# Horn Growth and Age?



## AJM42 (Sep 7, 2016)

Is there any relation to horn growth and age of a goat? I've posted many times about my Boer/Kiko buckling, and I am still not convinced that he is as old as what we were told. When we bought him, the breeder said they were 8 weeks old that day, which would put him at being born on April 9th, so that would make him 6 months old in a few days, but he is so little! I don't think he has even hit 50 pounds yet. It's driving me crazy at this point, because if he isn't the breeds we thought he was, that pretty much throws my plans in the gutter.

Olive and Duke, my 16 month old Boer/Myotonics are about waist high, full grown and weigh close to 90 pounds or more, Wesson, is only knee high and probably 40 pounds. Am I just expecting him to grow faster than he should? Could he be stunted because of the Cocci infestation? Do I need to just stop worrying about it and let it be? LOL So many questions!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

He could definitely be stunted due to cocci. Did the breeder tell you anything about what wormers and cocci meds he had been given? Is he healthy and normal otherwise?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Growth can vary wildly based on parasites, coccidia, genetics, and feed and horn growth could be affected by all of these factors as well. The most reliable way to age is by the teeth but unfortunately that won't help you much right now and won't get you any closer than you are already. You will know for sure when his bottom front middle 2 adult teeth emerge that he is between 1 and 1.5 years old. 

You should weigh him rather than guessing, then you will have a better idea of his growth. I would expect a boer/kiko to weigh approximately 70 lbs at 6 months of age (best guess).

Would the seller have any reason to lie about his age or breeds or you think they just didn't know the types of goats they had and didn't keep track of birth dates? I mean, if they told you a specific DOB, I would probably go with it.


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## AJM42 (Sep 7, 2016)

The breeder only told us that he had been wormed and had his shots, we found out later, after we lost his brother, that they had not been wormed and probably hadn't had any shots either. That's what I get for buying from a traders fair instead of actually going to a breeder and getting them. He's healthy now, other than his pot belly which I was told was from the Cocci and will eventually go away, it's not nearly as bad as it was a few weeks ago, but it's been over a month since he got off the meds.

We learned a long time ago, to take what the sellers at these traders fairs say with a grain of salt. The first goat we got, about 7 years ago, had hoof rot so bad that she ended up dying a couple weeks after we got her. We thought, since this was a nice, older couple, that they were being honest with us. What they told us was 'They are 8 weeks old today, their mother stopped nursing them 2 days ago'


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Well.. that does seem unlikely, dams will certainly kick kids off as they age but they don't stop nursing them completely at 8 weeks. People tend to think that because they see her walk away or kick at them a couple times.

It is possible that they dewormed the kids but used the wrong product or a dosage that was too low. Also if they didn't repeat the dosage a couple weeks later then the worm load had probably re-populated. It can really take down kids fast. I'm sorry you lost the other little guy. 

If it has been a few weeks since your buckling finished coccidia treatment and/or deworming, I would definitely have another fecal analysis done. With a weakened immune system, it's important to monitor them pretty closely at this age and during parasite season.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with all advice.


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