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MOON PHASES
By: Gary Pfalzbot |
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For a number of years now, I have patiently studied the relationship between the phases of the moon and pregnant does giving birth. The data I have collected since approximately 1999 indicates a definite influence and likelihood that kids will be born within a 3 day window either side (waxing or waning) of the full moon. While the actual percentages change with each kidding, my calculations indicate better than 90% of "my" goats will give birth within this time frame.
This article will further explore my findings and take into consideration a variety of factors in this strange, yet intriguing phenomena. |
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There are certain factors which have remained fairly consistent in my studies on this subject; first of all, since 1999, nothing has changed as far as the way I raise my goats and this primarily includes that I have never given them an elaborate shelter with any type of artificial light. Nearly all of my goats have been raised in a natural pasture setting although they do receive daily attention from a human source, i.e., feeding, watering, hoof care, trimming, milking, grooming, etc. These goats could not be considered feral (wild).
For the most part, my goats have been run together in a herd with several bucks and several does. They do of course follow the course of nature in which dominance and submission is sorted out without interference by a human - unless of course, a particular goat shows extreme weakness and separation from the herd is vital to its survival. But before you take my findings as the logical explanation and indication of overall kidding behavior, do know that I earlier stated that this behavior can be expected better than 90% of the time. There have been exceptions and these exceptions are most often with a particular group of does and even in their subsequent offspring. For example, I owned a doe that was reported to be a percentage Boer. She was supposedly a Spanish-Boer mix with no real definitive history. No matter how nice of a place I would fix up for her complete with warm bedding, straw, hay and water, she persisted on having her kids as far out of sight as possible in the pasture by a tree. And none of these kids were ever born during a phase of the full moon. Rather, they were born when there was no moon at all! Talk about being private! Furthermore, each of her doe offspring performed in the exact same manner for a few years afterward. Time of year doesn't seem to play any role in whether or not kids will be born during the full moon phase. Nearly each one of my goats has followed this full moon calendar in the heat of summer or in the very chilly winter months. However, I can relate that most of my goats are most likely to kid between the months of December and March. I have read posts from a number of other goat owners over the years and have paid close attention to the phase of the moon when they announce their goats have kidded. The greatest percentage of these also fall within the full moon phase. The exceptions seem to be those owners who shelter their goats under artificial light or in complex shelter arrangements. I do not see anything wrong with raising goats in this manner. However I feel strongly that goats may be influenced by artificial light in such a way that their biological clocks are stimulated and disturbed to the point that they cannot discern what phase the moon may be in. There is some evidence to support this in studies on the pineal gland in goats. (The link previously featured here was discovered broken and removed. I will continue to research this area and provide supporting evidence as it is discovered). Why would goats display this behavior? Three schools of thought here, the first using the percentage Boer mentioned above...I feel strongly that some breeds of goats such as the Spanish are less likely to be domesticated and feel a need to protect their young by keeping them hidden until any dangers have passed. Since this breed of goat may have been one of the last to be truly domesticated, they are more likely to be the stronger in giving birth and will be less likely to encounter problems in giving birth to one or more kids at a time. The second thought is that the more domesticated goats have had many more years of human intervention and are usually more apt to have problems in kidding. We as goat owners are providing them nutrition and chemicals they may otherwise not receive in the wild. Perhaps they find their own type of safety in being able to immediately see their newborn kids. The third thought centers around goats being subject to somewhat of a type of genetic engineering that we as the owners have planned and mapped out for them. There are several farms that employ artificial insemination (AI) as a part of their program. The are also a number of kid goats that are bottle fed from day one in strict control environments which in my opinion, somewhat cancels out at least a small portion of their natural behavior. Hence the bottle fed goat that will bond closely to the person feeding them, for life.
Artificial Light - An interesting factor In this instance, the farm we moved to had a large security light that performed as they are supposed to; turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. That was until about a year later when the light began malfunctioning and going off and on at sporadic intervals throughout the night. I never gave it much thought other than I myself having to fumble through the darkness or cursing myself why I hadn't gotten new flashlight batteries. The light itself really had no bearing on the goats until I moved the pens into proximity of where the light continually illuminated the entire area with at least a soft glow, and then moved again out of the light path. Under artificial light, sure enough, each doe began kidding at odd intervals with no correlation to the phase of the moon. Once removed from the light, each goat followed the moon phase as before. The data I kept during this period of time was very fluctuating and actually had me questioning the moon phase theory altogether. I had simply failed to take into account the actual amount of light the goats were receiving at night from the security light. Once the goats had been moved away from the light path, data came back into align with the moon phase theory. So all in all I'm simply saying, for those of you who have conflicting data with the moon phase, examine closely the amount of light that your goats receive in the hours of darkness and the source of this light. You may be surprised to find that just a small amount of light will make their kidding behavior erratic in relation to the phase of the moon. But these schools of thought are paralleled by another puzzling fact. While you won't find highly definitive answers (yet), there is much indication and reference to many other undomesticated animals giving birth either in the new moon or full moon phase. Even though a goat gives birth during a full moon phase, they don't always kid during the darkness of night! And even though animals other than goats are not clearly documented in this behavior, You will find much speculation on animals being more prone to biting during a full moon. So there is no simple answer -- only facts and statistics as they present themselves in each and every unique situation. This article will be continued as I compile more facts and statistics. If you would like to contribute your own thoughts and findings on this subject, please feel free to email me at gary@goatworld.com. |
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| About the authors: Gary Pfalzbot is the webmaster of GoatWorld. He has raised goats over the years, been involved with 4-H (as a young boy) and currently resides in Florissant, CO, situated within the Rocky Mountains. He and his wife Pam began raising a few breeds of goats, mainly precipitated for the control of Kudzu vine. They now primarily author the GoatWorld web site to continue to inform, educate, and promote the industry and those persons who are interested in goats. |
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