The lone hold out. She's the only kid I haven't caught coming into estreus. She is the smallest by a little bit. Yet the whole female Nubian raise in my pen has been hard to decipher heat cycles in general.
But then in comparison to my Saanens, which is the breed I had for years and years, who would come screaming up to the gate, the whites of their eyes in a full panic mode, their tails flagging to beat the band, and they let me know that they needed a buck and they needed him RIGHT NOW! So anything else in comparison would be more difficult.
These Nubians are a bit more shy and reserved. One might sidle up to the fence with Touch, our buck, and flag their tail a little but that is about it. You have to be watching pretty carefully.
This year has been more difficult than any other. My Meagan, our yearling on the right, flagged and was a bit more friendly than normal but no panic mode. She was in estrus for only 12 hours not the usual 24.
Then when Daisy, the black doe on the far left born in April this last spring year came into to heat, she just did a little wagging of her tail but not with the usual enthusiastic response we are use to. So I marked the calendar and bred her three weeks later when her tail wagged again. She is very large for her age but I none the less I wanted another month on her. I had thought I would be kidding Chicory and Meagan and then the younger does but alas, no Chicory.
And Mercedes was even more subtle than that. She wasn't over by the buck but I happened to be by the feeder and was petting each goat in turn running my hand down their backs and across the top of their rumps to their tails. She flagged enthusiastically but that was all, no interest in the buck. This will be an interesting match as I bred her to her grandpa. It will either be really good or really bad match.
As for Madeline, she hasn't come into heat yet. I stroke her back on down to the tail each day but no response but a light, wag, wag. Since Meagan didn't cycle the same time as Daisy and Mercedes and usually all does penned together for an extended period of time will cycle within a few days of each other, I'm not sure what is going on. Light, short cycles, and not in sync hm.... must be the goofy weather.
None the less, without Chicory I have only two does I can breed to Touch and alas, I must sell him this spring.
Have any of you had strange estrus cycles on your animals this year?
