# What age do you start with breeding?



## Bleyfarm (Apr 25, 2013)

We just got a buck he is 8 weeks now and our doe is 10 weeks now. The person we got our doe from says to not breed her until next fall 2014. I had read that does tend to only breed for the first 6-7 years. I also read that you could start at 7 months if the doe is at least 75 pounds. I also know not to just try to fatten her up because this can make for a very difficult pregnancy and delivery. So I'm assuming that this fall as long as she has reached her weight requirement at her natural pace (not pumping her full of grain) that it would be okay to breed her this fall. Also I did not see anything on the buck..? Any info would be great! Thanks

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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

7 months is a bit young. What breed of goat are we talking about here?


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Yes Stacey asked wand said what I was going to.

I never breed until they are over a year ol so it is more like a year and a half.But all breeds are not the same.


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

What breed are your goats?


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## Kaneel (Oct 7, 2012)

It depends on the doe. Some does can breed till they die, others start losing fertility and it gets harder and harder to get them bred. I wouldn't suggest starting early with breeding though. You can breed when they hit a certain age and weight requirement, but it is better if you wait longer to avoid the risk. If you breed to early it can cause many complications with delivery, in which you might lose the kids and/or the doe. I would wait until a year old to breed, just to stay on the safe side.


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## Bleyfarm (Apr 25, 2013)

StaceyRosado said:


> 7 months is a bit young. What breed of goat are we talking about here?


I have Nubians.

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## Bleyfarm (Apr 25, 2013)

StaceyRosado said:


> 7 months is a bit young. What breed of goat are we talking about here?


For some reason I can't make any new post unless I do it this way. Lol would anybody have any suggestions on a good book that talks more about breeding?

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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

ok for Nubians its recommended for them to be at least 80lbs some will breed at 8 months if they reach this weight.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

If I kid in FF, the doe "chooses her path" for herself. If she's growing well and healthy, I may breed her first thing in the fall. I guess really here's my check list:

-Ample space between pins
-Ample body capacity and depth
-Healthy weight
-No health problems
-Is she excelling in the ring? 
-Is she grown well? 
-How "mature" does she act? 

Say I have a show doe, like Margarita I bought this year. I refuse to breed her until Fall 2014. Just because I want the most growth out of her as I possibly can, and give her extra time to really bloom and prove herself in the ring. Now my home bred does, after some shows this year, I may decide I want to start her production early if she has not excelled in the ring to help pop the home supply up and raise some kids for us. However if she's doing well, I'll hold her back till next year to breed her. Im in no rush, but at the same time, everyone has to "pay rent" so to speak. 

This past year I bred 4 Saanen ladies to kid in as FF. One is a 2 year old, and did very well in the ring. She's beautiful. Welded attachments, excellent rear udder bloom. Two kidded in a few days before they turned 1 (settled at 7 months). One is a full sister to the 2 year old. Same gorgeous attachments, just in a smaller package. She didn't do as well as I had hoped in the ring, as she tends to hock in slightly. I have one more FF to kid in, she'll be kidding in at 13 months (settled at 8 months). No issues with kidding.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

I would give them lots of grain so they grow fast, normally they wont plump up until 6 or 7 months of age, so until about 6 months of age they can get grain twice a day, just about as much as tey want to eat. and then you can cut back to about 1 1/2 lbs total per day. I would breed them when they are 8 to 9 months old and at least 80 to 90 lbs. We have done that for years with our Boer and Boer crosses. Our Boer crosses are 50% Boer or higher with Nubian in them. They have been doing well on that schedule. We have had several does for many years. you do need to keep them on really good feed when they are nursing/milking and since yours are milk goats I would give them more of a break between milking and kidding again for their 2nd time. So if you want to breed them back again to kid by the time they are turnign 2 years of age, I would recommend only milking them part of the year and drying them off so they can gain weight back and be in good shaper to breed again. 
as stated above if these are show goats then you will need to wait until they are older. We don't show our adult goats, we sell show wethers for the fairs.


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## Bleyfarm (Apr 25, 2013)

Thanks for all the info! It has really helped!

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