Females come into heat about every 21 days. If they are not bred their heat cycle will be about 17-23 days. This can start as early as 7 months old for does. It is recommended not to breed does until they are 1 year old. This gives their bodies enough time to fully develop and grow into what can carry a kid…or two…or three…or four.
Boer goats are a little different and can hit puberty and breed as early as 6 months.
Goats can usually breed up until 8-10 years old, and this is when it is safe to breed them. Any older and it can cause major health issues for both mom and baby.
Signs that your goat is in heat:
- Frequent Urination
- Sticky Tail…not that you really want to feel it
- Very Vocal…although mine are loud anyway in the morning when they get feed
- Tail Wagging this is called “flagging”
- The doe will mount other does…yeah I wonder if they know that doesn’t do anything?
- Loss of appetite
- Buck acts goofy -this cracks me up!
Doe Gestation
How Long Do I Have To Wait Until My Doe Gives Birth?
A does gestation period is only 5 months (143-155 days)!
Can you believe that! We hold our little munchkins for 9 freakin’ months and they only have to carry for 5 months! AND they can grow 2-4 kids in that time!
GESTATION CALCULATOR: Day of Breeding + 5 Months
Example:
March 1st (breed date) + 5 months = July 30th (end of 5th month)
How Do I Know If My Doe Is Pregnant?
I gotta be honest, it can be hard to tell until right up to birthing time unless you’re very experienced and know the signs. Although every herd is different.
The very first doe that had a baby for us, we had no idea until one morning I went to check on them and there was a baby!
Tips to tell if your doe is pregnant:
- No interest in the buck
- Not going into heat (see above for how to tell if they are in heat)
- Increased appetite…yeah wouldn’t you be hungry if you were growing a child!
- Belly tightens
- Hormone levels change… I know you’re wondering how the heck do I tell if my goat’s hormone level is changing. Her personality will change -she might hate you or want some extra scratches, and this will be different than her normal personality… we’re women what do you expect.
- Her udders will slowly swell as she gets closer to kidding.
- You can get goat pregnancy tests, I don’t know how accurate the ‘pee on the stick’ method is or how easy it would be to catch your goat right as ashes peeing and her not run away from you. (This makes me laugh just thinking about it)
- Blood tests are the most accurate, but this can get expensive. You’d need to either draw this yourself and send it out or take you doe to a vet.
- Milk tests are used if your doe is currently in milk and you are able to spare a little bit of milk. But again this can get expensive and you’d need to send this out.
