# Tiny doeling



## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

I'm starting to think my little Isis would be better served in a pet only home...

She's tiny. Minuscule. No current health problems, but I wonder if those very bad issues I had with her last winter stunted her growth. You might remember them. She nearly died during them but I pulled her through somehow.

Granted, her dam is really small too, and her sire wasn't huge either but...

I have Hope's two boys from her last kidding here. They are younger than Isis and have the same sire, but are much bigger. Juliet, who is younger, is much bigger.

She HAS grown. Just not like the others.

It may just be genetics, it may have been her health problems as a youngster, but I think she might just not be a good breeding candidate. I also am not a huge fan of the TINY TINY goats...I like them to be a good size..21 inches at the shoulder or so? I'm guesstimating.

She'd certainly not have trouble finding a pet home...white, blue eyes, and a personality ten times her size.

The only problem is I really love her, and would hate to see her go. :tears:

But can I really justify keeping a pet and run the risk of an accidental breeding as well? Cause you never know, right?

Sigh...

Isis and her mom:









As a baby:









Me and Lily, so you can see how small Lily is (Keep in mind I'M very small too):









Edited to add:

Size comparison, sorta. Julie is two months younger than Isis.


















What to do, what to do. Sigh.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

It's tough, I know. Doing what is best for her will be hard. I can see that she isn't very long in body..I like length as well as width with a breeding doe.
I have Heidi here as a hayburner because my original plan when I retained her was to be able to "replace" her mom Tilly on the milkstand...Tilly passed a year ago and Heidi just stayed small...very short in body and that will lead to complications during pregnancy and delivery, Heidi is and always was healthy..just her pygmy blood showing strongly. She's 29 months old and weighs a solid 52 pounds and is 17 1/2 inches tall and 21 inches from butt to shoulder :wink: 

If you aren't comfortable keeping her as a pet due to risk of accidental breeding, maybe you can pair her with a wether for a pet home, hard as it may be to give up the pretty little girl, it will ease your mind knowing she'd not have a chance of being bred and be a well loved pet.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Yes you can really see the difference in the two...Juliet embodies everything I love to see in a doeling at this stage. Long, level, tall.

Isis is short and round. Very Pygmy-ish. Which isn't too surprising, as her dam looks very pygmy as well, despite being a registered Nigerian Dwarf. And her sire was likely half Pygmy or a quarter at least.

I'm wanting to expand, and I just can't see how I can justify keeping a pet right now. Sure, we got some fencing done and the pen is soo much bigger but...

I don't know. It'd be a different story if the entire property was fenced, I'd have more than enough browse for a hundred goats (almost exaggerating lol) but right now, cuts may have to be made if I want to get what I planned and retain doelings from this coming breeding season. And I certainly don't want to risk her getting in with a buck, or a buck getting in with her, someday, and causing complications. Better safe than sorry?

It's such a tough choice!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

There are 2 different "styles" when it comes to nigies...I myself just come to know this not long ago! Amazed me to see the 2 styles as comparison together too...the "old" style is wide and short but has the dairy features a pygmy does not have, my personal preference is the "new" style...long, lean and leggy! They're still "short" but that length and overall dairy character keeps the teats out of the milk pail!

Definately odd to see a short wide pygmylike nigi when you're used to seeing the more refined "mini dairy" looking nigies.


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## Goat Crazy (Feb 8, 2010)

Well, I had a doe who is 2 years old 17.5 in tall at the withers, weighs around 50+ lbs. I think she was stunted due to something that happened in her unkown history. She was bred last year (not exactly planned breeding) and she kidded to a single normal size buckling who was a true breach if it wasn't for that, he would have been on the ground and already cleaned by the time I got to the barn that morning. I had no trouble getting him out either. So, she may kid just fine. There always is the risk of her having a big kid though and since you worked so hard to save her, it would be hard to lose her that way. It is a hard choice :hug:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

How old is she? Did I miss that somewhere? 

She sure is cute. I would hate to see her go if she still has some growing time left. I think ultimately it will be up to you on whether to keep her or see her go.


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## CrossCreekTX (Aug 10, 2009)

My two doelings from last yr were in a separate pen because I wanted them to have another yr to grow before breeding. The buck climbed the fence. They each delivered a single doeling with no problems. They both grew some while pg, but both are still on the small side. Their mom is a tall, long, large doe. I never could get the info from the breeder on who the father was. I got their mom bred last yr. The other doe I got from her is on the small side too. She had twins with no problems. The breeder also has minimanchas so I'm wondering if the buck was a mini.

Keep your does on green feed all yr and if you don't have green feed give plenty of apple cider vinegar. It will help them to deliver rapidly without dystocia.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

She was born in November. I do feed almost 100% browse plus grass hay when they appear bored of browse, and pregnant/lactating does get a grain ration. Everyone looks real great on it.

I am thinking its a mixture of her lineage and her illness in winter. I just am starting to think she'd be better served as a pet for someone.

I have seen both "lines" of Nigerians, and I like them sort of in between! Long, tall, but with a good body, not TOO thin. My friend Caryl's has some that are amazing, tiny does, but perfect in proportion. So neat


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

For a November baby she really doesn't look all that small to me unless she is smaller in person. I personally would keep her until a year old and decide then if you really would like to keep her.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

She's much smaller than kids two months younger than her, some of them by the same sire. 

I put her up for sale at a ridiculous price...if she doesn't sell, that's ok. If she does...well it will ONLY be to the best home, and she'll help pay for things that are needed


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

give her time -- she isnt even a year old yet. Some are just slower at growing then others. I had TINY girl who now is a BIG GIRL so really size doesnt matter in that first year - its once they are more liek 18 months and still the size of a 6 month old that you have to be thinking "pet home"


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Maybe you're right Stacey. (Or actually you're probably right)

I think I'm just feeling down and out over some stuff, not even goat related.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I can relate. unfortunately


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## mnspinner (Aug 13, 2008)

I have been in your shoes and while I agree she could still have a growth spurt, my own decision would be to let her go as pet. You could run into problems if she's bred and do you want her passing on more too small goats?
Sometimes we have to make very tough decisions on those goats who steal our hearts. And if she has a five star personality, then maybe that's your cue to place her as a pet.


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## mistyblue (Nov 13, 2008)

I also have been there, I had a adorable girl that just never grew. I sold her to a pet home, who also bought her a playmate for her from me. She is two and she is only the size of a 5/6 month old.

This is Sweetpea at a year old:


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

i say time is needed.. i had a doeling that i'd bred who was the runt in her litter, she got to stay with mom and extra two months but was still tiny as all heck where her brother was standard size. this doe was probably 8 pounds when i weaned at 8 months.I just gave her grain everyday for extra calories, but even as a yearling my 3month old kids were far bigger.. I sold her to a older couple with a wether as pets, 2 years later our hay man had accquired her and the wether from the older couple and asked if he could breed her.. i said bring her over and i'll see if she's big enough and lo - and -behold she was normal sized!!! true she was 3 at the time i sawher, but she just delivered her first baby on june 8ths.

guess it depends how much time you want to wait


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

She really doesn't look that small, honestly. Especially for her age (she actually looks on the bigger side imo). Do you know her height and weight? I have bred some really petite does this year and had no problems what-so-ever (knock on wood).

Good luck!


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

She's eight months old (born in November). I don't have a scale (it's totally on my to-do list) but she's a heavy little bugger. Between 30 and 40 lbs? I stink at estimating.. 

She's about 14 inches at the shoulder, while Hope's last kids (they're visiting while their mommy is out of town) are between 17-19 inches at 6 months old. Julie at 6 months is probably even a bit taller. But then again, the dams of those kids are much taller than Isis' dam, Lily.

Maybe I am being silly, but I dunno. When Hope's kid's owner dropped them off, she made a comment about Isis and how tiny she was, and "it doesn't even seem like she's grown at all!"

She has, but I guess maybe not a lot?

Maybe she just hasn't hit that growth spurt yet.


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## cyanne (Jan 7, 2009)

Keep in mind that some goats just mature at a slower rate than others so it can take a little longer. Also, comparing her to Juliet might not be fair to her since Juliet's mom, Pepper, is over the height limit for a Nigi so she is just naturally going to be a bigger girl.

With the registered, show-quality nigis I have seen some that were pretty darn short, but still had kids with no issues and produced plenty of milk. Also, I know some people have certain bloodlines that are really fast to mature and others that are really slow. I had a doe kid with triplet doelings this Spring and one of them is maturing like a little weed, so tall and long already and looking very graceful, while the other two are still little and all awkward.

If it were me, and I was just really attached to a doeling like I know you are with her, I would wait and give her a little more time to see how she turns out.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

That is true. Pepper is quite a large doe (probably the largest I have, not counting the Nubians) though I like her that way.

Isis is so odd, some days she looks round and Pygmy, other days she looks nice and Nigerian!

She's not going anywhere I don't think, quite honestly


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