Who has had successful young doelings kid?

CarolynRenee · #1 10/04/12, 04:40 PM

I'm in the position where I may have purchased a pregnant six-month old Boer. The man I bought her from just let the boys run with the entire herd, including the six month old doelings.

Besides scolding me on being more diligent on getting the information from this guy about if he separated his young doelings from the rest of the herd - which included a two intact males, has anyone had any experience with a very young goat giving birth?

I have NO idea if she's pregnant, and don't even know if she is, how far along she is. I've only had her for a week and a day, so I haven't seen her showing any signs of being in heat.

Trying to figure out what to do in the next few days.

FrogTacos · #2 10/04/12, 05:21 PM

I bought one that had successfully delivered at 9 months of age (Boer) - she rejected one of her kids. You can either medically abort her or let her carry, assuming she is pregnant.

She was a rockstar mom on her second kidding, but only had a single.

blujenes · #3 10/04/12, 05:47 PM

Never had one kid that young, but my yearling that kidded (bred at 7 months) had to have her huge buckling repostioned but they both turned out fine. Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

**mygoat** · #4 10/04/12, 05:52 PM

You could draw blood now to see if she is more than 30 days preggo. Then, retest again 30 days after you bought her (IE, 30 days after she saw a buck last) and see if she's preggo. Biotracking does preggo tests, and they're cheap.

Or, just wait (22 days? I think? Someone chime in here) after she saw a buck last and lute her with 2cc lutelyse. Should cause her to abort.

Donna1982 · #5 10/04/12, 07:28 PM

Our monkey girl was bred at 4 months and kidded out a huge single buckling. She is smaller then I would like to see her but she was a great mom and still is. Her boy and her do everything together.

CaliannG · #6 10/04/12, 08:14 PM

Last year, I had an underweight (drought hit us hard) doeling get bred when I didn't want her too. She kidded out the biggest bucking I had every seen, with horns already popping through!

It was a very tough birth, and i thought I was going to lose her, but both she and the buckling ended up fine.

This year, had a precocious 3 month old get knocked up while I was visiting relatives in Kansas, that the (male) person who happens to live here and who happens to be related to me, although not by blood, didn't think important enough to tell me about....

She kidded last month, another big buckling, although not as big as what Lulu tried to squeeze out. Not as hard of a birth, either, although it was a long night of it.

Both she and the buckling are fine. Her buckling will be my herdsire next year.

BUT, given the choice, if I had had the knowledge, I would have luted her. I had to put a LOT of extra into her to keep her in condition, and I am waiting until she is past peak so that I can dry her off and start feeding her up again. ~sighs~

CarolynRenee · #7 10/04/12, 09:55 PM

Since I had no intention of breeding her until next year, I think I may just wait the 30 days and have the vet give her the lute (or whatever it's called) shot. I'm just worried that if she really was bred months ago, that she'll still have a hard labor with the shot.....but I suppose better a smaller aborted kid than a huge dead kid AND dead doe.

She is also a bit small, I think. I bought a boer bottle baby at 4 days (weaned at 13 weeks) and she is three months and one week old now and she is just as big as the new kid who is six months old. Although the new kid is a bit "meatier" than my bottle baby.

Thank you for all your replies.

CaliannG · #8 10/04/12, 10:14 PM

Wait 14 days past the last time she could have possibly been with a buck, and then give her Lutelyse, 2.5ml injection I.M.

You do not need to wait 30 days. The worst the lute will do to her if she is not pregnant is put her into heat, so just make sure that there are no boys nearby when that happens.

Hope this helps.

CarolynRenee · #9 10/04/12, 11:45 PM

Thanks Caliann, I was thinking I was going to just do it to make sure, but was wondering if there was anything bad that could happen if I did lute her and she wasn't pregnant. I guess waiting another week (she's only been here a week, so the last time she was exposed to his bucks was a week & a day ago) won't hurt.

JBarGFarmKeeper · #10 10/05/12, 07:20 AM

I guess the question I have is....

Has anyone lost a doe during kidding due to an early breeding? I am by no means advocating breeding 3-month-olds. I, too, purchased a "herd" and traveled 250 miles to get them and when I got there she says, "Oh, by the way, the bucks (3) broke in and I am sure they are bred but I don't know to who." I brought them home (at a much reduced price) and the doeling that had still been on her mama gave birth at 8 months old. She had twins and she was fine and so were they. I sold her and her mother to a "horn friendly" household and she continues to kid today, trips and quads. She was not big when she kidded, however, when I saw her a year later, she was one of the biggest Nigerian I had ever seen.

In other situations, I have luted. And in retrospect, I wish I would have left well enough alone. Things do happen for a reason. And not to sound like Cliff or Paul, I think at times we interfere a little too much.

Also, I have had "lute" calves, kids and puppies. It is NOT a sure-fired cure to your problem either.

Just Sayin...

nehimama · #11 10/05/12, 11:54 AM

I brought one home that had been accidentally bred at 5 months of age. I watched her closely as her kidding time approached, and was there with her when she kidded out twins. She was a very sturdy 5-month-old when she got bred, and she came through just fine. Turned out to be a great mama and a fine milker.