I wonder how often this happens? This year we have a grandma, daughter and granddaughter, and a mom and daughter. So essentially two maternal lines. The first set all came into heat on the same day and were bred. A few weeks later the second set came into heat on the same day. (We didn't breed that same cycle, 'cause hubby was out of town.) Next cycle those two came into heat again together. (Yesterday and today. We bred them.) These are Nigerian Dwarves. Does this happen often?
Yup I had a dam and daughter that cycled the same time. Right now I have three totally unrelated doelings who are cycling the same day - two of them came from a totally different herd! Need to get them bred. For me it seems like when my goats come into heat they all come in together. Which is not what I like because I'm not exactly able to handle multiple kiddings on top of each other. They like to do things to keep ya guessing and scratching your head
When a group of females run together, there is a higher incidence in heat cycles syncing. It's really not just because they are genetic lines. I've got does that come in at the same time and they're not related...they are just buddies. Kaye
Yes, a number of my non related does, (Kinders and Niggies) came into heat at odd times. I just wondered if it was common for those related to each other to be on the same cycle.
Jo....most of my studies in this area were done with whitetail deer. Mature doe's had 2 things of influence that was noted in some studies, genetic background, and shortness of daylight. Our deer in Al. back 30 to 40 years ago would almost always peak rut in November......now, because our state has restocked using a lot of northern bloodlines, our rut can start in November, and last through Feb. We now see spotted fawns almost year around, and that was almost unheard of just a few years ago.
That is really interesting, Whim. I noticed that my unrelated Niggies came in heat at odd times. My kinders pretty regular since June. But all on different cycles. This is the first time I've seen the family of does come into heat all at once. So how is early- er, fawning? Birthing? of the deer effecting the population of the whitetails down there? There is a eco farmer in Virginia who states that calving and kidding should always be based on when the deer in the area start to fawn. I've always wondered about that.
This is so true, my poor dd started her cycles just after turning 10 and we are on the same schedule. That is torture! She's not even a teenager yet and I have to deal with her hormones AND mine! Bethany
Jo......That's a question with multiple answers........the bottom line in Al. is that we have many areas of over population now. We have fawns dropping at times when natural predators of the deer are in less need to kill for survival. Since our people pop. is starting to take in areas that have normally been hunted for years, the deer have found more refuge to hide in around these houses. Deer hunting season comes in mid.Nov. and runs through all January. Heats and rut make deer get on the move, making them easier to see while hunting. At least in my area, and trust me when I say this....it appears that peak rut is now about Feb 15........meaning no hunters in the woods when deer are on their biggest move. My last study showed that we are only second to Tx. when it comes to deer pop. Our state has increased bag limits to try to control this over pop. problem, and I think we can harvest up to 2 deer a day for most of the season this year. If I had to pick a goat that was most kin to a deer, it would be an ND. ...but not because of heat cycles, it would be more in line with going from having 3 , and ending up with 10 in one season. :lol
Jo - I've wondered the same thing with our herd. Especially in the NDs. It seems to me that certain lines, dam/daughters/grandaughters seem to sync their heat cycles and tend to kid around the same time. An example would be that we have one doe line that comes into heat earlier than the others. Almost always has the 1st kids of the season. The offspring seem to follow suite, at least after FF since we breed those for later in the year. We've had several odd years for heat cycles too - our seem to be coming into heat on weekends this year LOL... nice of them to help out our schedule in the fall at least - they make up for it with kidding in the spring. Interesting discussion! Trisha
Ever worked in an office with a handful of other women that work closely together? Seems "we" sync together too.
