# when to breed my year old doe ...



## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

So we have 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats. One is bred and is due mid March. It's her second freshening. 

We got the goats for their milk (and their cuteness), so we'd like to keep the milk flowing. I plan to add a doe or 2 over the next year or so. I'm sure there will be one that I fall in love with (if not all of them) ... but currently we just have the 2. 
So if Nigerian Dwarf goats stay in milk approximately 300 days ... we should plan our breeding our one year old goat in May. She will be a year and 2 months in May. This would give us the 5 months of gestation and then 2 months to allow her to feed her babies and we would have milk again for the family in Dec/Jan ... right about the same time when our older doe will be going dry after her second freshening.

Does that sound about right?
Also, How do you know if your 1 year old doe is ready to be bred. I haven't weighed her ... but she's nearly as big as our 3 year old doe (not quite) and when she was back at the breeder's last fall at about 7 months of age, our breeder commented on how much bigger she was than the other doelings her age. So my gut feeling is she's not small for her age and will be fine.

Is there a weight that you want your doe to be when she's bred? I know some people breed when they are less than a year, so I'm guessing it will be fine since she'll be 14 months. I just want to be sure.

And last question ... is May too late to breed as far as the time of year and it getting pretty cold at night in Colorado for babies.

Would it be better to breed our one year old doe in March or April?

It's challenging trying to time the milk and make sure the doeling is old enough ... and make sure her kids aren't born too late in the season (temperature wise). What do you all suggest?


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I'm sure your yearling doe is probably just fine to breed weight-wise. Also, you should dry the momma's up a month or two before they are due to kid again to give them a break in milk production. I don't think it is healthy to keep them producing milk every day of the year.


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## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

our pregnant doe was dry when we got her at the end of the summer. the breeder milked her for a short time but was too busy with too many goats so she wasn't milked long. so she's had a nice break ... but that is a very good reminder for next year.

that's also why i want at least 3-4 does eventually ... so our girls will have lots of breaks.


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Yup, lots of people stagger the breeding dates so that newborns come at different intervals. They can then dry off one doe a month before she kids again but still get milk (from the other does).


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