury or stressful event) causes the process to be delayed - a safety/defense mechanism of sorts, and then when the stress is over the cycle starts again where it left off. In women this is one of the reasons for delayed menses (because there was delayed ovulation) so in goats a delayed (or extended) heat could be very likely.

 

[coso]

It seems like I have one or two short cycle like this a year, especially doelings on their first heat. Completely normal.