Odd Reproductive Problems of Small Ruminants
Abstract
Sheep, and especially goats, tend to have some fair- ly strange reproductive issues that while not especially common, do occur with a high enough frequency that the small ruminant practitioner will likely be presented with some of these cases. This session will discuss odd reproductive issues of primarily female sheep and goats including ring womb, atypical udder development, and pseudopregnancy, as well as a few other issues.
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Hi! I have a Nigerian Dwarf doe who has obviously gone into heat multiple times, and our proven buck has bred her 3 months in a row (I watched, it definitely happened). But she is still not pregnant. We even did a blood test this last time because I didnt see her go into heat again. Im working on getting the mineral buffet out this weekend sometime, but has anyone dealt with this and have any suggestions?
There are numerous nutritional and mineral issues that may be implicated with fertility problems.
So I think the mineral buffet may really help!
Is your doe under or over weight? Have either she or your buck successfully bred before?
Sorry, I re-read your post and saw that the buck is proven.
But I am curious if the doe has ever been bred before?
She hasn’t, her heat cycles have been weird. I remember her going into heat last winter (we didnt have a buck yet) then I dont recall through the summer….then she didnt go into heat til Dec 23rd and she was in standing heat for 5-7 days!! Then went back into heat 21 days…then another 21 days….then I havent seen anything since. we are working on building something for the mineral buffet hopefully this weekend!
What’s her diet look like? Is she over or under conditioned?
How old is she? Ever freshened before?
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This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by
Haley.
She gets free choice hay, alfalfa pellets in the morning and at night, chaffhaye in the morning and evening with BOSS, sweetlix minerals (for now). Her conditon is good!
We just did disease testing and we did a pregnancy test too, to see, and it came back negative (30+ days since breeding)
Over conditioned does can have estrogen imbalances due to the excess adipose tissue (just like humans) and even have fat built up around her ovaries. But if she’s not overconditioned, I’d really just suspect a mineral deficiency at this point. Fir Meadow LLC does have a product that may help balance hormones if you wanted to look into that one as well. But I’d start with some kelp like Megan suggests!
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This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by
I had a doe who short cycled and took FOREVER to settle every year, then only kidding with 1-2 kids (usually 3-5 in that line), and usually bucks. I front loaded with free choice kelp for a couple of months before breeding and she settled on the first try, kidding with triplets, 2 of those does.
The buck broke in right after she kidded and she settled again.
Iodine deficiency is strongly implicated in many reproductive health issues, so that’s always where I suggest starting in cases like this.
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