# What age do goats reach full size



## trailhound

My first three goats are all around 7 months right now and still seem small. The wethers are both Alpines and the doe is a Nubian/Apine/? cross. At what age do they reach full size?

Thanks!
Andrea, who has been gone because school started again (I am a teacher)


----------



## StaceyRosado

A goat takes a couple years to reach its full size. by 2 years they are just about full size. by 4 years they are fully mature. 

Goats go through several growth spirts so dont worry if your goats are small now, they will grow


----------



## toth boer goats

stacey is totally correct...that is exactly what I would of said... :thumb: :greengrin:


----------



## liz

Your kids are just fine, I'm sure they are getting quality feed an TLC....I do know that with the mini's they seem to stop growing at around 5 months and then boom they have a growth spurt at 8 months and again at a year old...they don't really get to their adult size til around 3 years and continue to "fill out" til 4. Right now I have a 7 month old Nigi/ Pygmy cross buck that has stalled in growth as is the 6 month old doeling, though she is smaller than he is they just seem to take their time in "growing up" :thumb:


----------



## Ivy

JFI
With Boers you would not want to see growth spurts. 
You want a steady growth in a Boer.


----------



## StaceyRosado

well the question was not about the boer breed so I just also went on my experience which is with dairy goats :greengrin:


----------



## crocee

Just out of curiosity, but wouldn't a steady growth rate be better than growth spurts? Wouldn't growth spurts make bones and muscles weaker by depleting the minerals and whatnot, until the system catches up? 

I hope that makes sense to you, cause the more I read it the less it makes.
crocee


----------



## goatnutty

From what I understand in Dairy goats it is normal but I know that in our Boers that is not what you want you want steady growth. I think the pygmys tend to grow in smaller spurts but not completely steady. Make sense? Hope that helps.
- sara


----------



## trailhound

Thanks! I don't see many goats, but didn't realize how small they were until I went to the fair this weekend and saw some other full sized dairy goats. I feel like I have been feeding them well and they don't seem underweight, so I am glad to know they are on the right track.

One thing I do know, I can't imagine life without goats. They make me smile and laugh every day!

Andrea


----------



## liz

The mini's do tend to have a stall in growth at around 5 months...at least mine have in the 7 years I've been raising them, the first year I panicked because I thought I was doing something wrong, then by the second ound I knew it was the rate of growth....they may be knee high at a year old but they are still "filling out"...it's just a slow growth that isnt noticed til one day you turn around and the "kids" are the same size as the rest.



As long as you are confident they re getting what they need and they are on a regular parasite control regimen, I wouldn't worry too much...besides that...goaties tend to let you know when something is wrong :greengrin:


----------



## StaceyRosado

It isnt in spirts like growth, stop, growth, stop. But more like there are stages when they grow more rapidly then others. Think of a human child --- if we all grew even as children at the same rate that a baby grows then we would look rather strange and be HUGE. Growth rate changes as we age and depends on our own genetics. Same goes for goats (at least the dairy kind).


----------



## toth boer goats

> With Boers you would not want to see growth spurts.
> You want a steady growth in a Boer.


Ivy.... Please explain in detail what exactly that means??????


----------



## goatnutty

I think what she is trying to say is that you want them to grow at a steady rate so that they fill out at the same time. Does that help?


----------



## QotL

Ok, so not trying to thread crash here  but...

If a doe doesn't reach full size until 3, would you breed her to the smallest buck you could find in years 1 & 2? 
I have a year old Alpine doe, I'd love to breed her to a La Mancha buck, but the concensus around here is that at this point she's still too small (and I'm trusting that). I'd love to think in a few years she might be large enough :wink:


----------



## goatnutty

I would breed her to a smaller buck but I wouldn't expect her to grow much if she is 3 already.


----------



## heathersboers

I think I can explain the growth spurt thing- My boer buck was a nice meaty kid and had tons of muscle up to about 4 months.he looked short and stocky- He started growing tall and lean looking from 4-7 months-and didn't look like I thought he should-but he was 30 inches tall!!! the same height as our 14 month old boer buck- within a month-he was out of that UGLY stage and his width caught up to his height. He is widening out nicely now, and i don't expect him to get much taller-here are some pics to explain-
here is Grange at 2 months-he has good width and a great topline








again at 4 months-getting tall but lean









Picture day before show at 7 months-30 inches tall but no width









current-31 inches tall and has gained 25 lbs of muscle-started widening in the chest floor and rump-neck is also getting thicker









we do breed our smaller does to a younger buck for their first kidding- After this kidding, they seem to widen out quite a bit in the hips and chest- and we breed them to our larger bucks this time. It also is a chance to get an idea of the type of mother they are. this is what we are using Grange for this year.


----------



## toth boer goats

heathersboers,,,thank you so much for the info ,now it is very clear...............it was very helpful  :dance:


----------



## tubaplayer

This might be an old thread but as a goat newbie the information from you all is _really_ helpful.

If anyone had said to me five years ago that at the age of 63 I would be goatherding I would have answered along the lines of "Don't be ******* stupid!" But here I am. 

I have much to learn. I have learnt to trim hooves already. The goats (two does and a buck) are earning their keep by munching through about a thousand square metres on a regular basis, and I am loving having them - wonderfully gentle and friendly creatures. Food parcels come over the fence from both neighbours on a regular basis. Far more than I get :sigh: 

I was worried about their growth rate - all three seem to be progressing differently, but now I read the thread I am not worried.


----------



## carmen escamilla

i have a quick respond on this one and hopefully so one can answer me on this one since we r on the subjuect i heard that when a doe gets prego her growth stops is this true or false ..i also would like to know how long do boar gooats live to be males and femals


----------



## StaceyRosado

no they still grow even when pregnant - that is a false statement you heard.

goats live on average till they are 13-15 years old some even longer


----------



## pelicanacresMN

We had the ADGA Linear Appraisal done recently & the appraiser said the dairy breeds reach full size at 4 years.


----------



## myfainters

Why would you breed to a YOUNGER buck the first year? Genetics are the same for a young buck as they are a full sized older buck so you wouldn't get smaller kids unless you didn't expect the younger buck to mature to a large size? Is it because a yearling doe can't handle the weight of a full sized older buck? :whatgoat: :scratch: 

I know with the fainter registries you can't register them as a certified mini until they are 3 years old..... since that is when they reach their mature height.


----------



## carmen escamilla

thanks stancy to think iall this time i thought the girls would stop them from growning that is y i waited so long to get them prego be cause of that well now i know and what age do u stop letting ur nannys stop from haveing babies...and i though they lived to be on 8 or 10 that is a big differnce thanks again for the info u r a big help ...


----------



## StaceyRosado

it depends on the goat -- I have one who I will probably retire at like 8 - she is now 4 going on 5. pregnancy just takes a lot out of her though she loves being a mom. I hope to retain more kids from her and then she can mother all those kids (I already have one daughter) as they grow  

I hear of some does being bred till they are 10-11 years old. But it really depends on the goat


----------

