Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Is Three Months Too Young for a Goat to Become Pregnant

In a word...no. And here is the story...my friend bought a purebred Saanen doeling a little under five months ago. The doeling was born in June, 2011. Here it is January,2012, and last week, my friend called me and said that the doeling was developing an udder. My first thought was precocious udder. This is when a doe who has never freshened develops an udder, which frequently happens in young does from really 'milky' lines. It has happened to a couple of our does, and we generally just leave it alone.
However, my friend said that it appeared this young doe's ligaments were loosening as well, and then...she saw kicking from the kid(s). Uh-oh. Her doe is not even eight months old, and will be kidding any day. The breeding happened before my friend got her, and the goat was not kept with any buck, but somewhere along the lines she did come in contact with one for long enough.
So...a word to the wise about keeping your buck and doe kids running together...better not do it too long, or you may get a big surprise 5 months later, in the form of a doe kidding that is too young and too small!

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