# Detecting Heat and Signs of Pregnancy



## xOEDragonx (Apr 24, 2016)

Hello all, I've had my little goat for over a year now but I am new to these forums. My goat is 3/4 Nigerian Dwarf, 1/4 Pygmy and she is about 1 year and 7 months old now. She's first and foremost my pet, but I'd love a kid from her and to milk her but I'd prefer not to keep a buck myself. So approximately 27 days ago, I dropped her off at a local farm so she could spend some time with her new boyfriend, a 2.5 year old nigerian buck.

In the time that I've had her, I never really noticed when/if she was in heat. Just never really paid much attention to it, so I figured leaving her with a buck for about a month (since both pygmies/dwarves go into heat once every 18-28 days or so?) would do the trick since she'd likely go into heat at some point during her stay.

Well the buck owner texted me today and said she hasn't noticed any signs from either her or the buck that she's been in heat in the last 27 days. She suggests that some does might only go in heat in the fall, but I've never heard that regarding pygmies/dwarves. I'm wondering if the stress of the drive and leaving her at a new farm may have thrown her cycle off (assuming she has a cycle!). So now my dilemma is, should I continue to leave her with the buck (and if so how long?) or bring her home and monitor her for signs of heat/pregnancy (what would be an early sign of pregnancy?)? What's the chances that she could have been bred and her and the buck just didn't really show any signs of her heat? If the stress of traveling threw her off, how long could it take for her to resume a normal cycle? I'm only hesitant because I'm paying to leave her there, and the longer she stays the more it costs me. I'm also worried I'll bring her home and she'll go back into heat, and since the buck owner is an hour away I could possibly miss the opportunity to breed her.

Guess I'm just looking for general advice for this situation!


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

What I would do personally is bring her home and then do a pregnancy test in a month. I check in on my girls probably twenty times a day, had a buckling here for a few months, checked tails multiple times a day, and NEVER saw signs of breeding, never noticed definite heat cycles, and thought they weren't getting bred... Until they both started udders!!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

What I would do is bring her home and wait till the fall. The buck owner is correct. Just because this is not what's considered a seasonal breeder doesn't mean they follow that rule lol i don't have seasonal breeders either but they still like to wait till the fall to really come into heat. But the drive and what not should not be the issue here. So again what I would do is bring her home, when she starts having good beats this fall try and figure out when she is actually in heat. If you can see she is in hear one day then wait like 2 weeks then take her over. If you can swing it I would also try and keep her there for 2 months. If not not a big deal just you'll have a better chance of her being bred and it 'sticking'.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I agree. Bring her home. Have a pregnancy test done in a month. Try again in fall if didn't take. If buck and doe were living together, more than likely you won't see a breeding happen.


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## xOEDragonx (Apr 24, 2016)

Sounds like everyone agrees! Alright then, I'll go ahead and bring her home. Who knows, maybe the deed is already done. If not, at least she's been on a first date so things won't be so awkward if I bring her back in the fall ;-)

Thanks everyone! I look forward to becoming an active part of the forum. Long time stalker, recent joiner!


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

It can be very difficult to notice when a doe goes into heat when you don't have a buck around. Before I purchased a buck, I had no clue if my does were in heat or not. I have had pygmies in the past, and they do seem to want to breed year-round like Nigerian Dwarfs, so I wouldn't be too set on having to wait for the fall. But, even year-round breeders can get more excited about breeding during the fall. 

It is also easy to miss the doe being bred! I managed to catch 5 out of 6 of my girls in the act this year, but the 6th doe is definitely bred but I never saw the buck in action. I haven't paid for pregnancy tests, I just watch for the next heat cycle and keep a look out for an udder, which will start forming about 3 months into the pregnancy.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All good advice given.


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