# Goat pregnancy and personality changes



## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

So I'm really just wanting thoughts on how common or relatively true personality changes for goats during pregnancy is.

I'll admit right now that I feel it is more likely my doe is simply finally coming around to the idea if trusting us and being handled, or in her case limitedly loved. 

So here is my current setting. Meridia 18+ month old doe prior to LAI procedure had to be roped or cornered to even get close enough for anything more than visual inspection. 2-3 week's after AI she suddenly became curious about attention. She is homed with 4 other does 3 of which are very friendly the 4th is youngest and not super lovable yet but still more comfortable with interaction then Meridia. I have had Meridia and the youngest doe since February.

So I'll stop there for a moment because the rest of the story doesn't relate as directly to my first question. I have read that just as in humans some does can have very elaborate personality changes during pregnancy, including going from loveable to standoffish, or standoffish to loveable. In your experience is this personality change a notable possibility of pregnancy? Or is it more likely she is just coming around.

Ok back to the story. So at 8 week's we believe Meridia experienced a miscarriage (bloody discharge) she still has not been confirmed. She only bleed (or rather spotted) for 2 days. During those 2 days I could not get within 5 feet of her so i assume she was at least uncomfortable though she showed no other signs of distress or discomfort. Bleeding stopped she immediately began to come for limited amounts of attention again, typically no more then a little head scratching, I assumed at least this would be normal well hormones left her system. It's been a little over a week and she is still becoming more friendly, letting me rub down her neck and today all the way to her shoulders. I am simply assuming at this piont that she is no longer pregnant and had simply started to come around to the idea of being loved.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

It could be a bit of both things makin her more comfortable with you. And that she sees the others gettin treats and she wants some too. My new doe.... her previous owner was waiting to see if she calmed down after she kidded to decide if crickie would be meat or sold. She calmed down after she kidded and is super loving now. Nefore she kidded the old owner said she could not be touched hardly necause she was wild as a buck.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Personality change is an established thing.
So is learning from other goats.
So is becoming comfortable as the strangeness abates.

No reason why this must be only one of these.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

See most of what I found indicated that personality changes typically only last the duration of the pregnancy, though as @Sfgwife indicated that's not always the case. Because of the timing of meridia's sudden though limited socializing I assumed it was from pregnancy, but the quick turn around from the miscarriage indicates at least to me that it is at least in her case more learned and is possibly that the pregnancy simply helped her top feel more comfortable so she could learn.

It was really just a curious question anyways.

I guess in part I was hoping that it could be more likely a personality change thing and that maybe the bleeding because it was so little was just a fluke or partial miscarriage and maybe I'll still get kids in October. Gotta have hope right.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

If you want the viable pregnancy, then I do hope you have one.

I've never had October kids, ever. But I'm not saying there aren't any.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Unfortunately we have a lot of may fairs near us, including te local fair my kids will show at. September October births are ideal for market wethers. November and December for the june fairs


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

When my doe is pregnant, her personality is different every day. One day she may be all over me wanting attention and the next she won't even come near me. But when labor starts she always wants all the attention. I hope she is alright and her baby is alive!


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Alpine Crazy said:


> When my doe is pregnant, her personality is different every day. One day she may be all over me wanting attention and the next she won't even come near me. But when labor starts she always wants all the attention. I hope she is alright and her baby is alive!


Thank you. She's still doing well. Maybe a little smaller then she was before the miscarriage but still bigger then before being ai'd. I just keep watching her hoping for noticable signs of growth. She would be 10 week's (or 70 days) this Thursday so there's still a lot of waiting to be had if she is. She's a first time, and would be our first kidding, she's also the only one we bred which makes me hope a little more.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Hormones.


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

no, no, no... HORROR MONES!!! LOL!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:heehee::up:


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

I swear she's going to drive me crazy... so I collaged all my recent pictures of her.

Top right to bottom left
Today 10 weeks (70 days)
8 weeks 4 days (4 days after bleeding had started)
8 weeks 2days (2 days after bleed started/the day bleeding stopped)
4 weeks post ai
Day 0 was actually the day before her ai.










Please do go ahead and call me crazy, I'm ok with it I feel crazy right now. And no im sorry these are not all the same time of day. But correct me if I'm wrong but day 0 to 4 weeks she definitely increased in size on her right? She's a rather slender doe about 90 pounds at time of breeding, but she packed on some pounds fast.
The 2- 8 week pictures she very clearly slimmed down, even more so in the second. I thought that was rather odd to happen so fast since we never di any substantial discharge, but I get it. Anyways 10 weeks today, I swear I feel like she's getting big again on the right. Yes part of me wants to say this is all in my head, but part of me really wants this to be real. And the only change since 8-10 week's is that we got the field mowed down so they are browsing better and not wading through tall dry grass oh and she got selenium gel, b-complex gel, and probios at 8 week's to make sure her nutrition was ok to handle the miscarriage.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Hormones and learning! Do you know of her experiences from humans before she came to you? If only cornered and not loved, of course she needs time to realize that you are a nice person!


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> Hormones and learning! Do you know of her experiences from humans before she came to you? If only cornered and not loved, of course she needs time to realize that you are a nice person!


She wasn't socialize with humans when we got her. Other then feeding it seemed the breeder we got her from never did more then shots and sorting. Most of their goats didn't even get regular hoof trimmings. She was very wild. We spent her whole first 2 months with us focused on weight, correcting deficiencies, and trying to let her trust us. She's been a tough one. I wish I could have gotten her more social before we bred her, but she was specifically bought with the plan to be our first and only mama this year with the hope of at least producing a little doe that one of the kids could show in the meat doe class at fair.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Excuse me we had her 3 months before we had her bred. Got her from the breeder Feb 24. Ai'd May 16th.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Hormones can do all sorts of weird stuff.
Some get friendlier, some stand offish, some more aggressive. It just depends on the goat. So you never know.
A preg test may be the only way to know for sure. Or when you see an udder forming or changes happening.


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