# Breeding Mini Nubains/Lamancha question



## Megan197 (Mar 3, 2015)

Hello! I wasn't sure exactly what forum to put this in, so I hope this one is okay.

So, I'm not a beginner in breeding goats, I've had them for eh... I'd say at least 6 years, maybe 7? When we first started I had 2 Nigerian dwarf does, just as pets mainly, my sister raised mini Nubians, and I wanted kids so we bred out Nigerians to her mini Nubian buck(s), and we've never had a bit of problems, of course I always bred to mini bucks, and mini bucks that were around the same size of my ND does. 

It's been 2 years since my last kids now, I have 2 Nigerian dwarf does bred to a mini lamancha (one is possibly bred to a mini Nubian instead). I got on a group on facebook, just to post about my excitement about finally having kids again here in less then a month, and people got on their and started criticizing me and all this crap about using Nigerian does and not bucks, and even though the lamancha buck is only very slightly bigger then one doe, and he was even smaller then the other doe (he's a real small buck, and the one doe is a bit big for an ND as she is out of one of the first 2 pet quality does I mentioned in the beginning), people still were flipping out on me. SO I've come to ask, is using ND does with Mini bucks really THAT bad? Even when the buck is barely bigger, or even smaller, then the doe? I've had, I'll say at least 5 kiddings in the past from my ND does and mini bucks, and I've never had any problem what so ever, whether the doe was a first freshener, 4th freshener, had a single kid, or had 4 kids, I just don't get why everybody got so upset with me and would like some other opinions on if what I'm doing really is a bad idea? Thank you for your time!


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## NewbieNubian (Nov 7, 2011)

I don't have any experience with NDs or mini breeds, but I know small does can surprise you. I have three Lamancha mix does, each of them weighing in at no more than 100lbs. Two years ago, I bred them all (including a virgin doeling) to a 165lb Boer buck. Last year, I bred to a registered Nubian. Some people told me it was risky, but I'd never had issues breeding to larger bucks, and I trusted my does. And sure enough, I've had two problem-free kidding seasons (*knocks on wood*), even with my first freshening yearlings. In fact, I got twins off my FF yearling and Nubian buck this year, unassisted! And the kids this year are the largest I've ever had born!

If your system works and that's how you've been doing it all this time, then keep at it! It clearly works for you; those that criticize you for it don't know your goats like you do.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

As long as the size isn't much different. You usually want the doe to be the bigger breed. But it sounds like you mini is pretty small.


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## Megan197 (Mar 3, 2015)

Alright, thanks everybody for your replies! I was getting rather flustered over it, haha! I'd seen people breeding mini bucks twice the size of their mini does together before and nobody ever cared but yet because my does weren't minis and were NDs, everybody was upset with me, even though my buck is small. So it's O.K. to breed oversized mini bucks to tiny mini does but not NDs and mini that are about the same size? The logic seems flawed too me... but I figured I should get other opinions as I don't want to put my does at risk, one person said I was "Just lucky nothing went wrong yet." Thank you guys again, feeling a bit better about it all now!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I tend to be on team "does-should-be-the-larger-breed" but you know your goats, and by the sound of it he's a small buck. And if he throws smaller kids, I wouldn't think it would be too much of an issue. Nigerians to a full grown standard would be another story, but he's already a mini.


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