Nigerian dwarf goat: what does vaginal discharge mean?

[freevillein]

Hi guys. I'm hoping someone goat-oriented can help me figure out what's up with my doe. I'm new to goats - got two Nigerian dwarf goats a few weeks ago. I noticed today that one of them has white discharge - kind of a booger an inch long - coming from her vulva. I know it CAN mean she's about to kid, but does it NECESSARILY mean that? I've spent the last three weeks speculating on whether these ladies are pregnant (they were in with a buckling), and I am thinking this might mean she is. But her udder hasn't dropped.

I also have a second question. If your goats are stubborn and won't eat hay, but only grain, how much is too much to feed them? I know it's BETTER for most of the food to be hay, but until I get better-quality hay I'm stuck with grain/pasture, and my pasture will be dying back soon.

Thanks much.

Here's a picture of them. It's the white one (Ginger) I'm wondering about. And don't worry; they're staked out in the picture, but that was only for a few hours while I was home and building their fence. They're happily in 1/3 acre of fenced mixed weed pasture now.

 

[enola]

Does she have an udder?

 

[freevillein]

Does she have an udder?

Not really. For a few days I thought it might be dropping, but it's basically just the nipples and no visible udder bulge.

 

[enola]

When they come into "heat" they have a discharge

 

[freevillein]

When they come into "heat" they have a discharge

Would they come into heat without a buck around? It's certainly the right time of year for it, but I thought they had to be induced by the presence of a buck?

If she's in heat, I suppose she's not pregnant. :-/

 

[enola]

They will come into heat, on a regular cycle, just like women have their period. Buck or no buck. Regarding feeding grain..... Goats that are not milking really don't need "grain". They would probably do better eating timothy pellets until you can get they a good quality hay.

However ruminants need FIBER in their diets, and hay would definitely be a better source of fiber than grain or pellets.

 

[freevillein]

They will come into heat, on a regular cycle, just like women have their period. Buck or no buck. Regarding feeding grain..... Goats that are not milking really don't need "grain". They would probably do better eating timothy pellets until you can get they a good quality hay.

However ruminants need FIBER in their diets, and hay would definitely be a better source of fiber than grain or pellets.

Very helpful information; thanks. So she is/was in heat yesterday. She's back to "normal" today.

I hadn't even thought of timothy pellets; that's a good idea. And I AM getting better-quality hay. I just need to find it a little closer than an hour's drive away from me. The frustrating thing is that I have lots of hay. It's just not to their liking. And it's also not really green, more brown. So I'm using it mostly for bedding for my rabbits at this point. They also still have quite a lot of pasture at this point, so I'm not really worried about it for a few more weeks.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:

It's just not to their liking.

It will be when you stop giving them anything else.

 

[freevillein]

It will be when you stop giving them anything else.

Just thought I'd post an update. I finally bought better hay today (it's green instead of brown, and it actually smells like hay, and they love it! YES!
Here's a picture of them and their new buck buddy enjoying some high-quality hay. I'm never buying 1st cutting to use as feed again.


And it definitely turned out that the one was in heat and not pregnant. Now as soon as they go into heat again, they WILL be pregnant though.

 

[jkpenny376]

We just got this girl today and didn't know when we looked at her on graigslist that she was pregnant. We saw a picture of her and my husband went to go pick her up this evening. When he loaded her up he called to tell me she looked pregnant. He never asked the gentleman we purchased her from and they didn't offer any information either. MEN!!!!! At any rate I have no idea when she was bred and her condition. I noticed a thick milky discharge that is pretty continuous. It's white and not yellow as you can see from the below pics. Can anyone tell me approximately when she may kid? I've attached pics I just took of her. We have her in the front pens until she can get acclimated to her new home before we put her in the back pasture. She just looks so rough and feel so bad for her.