# How big are saanens?



## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I'm looking at a likely bred (been with a boer buck for 8 weeks) saanen doe.

Would she fit into a 40x26x29 dog kennel for transport? The ranch I'm looking to get her from is about 2 hours away.

Here's a pic of her when she was pregnant last time.


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

Oh she looks like a big one! wow tough call on that cage size! Can the person estimate a weight for you maybe using the measuring system? 

Might want to have a back up just in case (plastic, rope, cardboard, and some air freshening) to transport her in your vehicle.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I have a truck, so inside is not an option as there would be no where for her to go!

She has two bred does for sale. This saanen and a nubian. The nubian is about half the price but I've been reading about saanens and they seem so gentle and sweet. And she said shes very sweet and was a bottle baby. Very good natured. Oh and a toggenburg mix but I guess she has a problem with her nipple and so babies have to be bottle fed (so obviously I'd not be able to milk her which is what I want).


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I do have a jeep. I could take out the back seat..... It's pretty sparse.


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

If you have a truck you can transport her. I know it's not optimal but my first few transport of goats was one for the laugh at videos.

Take some good rope and make a tight tie down from one side to the other in the front of your truck. Bring some dog collars and tie her close to that tie down so she can't move a whole lot (if you have hooks close to the truck bed floor even better). You don't want enough length so that she can jump over the sides. Put down something so she won't be slipping and she will probably just lay down the whole way home. Or stand up and scream take your pick :laugh: Also make sure the collar is snug so she can't get it over the head.

I had to drive my first adult goat that way on a 1.5 hour trip, I felt bad but the folks who I purchased her from told me that they had actually purchased her close to where I live and had transported her to their house the same way. It worked, she was perfectly safe and I got her home.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Dayna said:


> I do have a jeep. I could take out the back seat..... It's pretty sparse.


 I'm having a hard time visulizing how big that dog crate is, but goats
haul pretty good in a spot like your jeep. Put down some plastic and
then an old blanket over that. A smart old girl like her might just lay
down.


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

I don't know if any of the stores carry this product over there but I got a stock cage that fits in the back of my truck. Thing has saved me many times! 

I think it's about 3'x5' and is perfect for transport about 6 Nigerians, or 1-2 bigger goats. 

The picture is for the product name and maybe can look up the numbers?. And I was lucky it was on clearance, but seriously a lot of larger dog crates cost just as much if not more then that cage did and they are much safer in the cage.


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

Shellshocker66 said:


> I don't know if any of the stores carry this product over there but I got a stock cage that fits in the back of my truck. Thing has saved me many times!
> 
> I think it's about 3'x5' and is perfect for transport about 6 Nigerians, or 1-2 bigger goats.
> 
> The picture is for the product name and maybe can look up the numbers?. And I was lucky it was on clearance, but seriously a lot of larger dog crates cost just as much if not more then that cage did and they are much safer in the cage.


That thing in awesome. I need one of those for my utility trailer. I'll have to measure.


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

No. A normal sized Saanen will not fit in your crate. Breed standard for does is a 30" minimum. If she's a large doe she could easily be 33-34" at the withers. Plus with that belly...nope. 

I also had to transport a Saanen buck this year. So I'm speaking from personal experience. I have the largest size Vari kennel they make, for mastiffs/danes/wolfhounds. I thought surely he would fit. The breeder straight up laughed when I told her how I was bringing him home and quickly asked what else I had in mind. Seeing the buck in person I got the joke. He's like a pony. 36" at withers and 240lbs (I measured). 

Cross tying her in the pickup is you're best bet. You'll get some stares but she'll be fine.


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## sunshinegoat (Feb 7, 2012)

We've transported many a goat (including a Saanen) in our Honda Civic hatchback before my husband built "the goat transporter" for the back of the truck... She should fit in the Jeep easily...good luck


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I havent bothered to measure dimensions but I breed saanens and unless she is waaaaaay undersize I could not fit any of mine into even the largest of dog crates, lol

BUT I have fitted them on several occasions on the back seat of my nissan pulsar hatchback (bubble car). 

I personally would not transport on the back of the truck unless in a stock crate. jmo

Saanens are definitely very mellow and sweet.


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## cybercat (Oct 18, 2007)

If you are not comfortable with her in your truck. Why not rent a Uhaul. One of the small enclosed would work good and do not cost much. You could put down alot of bedding for her and cross tie her if you wished.


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## Shellshocker66 (Mar 19, 2012)

I also forgot to mention either the truck or jeep you might want to bring a ramp. I have a bad back so I make sure that all my goats will load up via a ramp (easy to teach, usually have them doing it with just a couple of butt pushes). I just used 1"x8" boards (2), and took 2"x4" cut to 16 inches to go across both the side by side 1x8's.. Attaches them for double width and gives the goat bars for traction. When I'm not using this for loading goats it is down in pasture against wooden spools for them to play on (multi purpose things are my favorite).

That is going to be one large goat to load so if you can get some help to go with you even better!

I've come to the conclusion that I need a horse trailer myself. I just want a small one but next spring I'm going in search!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Also she's been with this buck for about 8 weeks. Would you think she'd be pregnant yet? The lady thinks she most likely would be. And what does one do with a boer/saanen cross? If it's a girl do you milk them or do you freezer camp them regardles? Or do they make good pets? The breeder offered to "buy back" the offspring at 50% of what I'm paying for the doe. Is that a normal deal?


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Holy Udders , you will have one heckuva goat on your hands if she took 
That buck is handsome and HUGE to say the least , at the very most you will have a small elephant , lolol.
Nah , Im kidding , but they are both sizable breeds , so dont be surprised if you find two shetland ponies nursing from her one morning when she kids 
Good luck with traveling with her , she is beautiful , I LOVE Saanens !
My Pixie is Saanen and so is Dixie , they are both the extremely sweet.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

You can use the offspring either for milking, or meat. Saanen x boer is not a bad cross


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

keren said:


> You can use the offspring either for milking, or meat. Saanen x boer is not a bad cross


I like to use the Boer/dairy crosses for home milkers bred to my meat buck for meat babies. LOVE the mix.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Why not simply milk the saanen and breed to a boer for meat babies? My saanenxboer kids were very meaty


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

I raise Saanens too. That doe looks great with all the depth!! Extreme dairy. I would just haul her in the back of your jeep.









We hauled 4 spring doelings and one yearling in the back of ours.

I personally wouldn't want the offspring as i am all for purebred registered, however the offspring may be a touch "beefy" so I would almost be temped to raise for meat.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

We had used a large crate when bringing home one goat. However, hubby has gotten use to it until we buy a truck w/ a canopy, me bringing home goats in the back of his explorer :laugh: I've had a 260# buck in the back- luckily he was very good natured. I just put down the back seat, and I have an xpen from showing dogs, I just put that between me and them.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I also just found out she's polled. Is that a good or a bad thing? She's had two kidding seasons. 1st season triplets, 2nd season twins. 1 Polled in each pregnancy.


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I've read a little bit about polled. You shouldn't breed polled to polled but anything else I need to know? I'm worried that this is bad and not good.....


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Dayna said:


> I've read a little bit about polled. You shouldn't breed polled to polled but anything else I need to know? I'm worried that this is bad and not good.....


"Polled

Some people consider polled (genetically hornless) goats to be defective. This is usually because of the risk of intersex or hermaphrodite kids from these goats. This risk has to be put into a proper context for breeders to appreciate what is going on.

Polledness in goats is dominant, and goats with two doses of the gene are masculinized. The end result, if you work out the results of the cross, is that a polled goat mated to a polled goat (nearly all of these only have one dose of the gene) will produce the following:

1/8 of the kids will be normal, horned males.
1/8 of the kids will be normal, horned females.
2/8 (1/4) of the kids will be normal, polled males.
2/8 (1/4) of the kids will be normal, polled females.
1/8 of the kids will be males with shortened reproductive life
1/8 of the kids will be females that are masculinized to hermaphrodites.

In many populations of goats the 1/8 that are hermaphrodites are so completely masculinized that they appear to be males, and so are counted in amongst those. When that happens, the result is a kid crop that is 5/8 male, 3/8 female.

Mating polled to polled is the worst-case strategy, and still provides 3/4 normal kids. Mating polled goats to horned goats completely eliminates the production of the hermaphrodites, and so is a safe way to use and enjoy polled goats. That is, with appropriate management there is basically no risk to breeding polled goats. Some breeders like them, some do not, and this variation is really trivial rather than a serious defect. Most importantly - breeding management makes these goats perfectly useful with no risk.

The polled goats with two doses of the genes are usually very round-headed with no protuberance where horns would have been. While head shape can be misleading in some instances, in most cases it does help to pick out the goats with two doses of the gene."

http://www.myotonicgoatregistry.net/ArticlesAndReferences/MGRGoatDefects/MGRGoatDefects.html

Interesting!! Wondered where the hermaphroditism came from!


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Thank you so much! I know a lot more now. I don't have any other polled goats so I guess I'm safe. I didn't even know there were polled goats on the Island of Hawaii. So I'm still being educated. I think I'm going to pick her up on Friday.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Polled is GREAT in my books!!


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## riaketty (Feb 22, 2009)

We built a 'cage' that we can lift on and off our truck. Wood frame and some woven wire. It's tall enough that the goats can lay down and have plenty of space and it takes up the whole bed so they move around a little if they want. We've also hauled 50 chickens in it. I can get a pic if you want to see.


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