Updated 3/29/12 Melissa Farm Picture Journal *New Pictures Pg 10*

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Okay so here's the next question. If AB is in heat and she's a little overweight I would like to restrict their feed some. Of course they would have free browse and hay, but the grain would be cut back. So does she look over conditioned? I have concerns for her weight due to the large kids she had last time and I don't want any traumatic births, if I can help it.

Does my other doe look pregnant or fluffy. If they are all just fluffy due to the extra garden scraps and browse, then I'll just cut them all back (on grain), but if I have a pregnant doe, I would give that doe extra grain on the milk stand for "practice" and to support the pregnancy.

Sorry for being an overly concerned first time goat "mommy".

Thanks, Melissa

 

[20kidsonhill]

They both look open to me and with plenty of condition on them. Personally if they were mine and I was getting ready to breed them in the next 3 to 6 weeks, I would keep on doing what you are doing with them, get them bred and then take them off of all grain until they are 4 weeks from kidding.



If you aren't planning on breeding them, then I would just cut back on the grain right now.

If there is a chance they are all ready bred, you probably should be worried about over feeding them. Especially with that much condition all ready on the girls.

 

[helmstead]

AB is NOT overweight, she's actually a little under (I can see her hips)...so do not restrict her feed. Her belly is just big because she's aged, has kidded a lot, and has a good rumen.

The other doe might be bred, she does look a little extra round...

ETA not saying you're not feeding AB enough, she's not thin, she's just not overconditioned. She was always a little fatty here, slightly harder to keep in good condition when milking...but I'm sure her age is making her a harder keeper.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

That's good, I love giving them their grain!! AB does not like to eat with other goats, it's beneath her, lol. So I go and sit with her and drink my coffee in the AM while she eats her 2 cups. In the afternoon, especially since it hot, she eats her grain by herself most days. Just yesterday she was having too much fun blubbering at the boys to eat!!

I love my goaties and I'm glad to here ya'll think she looks good and not too fat. I guess I'll keep feeding Skye on the milk stand, she has been getting bigger and bigger.

So if I want to breed AB, do I just let her go in Dell's pen? Do I leave her there or let them do their thing and take her back out? He can't go in with the girls. I don't want him breeding Cerina, god forbid!! She is only 5 months old.

Thanks, Melissa

 

[helmstead]

Yup, just put her in there...altho you might have already missed this window this month.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Well I'll try tonight and see if anything looks promising. Not that I would know if it looked right or not. I'll mark my date on the calendar and 21 days from today is August 17th. So I'll check her that week for heat again. Am I correct?

BTW I feed her 1 cup of Purina Goat Chow and 1 cup of Alfalfa pellets with a few sprinkles of sunflower seeds. Is there anything else I could add to keep her condition up? She also gets 2 animal crackers before bed, lol. She will chase me across the yard for animal crackers.

 

[helmstead]

Just increase the chow...

If it were me I'd leave her in with the buck for 45 days...

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Aw, AB... Yeah, she looks open to me too. Her last kidding she was HUGE. I'm with Kate on the conditioning simply because you're going to want plenty of extra padding on her going into late gestation. She puts everything into her kids the last month so you'll want to plan for the fact that she's going to strip some peri/post-parturition. I'm careful about maintaining cah ratios even on my open/dry does so if it was me I'd up her alfalfa so she's getting 3 cups to her 1 cup of grain. If that's not enough then I'd up the total ration but maintain ratios.

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

Here are some more pictures of Annabell. Different angles so you can see what I'm seeing.

She's still acting buck-y, but the pink looking private area is gone. No leaky stuff, but it's still a larger opening than before, if that makes sense.

Thanks, Melissa

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

For my friends on FB, I uploaded a short video.
I felt like a goat stalker, lol.