# What age can I breed my Nigerian Dwarf doe?



## Wild Bug Ranch (Nov 19, 2021)

What age or weight should I breed my Nigerian Dwarf doe? 

She is 6 months old and weighs 31 pounds


I use her for 4H and will be keeping a doeling out of her and selling registered babies to other people!


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Same as your boer doe, I prefer to wait until my girls are 18 to 24 months old.. but many will breed at a year old as long as they are of good weight. Again, you will get many answers to this. Most important is to offer her the best opportunity for growth and maturity.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Needs to be a minimum of a year old but so much more comes into play. Are they healthy. Are they proper weight. Are their mineral levels good and not deficient. Are they mentally mature enough. Are hips wide enough.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Cathy. 

No matter the breed.


----------



## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

I personally don’t breed any of my nigies before 18 months, though it’s usually closer to 2. That way they’ve reached a good size and have the maturity to raise their own kids. I’ve found they’re better mothers and have less complications.


----------



## brigieboo (Apr 8, 2021)

Firstly, she's adorable!!! 

I've bred an 8 month old before and she did perfectly fine. She had a single bucking and did great giving birth and he was the strongest and healthiest of all my kids that year. People say that u can breed them after 5 months, I personally would wait a little longer than that to breed.... at least so they're over a year old when they give birth. 

I'd make sure she's healthy enough before breeding, like making she she has all the right minerals she needs, is a healthy weight, (I raise alpines so I'm not really sure what a good weight for NDs is lol) and make sure the buck isn't too big for her. 

If she was my doe I'd wait a few months to breed her.. just to make sure she has time to grow. Obviously it's your doe and your choice!

Will u show her as a milker? Did you show her this past summer at a fair? How'd she do?


----------



## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Every person has their own answer to this question. Personally I look at what nature had intended.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

But nature may make it way too young. 
Because does come in season at a very young age.


----------



## Ashlynn (Oct 1, 2017)

I would say between 8 to 24 months. If she doesn’t need to be bred yet then I would wait to around 18-24 months just to be safe. I would never purposely breed a goat under 8 months especially a Nigerian because there is no reason to do that, they are still kids themselves. If you need her to have a kid before 2 years old for shows make sure she is bred at least by 19 months old because goats have a 5 month gestation period.


----------



## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

@toth boer goats 

I know. That is why Destiny will never be bred


----------



## Kaitlyn (Jan 20, 2021)

I have heard of people breeding at a minimum of 8 months old, while making sure the does are at least 50 pounds with wide enough hips. This is all based on personal belief and opinion, but I wouldn’t breed any younger than 8 months. They are still babies.


----------



## Dandy Hill Farm (Aug 5, 2021)

Hey! I see you joined TGS - welcome! 😁

Since I already gave you my advice on BYH, I won't bother posting it again. 😉

Like I said before, everyone has their own opinion on when to breed. Once an ND doe is 8 months old, 40-45lbs, with good depth and width, she can be bred then, or anytime after that - it's really just your decision and opinion from then on. I'm sure your make the right choice for her. 😉😊 

Good luck and enjoy your goating adventure!


----------



## littleheathens (Apr 27, 2019)

Good advice here! It's a tough decision sometimes. Ours, this year, was influenced by the fact that our doeling was putting herself in harms way to get with her dam (dam was in with the buck) and FREAKING OUT by being separated. We wanted to wait until she was just a couple of months older and bigger but we caved and kept her with her dam. She was ending up in there anyway. Sometimes what you want to do has to flex. There's a lot of timing details to work out in breeding, too.


----------

