# Growth Question



## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

I know it can be hard to give exact advise, since every goat grows differently due to diet, genetics, etc. But I still want to see what ya'll think about my little girl.

My Nigerian Dwarf girl, Suzie Q, is almost a year old. She turns one in early February. For her weight, she has held steady at 31-32lbs for a few months. She gets free choice minerals and hay. Her glossy black fur has no hint of red, and her hooves are strong, so I assume she has an adequate mineral intake. Also, worms and coccidia haven't been an issue, or so fecal test results have told me. Her eye lids are a nice, deep pink.

Since she has grown slowly since I got her. In the morning I offer her 2/3rds of a cup of grain and a tablespoon of calf manna. She usually eats...half of it. In fact, she'll ignore it if she has hay as a choice! Yep, she LOVES her hay. The other two goats would pork out on grain if given the chance. Suzie takes a few nibbles, then eats her hay. Same thing in the evening, and she normally just takes a few nibbles. I'd be worried if she hasn't _always_ done this.

Do you think this is as big as she'll get? Or is there a possibility she'll do a bit more growing? The thing is, is I don't want to breed her if she is too small to have a healthy pregnancy. I wasn't planning on doing it yet, but I was hoping to perhaps breed her later this year for fall kids.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

That is very small for a 1 year old. It sounds to me like something has happened that has stunted her growth. I know some are slow growers but that is really very small for even slow growers. I probably wouldn't be breeding her.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Does height factor in at all? I don't have an actual measurement of her height, but she is almost as tall as Yoko. Makes me sad, since it is likely something I did wrong. She has great parents who've gotten very good linear appraisal scores.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Are you saying she has long legs? Can you post a picture of her?

Something just doesn't sound right but there are so many reasons why she didn't grow that it is hard to say.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Yep, she is tall. I got 18 inches from a front hoof to wither, but I don't know the proper way to height measure a goat. But she doesn't feel underweight. 

Attached is a picture of her next to Yoko. Suzie Q was eating hay, and Yoko was getting the leftover snack that SuzQ left from the grain/calf manna. The ground they are on is fairly even. Sorry it is so small, it came from my cell phone.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I have 11 month olds that I'm breeding now. They are both over 50 lbs and are Nigerian Dwarfs. I would not breed her. To me either something genetically happened or something stunted her growth like coccidia. If it was coccidia, it probably happened young.

I had a male that couldn't take what was considered normal levels of coccidia. I had to treat him more often and he never did as well as the others.

That is definitely a real stumper. You would probably have to spend a lot of money and get quite a few tests done to find out some answers.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Goats grow for almost 3 yrs, you could give her at least another 6 months before deciding on what to do with her. I have one little girl who was very! tiny at birth, her brother was a normal size. She is just growing slower and I've seen her have a little growing spurt the last month. She will be 1 May 14th, I will see how she does and she may not be bred until she's 18 months; I'm just going to give her time to really mature.


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## slockhart (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm new to goats. I also have 2 Nigerian does that will be 1 year old in February, they are both around 33 lbs. They have put on about 5 lbs since I bought them a month ago. I'm trying to get them to 40 lbs so they can be bred for fall babies. I also have a 1 year old Nigerian that just kidded (very skinny, tiny, weak triplets: 2 died, 1 doe is small but doing good) and she is 53 lbs, after kidding. I got them all from the same place and at the same time and their goats looked healthy. I've also went to another Nigerian farm and their goats looked huge compared to mine. They get browse/pasture/hay/minerals free choice and 1 cup grain and 1 cup beet pulp each day. Is there something I can do or should I just not breed them?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would have a fecal done to include coccidia.


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## slockhart (Jan 18, 2013)

They were wormed before I got them and they have nice pink gums and eyes lids. They seem very healthy and happy. I though coccidia was only a problem when they are very young...if it is coccidia then what does that mean for them? Will they ever reach full size? 
Thanks!


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## slockhart (Jan 18, 2013)

Here's my 2 little girls, the tan & white and the black & white.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

very cute. I see little moon spots on the back end of the black and white one.  The three standing together they don't look much shorter than the other gold one, from above they are slimmer. I would still get a fecal to be sure you're not dealing with any current issues.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

ksalvagno said:


> I have 11 month olds that I'm breeding now. They are both over 50 lbs and are Nigerian Dwarfs. I would not breed her. To me either something genetically happened or something stunted her growth like coccidia. If it was coccidia, it probably happened young.
> 
> I had a male that couldn't take what was considered normal levels of coccidia. I had to treat him more often and he never did as well as the others.
> 
> That is definitely a real stumper. You would probably have to spend a lot of money and get quite a few tests done to find out some answers.


When I picked her up, one of the questions I remember asking the breeder was if the kids get any coccidia preventitives. I was told that since the dam raised kids are normally healthier, there had never been a need for treating coccidia. To be safe, I did treat her with dimethox (five days treatment dose) and a wormer (ivermectin) as soon as I got her home. Until she was six months old, she got regular coccidia preventatives, alternating between corid and dimethox.

She was three months old when I bought her. In her first months, if she'd had a large coccidia load, could it have stunted her?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is possible but if she is growing now, I would just hold off breeding her and see if gets bigger. She may catch up and just need more time to grow. I don't think you should give up on her yet.


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## TwistedKat (Dec 28, 2012)

From my personal experience (very limited ), I agree with Karen, I'd wait and giver her a chance. 

I bought my doe knowing she was premature (dam was butted, went into premature labor, lost the other two and Lucy lived) and very small for her standards. She was still very small at one year old and didn't take when I tried to breed her. She has grown so much in the last year she's equal in size to the buck we bred her with this year. 

I'm happily surprised that she continued growing. So, your little one may still grow.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I read that ND's go through growth spurts i would give her a little more time.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Just updating. Little Suzie Q for her growth spurt! She steadily started gaining weight. Today, she is 43lbs. I am going to give her the rest of the summer and fall to do more filling in (I think a lot of rich grazing will help!). And then, hopefully, she'll be bred for lovely spring kids in 2014! 

Here is a picture of her, taken yesterday! My clippers busted halfway through a clip, so she looks kinda odd, haha.


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## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

Glad to hear she is getting bigger! I wish there was some sort of growth chart. I too worry about my girls growth. I have done searches and haven't been able to find one. I know they all may be different but it would help to know if they are not average....

Good luck with your upcoming breeding and kidding!

PS: we are thinking about taking our vacation this year in the UP. We plan to see Taquamenon falls again (I have been a million times but love it there). Do you have any other must see spots you can recommend? We have been to Mackinaw City and Island quite a few times already.....


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