# half sibling breeding



## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

I'm looking to get 3 nubian kids, 2 doelings and a buck. I have one nubian breeder very close with registered nubians, but with a very small herd. She said that if I got 3 kids the buck would be half brother to the does. She said it wasn't a problem but my wife is skeptical.

What do you think?

One thing I am considering is not getting a nubian buck at all, since I'm going to have a boer buck. If both does kid and start giving milk, I'm going to have all the milk I want for quite awhile, and the kids would probably be sold as pets or meat. One less stinky buck and fewer goat mouths to feed. Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting a nubian buck for at least a year, possibly more, when it looks like the milkers need replacing.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Some people do it and it is called Line breeding. 

Depends - do the buck and does have good lines? If they arent registered and you dont plant to register the kids then I dont see a problem with it.

As to the boer buck -- I would never use a boer buck on a First Freshioner Nubian. Best to breed her to a nubian buck. 

But yes you can always get one later that isn't related to your does.

Are you getting a package deal if you get all 3? because if so you could just wether the buck kid if you dont want him a buck and use him as a companion for your buck or sell him.


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## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

Are boers that much bigger than nubians? I'm getting all of them as kids.

No, it's not a package deal. I will have 2 pygmy wethers also.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

they are meatier, and the kids can be bigger then your average nubian kid

Many people breed a boer to a nubian and thats fine - but for a does first kidding I personally wouldnt recomend it. But hopefuly a boer breeder can give you better insite then me.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

Personally i wouldnt breed something that closely related. When line breeding you intendify traits, just as you would with non related breedings. However when you breed something so closely related youre going to intendify them even more. So if you have a doe with weak pasturns and a buck with weak pasturns you are going to get a kid with weak pasturns. You may also end up with odd little things like extra teats. 
I have done some line breeding but its distant. I had to consequtive bucks, their dams were half sisters. I did breed Apex to busters kids, and got some REALLY nice kids. But there was some distance between them. 
There was a really good ad on linebreeding and inbreeding in one of the goat magazines (cant remember which one) they said that a good line breeding you should see the animal you are using in the line breeding three times (and that they should be an exeptional animal) in a triangle patturn. So you should see that animal three times. I have seen some really poor results as well. You have to be sure that youre improving on the genetics. Another good rule about line (and any breeding for that matter) Is that your bucks are better then your does, otherwise you are going to take a step backwords. 
Even if your goals are not in showing, its goo to try and improve the breed. you will get more out of the animal in the long run, more milk less problems with udders falling pasturns breaking down and so forth as the animal gets older.
Ok enough of my rambeling, i kind of strayed off course of the question.
beth


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## goatkid (Jan 17, 2009)

I breed half siblings. It gives me a good idea what I've got in my gene pool. Every couple years, I have to get a less related buck to use on my herd. Line breeding is the way to go with Nubians. I know breeders who use Boers on their first freshening dairy goats and I've done that as well in the past when I had Boers. The theory behind that is that you never know how a FF doe's udder will look and if you don't like it, the kids will make good freezer goats or percentage Boer does for a meat breeding program. I've never experienced FF's having a harder time delivering Boer kids than dairy kids.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

i had a yearling alpine i baught bred, she had two large boer buck kids. no problems at all. 
I know a lot of people that breed their first fresheners to boers to see how their udder is going to turn out. But personally i like to breed my first timers to an alpine buck Hopefully to improve on the dam. If the doe turns out with a not so great udder i sell her and hopefully keep a doe kid out of her. If i were to breed her toa boer or other meat buck her first year and find out that she didnt have a nice udder and then were to sell her off, i would have nothing out of her. I can still send any bucks to freezer camp.
beth


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## badnewsboers (May 9, 2008)

I know people who breed their FF dairy goats to Boers all the time. Its not an issue.

My Sadie doe is half Nubian and I bred her to a massive Boer buck at 10 months. She kidded twins with no problems. It seems to me that kids from a FF seem to be on the smaller side anyways.


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## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

At what age should I get nubian does bred? What I have read (no experience yet) is that a doe is ready at about 90 lbs.

Does that sound right?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

yes around 90 lbs is OK, but personally.. I like to wait until they are 1 to 1.5 years old ...to be sure they are mature enough... :wink:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

as for the half siblings. Well I will prove anyone wrong that says it is not good. I have had Grand Champions for years and they are bred pretty close. This last year (in Jan), I got a beautiful doe. Valentin is the mom, and Cupid is the dad. Guess what? Cupid is Valentines son so her son bred her and gave me a beautiful baby.

Several years ago son bred mom and TWIN sister and I got my Grand Champion Buck and matter of fact Valentine.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

linebreeding is touchy.. it can work out to make completely awesome babies, or completely horrid babies.. so you have to be careful. but i have done it with goats and rabbits with good results... i've even bred full sibling rabbits together with awesome results.. but i wouldn't do that with a goat.


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