[Mrspie]

Hiya,

This time last year I got bought for my birthday 3 golden Guernsey kids. Best birthday present!
They went straight in with my two “whether” Pygmy goats who are old men.
All was fine and well, then the girls GG started to come into heat, one of the pygmies started acting very perculiar?! Alsmost like an entire male! The boys both have little pouches, but I rescued them years ago and was told they were castrated.

Didn’t think much of the strange behaviour, until today....
I have noticed that one of the the girls has developed a small udder and bigger teats.. is this normal for a golden Guernsey female?
Or are the castrated pygmies, really castrated???

Thank you !

[roddycm]

Could be that they were not castrated properly or maybe the GG is going to be a maiden milker! is she looking pregnant? Bigger tum etc?

[Lesley Silvester]

Nothing more to add but good luck.

[Flump74]

I've had a similar thing with one of my little BG's. She only had a teensy udder form and only on one side, so still don't really know whether she's going to be a maiden milker or not!

Good luck x

[Flump74]

I've had a similar thing with one of my little BG's. She only had a teensy udder form and only on one side, so still don't really know whether she's going to be a maiden milker or not!

Good luck x

If you want her to be, you need to try to remove the wax plug from her teat and start gently taking milk off...even if there's virtually nothing there, just take a few squirts, the more she thinks there's demand, the more likely she is to start producing.

I did the other day, to see how much there was, bless her. Enough for a cup of tea  Just worried about her being so young!

[Lesley Silvester]

I know someone who's BA kidded at just under a year (having climbed through an opening in the wall between the girls' shed and her father's area. She raised her kid very well after an easy birth and continued to give milk prolifically. She even squatted slightly over the bucket to make it easier to milk her.

[Flump74]

I know someone who's BA kidded at just under a year (having climbed through an opening in the wall between the girls' shed and her father's area. She raised her kid very well after an easy birth and continued to give milk prolifically. She even squatted slightly over the bucket to make it easier to milk her.

Awh, bless. Little Flopsy did a bit of a squatting thing too!

[Flump74]

Was it colostrum or milk you got out?

If you got her this time last year as a kid I'm guessing she's 14 or 15 months?  One of mine gave birth at 14 months (just before I got her) and raised the kid without a problem.  I believe the commercial dairies also kid them around that age... no such thing as a goatling unless it's a pet.  Just be sure you're feeding her according to production and keep an eye that she doesn't get calcium deficient.  Good luck.

Milk. It was the third occasion I had milked a little out to see What would happen.

Hard to imagine a goat having a kid at that age....she seems barely more than a kid herself.she was bottle reared as she was one of triplets, and still follows me around like a puppy! They were born late April but her sisters are much more grown up 

[Mrspie]

Question?

Her udder is only small, but teats appear larger, she’s no rounder than usual. Could she be pregnant and if so how close to kidding?

One of the males, spits makes funny noises, aggressive towards other goats , pees on head and they smell all year round of urine? Has he not been correctly castrated?

Thanks

[Anke]

Question?

Her udder is only small, but teats appear larger, she’s no rounder than usual. Could she be pregnant and if so how close to kidding?

One of the males, spits makes funny noises, aggressive towards other goats , pees on head and they smell all year round of urine? Has he not been correctly castrated?

Thanks

None of my wethers do any peeing etc, and the don't smell!.... so I would get a vet to check the boys out asap. If they are not catrsated, watch out for when your goat kids!

[Mrspie]

If the boys still have a small testicle pouch, they obviously would not have been ringed, so would this mean they were surgically castrated?

What behaviour to entire males do in rutting season?

[Anke]

What behaviour to entire males do in rutting season?

What you have described above.... but all of mine are ringed at 4 days old, so I don't know if they retain more "male"like behaviour when surgically done, which is obviously later. Best to get the vet to check...

[Mrspie]

Thank you everybody for your advice. I am now thinking that definitely one of the males was not castrated properly. During the winter he was showing rutting behaviour! I put the smell down the to horrible wet and cold winter we had, but now I know. I’ll keep a close eye on my girls to see if anything changes.

I’ll keep everyone updated

[Flump74]

I have a suspicion if they still have the sack, they were never castrated and you've been misinformed.  When my stallions were castrated, the sack went with the testicles barring the bit they stitched together over the wound.

My whether was castrated at the vets at around 8 weeks, if I remember correctly, and he still has his sack, and the two boys from my triplets this year were both castrated at vets using a plier type clamping tool.... they also have their sacks.

Not saying your little guy has been done as obviously his behaviour sounds a lot more like a Billy than my Charlie who is now 2.    He can still get a little boisterous but shows none of the smelling, urinating or blubbering behaviour.

So sounds like some cute wee ones coming your way Mrspie!

[Mrspie]

So assuming he has not been castrated properly, would he be big enough to get up there  haha!
Would it be physically possible for a Pygmy goat male to mate golden Guernsey female!