Doe Short Cycling

Short cycling is when a doe comes in heat and then comes back in heat a few days later or any interval notably sooner than the normal 21-day cycle.  While not all cases are caused by minerals, my first stop is always iodine in cases of short cycling or in does who cycle normally but don’t settle easily.

Wish was a four or so year old doe who had consistently taken 2-3 cycles to successfully settle and when she’d kid, she’d have only one or two kids, down from my normal 3-4 in that line.  She had only had one or two does in those years of breeding and was heavy on bucks.

In advance of breeding season that year, I front loaded her with iodine by putting out kelp free choice a few weeks before breeding and leaving it out the entire breeding season.  She settled on her first cycle that year and went on to deliver twin does, a first in her history.  Her fertility was so improved that when a buck broke out a few weeks after she kidded, she became pregnant again.

Iodine deficiency is heavily implicated in all reproductive issues and in reproductive cystic issues, so starting there can often ward off the need for further fertility treatments.