# Breeding goats



## SNAKEMAN (Jan 18, 2011)

I have a 2yr old oberhasli doe that is 80lbs, small for her age i think. She came from good size blood lines but didn't get feed enough while growing. My question is can i still get big kids from her if she is breed with a good size buck. Or will they most likely be small due to her size. I've only had her 2 months, is it worth my time to have her breed or should i start with a bigger doe. 

SNAKEMAN


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

She is very small for her age, but, maybe still young enough to do some catching up. Has she been bred? If so she may not grow much more, at least not significantly, in most mammals when pregnancy starts the thyroid sends out messages to the long bones to slow down or stop growth, if she hasnt been bred yet then the chances of her growing some more are better. 

When pregnancy starts the fetus is the priority for the calcium use.

You could try feeding her 'up' til fall and see if she gains, but if you planned to breed her then the growth is definitley slowing way down, if she does get bred best to a very small buck and preferably an Ober. I'd wait til spring myself and see how she does over the winter.


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## SNAKEMAN (Jan 18, 2011)

Jake

Yes she was been bred last fall and had 1 kid this spring. We are curently drying her up, to try and put some weight on before fall. I would like to have her bred again this fall but we'll have to see what happens. 

Can she still have kids that will get big enough to do some real packing?

SNAKEMAN


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## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

Hello,

if you want her to grow you have to stop breeding her for at least a year so that she can catch up.

If her kids will be big enough for packing depends not only on her actual height but on her genetic height, as well.


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## Cazz (Jun 9, 2010)

If you give her a year off, she will quite likely grow a lot if she has big genetics. Whether or not she grows much, if her parents are big and she is only small from condition grwing up (lack of feed/kidding early) than in all likelyhood she would have big-growing kids to a decent buck, as it is the genetics not the raising that pass on to the size of the kids.
We have had several does kidded too early and malnourished, but with plenty of feed they grew plenty and we have had big goats from tiny does as well.
Cheers,
Cazz


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