# I have a transgender doe? Behavior and physiology question



## Allison (Dec 22, 2015)

Ok controversial title much? Hahah.


Anyways....


I have three ND does. They are triplets. And they are beyond strange. But one of them, Mary Jane takes the cake.


She (or he?) has a female genitalia and goes into heat like the other two. She is the heard queen (or king?) and always has been. Super aggressive. At first I thought she might have some type of brain damage when she was young because of how she acted. Then since they were my first goats I thought maybe an intersex goat which I had heard of before, but she didn't appear to have anything strange with her genitalia.



So I will get into the behavior which is what's making me think something's up. When my goats go into heat it's a hump fest. I only have the 3 goats so no male around.they all hump each other. Especially Mary Jane, she humps her sisters a lot. However, she has never once been humped herself. Her sisters don't hump her at all. Is this typical that the heard queen is never humped? And when Mary Jane humps her sisters she sticks her tongue and and flaps it like a buck would. And she makes this weird guttural noise when humping that I've only heard Bucks make.


Second, she's grown a beard. Well kinda. More of a goatee? Hehehe But her sisters don't have it.


Third, when her sisters pee she goes over and curls up her lip up like a buck and sometimes drinks it. I know totally gross.


Fourth kinda, she sticks her tongue out and flaps it especially when her sisters are in heat.


Neither of her sisters do this.


She's super aggressive also. She is the only one who will hit me with her horns when I'm sitting on her favorite toy. And yes she pushes me off.


When there isn't a buck in a heard do females ever start taking the role of the buck? It's just strange to me that her sisters never once have humped her or even tried. It's like they know she's a boy or something? Or maybe it's because she's the heard queen?


The goatee is fairly new. thougnt it was winter coat, but she's shed all her winter coat and I brush it and it's not going anywhere.


Anyone have this happen?


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

My fb nd was a pretty beard. . Bout fourish inches long.. you can just see it in my avatar pic. But that whole knockin you off her fav toy mess... nope nope nope! She needs be taught that is NOT an acceptable behavior and it is not cute in any way! She will eventually hurt you esp with horns added to the fact. 

Sorry i cant help you with the rest.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Animals don't have "genders" only sexes (humans are the only creatures on the planet crazy enough to come up with genders!). So no, she's not transgender.  

Mounting is not only a sexual behavior but a dominance one. Subordinate goats rarely try to mount a dominant one, but dominant goats often mount their subordinates, and this goes for both males and females. All goats (bucks, does, wethers) seem to mount each other when someone has a heat cycle going on and they smell those hormones in the air. However, your doe sounds more "buckish" than usual so I would suspect cystic ovaries. I had a cystic doe, and not only was she abnormally buckish, but she had frequent strong heat cycles at irregular intervals. Her heat cycles and behavior normalized once the cystitis cleared up.


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## Allison (Dec 22, 2015)

That's funny you mention the ovary stuff bc her heats are irregular and super strong. Her vulva swells and gets super red and has way more discharge than her sisters. So you are probably right it's a hormone thing!


Any tips of how to get her to not be so aggressive? I smack her when she hits me but I think that made it worse because then she thinks I'm playing


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Cystic comes to mind for me as well. I have one right now I’m sending to the sale next month. But she didn’t start this till later (not going to start a discussion/ debate on how just will leave at that) 
When I first got her she was a sweet heart, she was actually a gals show goat and such a good girl. Now I have what you are describing. She fights with the bucks, she humps anything in heat, she will cock her head off to the side and put her hair up at me when I walk by. But my point here is this is a for sure cystic doe and is doing the same thing as yours. I’m not sure if you ever plan to breed her but if you do you will also have to address the issue before you do as well. This doe I have seems to be prone to being cystic and I have to treat her every time I breed her but so far from what I have gathered that is not a very common issue


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## Allison (Dec 22, 2015)

And she will not be bred. Ever. If I was to breed I would do her sisters not her.

How do you treat cystic ovaries?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Yep, she sounds cystic. As far as I know, the best way to clear it up is to get the proper hormones from a vet. She won't be able to get pregnant until the cystitis is taken care of. Our cystic doe cleared up on her own after a year of good grub. I suspect my goat's problems were nutritional since she was very thin when we got her. Some folks have to give hormones (obtained fro a vet) to clear it up. 

As for the behavior, she should not be aggressive toward you. Use a spray bottle and squirt water in her face if she tries to push on you, stands on her hind legs, or walks in front of your path. Also make sure she's not a danger to your other goats. My cystic doe was bottom of the pecking order which helped keep her behavior from getting out of hand, but a dominant doe could injure your other goats, and she may pester them until they are miserable. You may have to separate her when she's in heat.


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## Allison (Dec 22, 2015)

Also she was super close with my dog when she was little. They were the best of pals. Now she's aggressive towards him too. He's scared of her and he weighs at least 30lbs more than her. She's head butted him a few times. My dog is super submissive, even to little toy poodles. And I feel like MJ knows this and takes advantage. I can say one thing a goat who is dominate over a dog is strange to watch. I don't let him in with them unless I'm in there and he keeps his distance from her. They were best friends it makes me really sad.

Honestly the other stuff doesn't bother me too much, just gross. But the agression is concerning. And my dog wants to be around the other two but MJ is so mean to him. 

I will be going to the vet to get hormones. Thanks everyone!


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## Briar (11 mo ago)

Damfino said:


> Animals don't have "genders" only sexes (humans are the only creatures on the planet crazy enough to come up with genders!). So no, she's not transgender.


I'm aware this comment it pretty old but I'd like to clear up a common misconception. Transgender animals are a real thing: Fish, lizards, insects, birds, and even lions have been known to take on a masculine role or even change their sex (mainly insects and fish) depending on the circumstances. No this doesn't mean they understand the concept of gender so Fido doesn't care what you call them but it does mean that trans animals do exist.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

This is an old thread. Thanks for everyone's participation.


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