# When to breed, when not to breed? [size]



## Nubiansrus (Nov 15, 2008)

How does everyone decide if they should breed a doe or wait another year? I have a couple does that Im just not sure, and so far Ive just waited because Im unsure. Ive heard alot of people say 80 lbs for the bigger breeds. But Im not even sure what 80 lbs of goat feels like. Also we have one doe that is a mini nubian [dwarf/nubian] what weight should she be? I doubt shell be 80 lbs full grown. Shes a year old now. What do you all go by to know if you should breed. I have a 3 yr old Nubian buck that is huge... but I borrowed a yearling buck to breed to some smaller does already.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I do have mini's so I'll just say that I usually wait til thet are a year plus...though I have been told that you can go by the "hip points"...if they are wide enough and compare to an adult does as far as the width then they are big enough to breed....though I think it would probably be in the best interest of your mini nub to use a mini buck.


I had an "oops" breeding when my baby was just 4 months old...I definately would have waited til she was a year and a half old had I had a choice...she delivered a single doe at 9 months old...no problem. I wouldn't do it on purpose though, too much stress involved as well as the risks with the doe.


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I like to see them at around a year old before breeding. I had a 7 month old get bred by accident and she kidded fine, but it wasnt planned.

I am planning on breeding my Angie at 9 months. She is a big girl and I feel she is mature enough to be bred. THis will be my first time doing this on purpose so we shall see.....

My other kid that is only a month behind her -- even if she was big enough I wouldnt breed her -- she just isnt mature enough. Still acts like a kid.


----------



## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

i like to wait till they are at least a year, sometimes even a year and a half. but i too have had the oops breeding, and nothing bad happened.. mine was 8 months


----------



## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

80 lbs is the minimum for breeding larger breed goats. From my experience, I breed only the kids that are steady growers, not kids that grow in growth spurts. Then I know that when they are pregnant, they will continue to grow at a steady rate.


----------



## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

7-8 months is my first assessment. I have had some kids (and do now for that matter) who are very large and nearly adult sized. So I will breed then if they are the big enough. I have some who seem a little smaller at that age so I leave them. 10 months is my next line. Healthy average kids are bred. And then of course sometimes you have smaller kids who are held over to a year. If a kid isn't large enough to be bred around a year then they're not worth hanging onto to me. 

Does whom you cannot breed as yearlings wind up FAT and don't lose that fat easily either. That in turns makes them harder to settle. I've had many does who came to me open, but a couple years old. Most will not settle and are fat cows. So they don't stay. 

I want to see the potential in these doelings so the sooner they can be bred and yet be physically sound and able is my goal. I never breed a doe I even slightly believe will have trouble. 

Oh, and another very important thing I gauge breeding capabilities with is rump width. Thurl to thurl. If the animal is narrow but otherwise a larger doeling, then she may wait another 2 months. If she's super wide in the thurls but seems smaller otherwise I will breed her. A narrow pelvis is not going to easily produce kids so they shouldn't be bred until you feel the pelvis is wide enough. If a doeling is physically small and has a wide pelvis I still wait till her overall size is large enough as well as her pelvis.

Confusing huh? I have Nigerians and have had a harder time gauging when to breed my Lamanchas. Meg is a very big girl so she has been bred, Birdie has really hit a growth spurt and is 8 months in December. Darcy won't be 8 months though but is a big girl too. I haven't decided with her yet. I am not breeding purebred Lamanchas though. Mine will have Minis. So those are a bit tricky to me.


----------



## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

We raise Mini-Nubians and we usually breed ours at a year and a half though but one doe we had to breed when she was 2 years old since she didn't take the first time but we have talked to well known breeders of Mini-Nubians and this what age they breed theirs too since the kids seem healthier that way except we did bred Nubians that were 10 months old but they were good size!


----------

