# Should i breed Pygmys or not?



## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

Please don't yell at me if this is a bad idea i don't want to breed unwanted goats ether. But were i live i cant find a lot of active breeders for pygmys. So i thought i could get 2 does and breed them to help out with there food cost. Maybe not pay for it al but at least help.
If i do breed pygmys what do i look for? I had someone offer me a mother and daughter pair yesterday so im waiting on pics to see them. Do you have to separate the mom and babies to wean or do they wean themselves? Hard thing to find will be a billy i plan on not having a billy and hopefully i can rent one when i need him.
O how determined can goats be when there in rut or heat? There are boars goats next door and im sure a boar buck breeding my girls will kill mine. The fence is the same fence thats been there for ages its got trees and bushes in it. But its 7 to 8 ft high and its got the small squares like cattle panel only flexible. I dont think they could get threw but want to be sure. As he likes to keep his billy by my side.


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

breeding pygmys is ok -- I wouldnt breed really small does though. 

As to the boer buck .... thats something to worry about BUT if you can get good strong fencing to be sure that he cant get in with your does that would be best. 

leasing/renting/studding out a buck is possible - contact local breeders to see what people may have around you, I bred my unregistered pygmies to a nigerian buck when I couldnt find a pygmy buck to breed to. So thats an option too if you are just looking for pets to breed.

as to weaning - mothers will start to wean their kids around the 8 week mark or before. I usually just pull the kids and sell them at 8-12weeks but if im keeping them I let them be weaned by mom which can take several months.


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

First off...I don't know if I welcomed you to the forum or not...so welcome! And don't be afraid to ask questions like you are doing here...we will give you nothing but positive answers and no one will yell at ya. That's just the way this forum is. I know on other forums you have to think and rethink very carefully about what you post so you don't get attacked...luckily this forum isn't like that. 

Breeding pygmies is just fine. If there aren't a lot in your area then they'll be a good breed to work with. You should go to some pygmy breed websites to find out more information on them before you dive in. There are some good websites that describes their conformation and health and whatnot. Definately take a look...probably google it.

It's best to pull kids around 10 to 12 weeks old otherwise mom could nurse them for a long time. I bought a doe who was nursing a 1.5 yo so sometimes they wean themselves, but usually not from my experience.

Bucks will work all day trying to get to a doe in season. You'll need very strong fencing if there is a boer buck penned next to you. If they were bred, they definately could be killed during kidding. Also, if the squares on the fencing are large enough, it may be possible for them to breed through the fence...so that's something to take into consideration. You may have to run some chicken wire or something similar to prevent that.

Good luck and be sure to let us know if you get the two!


----------



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Don't worry about people being upset with you for breeding goats. People freak out if you breed dogs, and anymore they freak out if you breed horses because as they like to say, "There are too many unwanted horses in the world! You are an awful backyard breeder who is just adding to the problem and creating more suffering and you should feel mountains of shame and guilt!" People in the goat community are not going to do that, and there is not a goat over population problem in any case. Pygmies are fun, just familiarize yourself with proper conformation. The better conformation the goat has, the easier it should be for a doe to carry kids to term successfully and have an easy delivery. A lot of body capacity is important and a proper slope and width in the rear end so the babies have room to come out.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

If your neighbor allows it, familiarize yourself with goats first, being present during kiddings would be a plus too...there is no amount of "book knowledge" that will compare to hands on, all goats require the same type of care and management, regardless of size...just the mini's like pygmy's and nigerians are easier to handle, take a bit less as far as feed goes but do thrive on the one on one they get from their people.

Heres my response to an old bitty that slammed me every chance she got because I was breeding my does,"There may be an over abundance of cats, dogs, horses BUT theres more people willing to EAT a goat should the population become a problem" It shut her up PDQ and now when she see's me she goes the other way! lol


----------



## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks everyone the 3 i was looking at are so cute. But i will need to wait as money is tight got to hope he still has them.My neighbor let me be present when 1 of his does had triplets. I did not see him dip the cords or anything but he did take them to the barn once she was done.


----------

