# Is 7months to young?



## Egg_Newton (Aug 30, 2013)

I'm trying to figure out my breeding plan for this fall. I have a 4 month mini nubian buckling. I'm not sure if he will be able to get the job done with my older girls (3 and 5 years). I have a doe who just turned 7 months. I know the general rule of thumb is 1 year, but she will be a year old by the time she gives birth. Just looking for opinions...


----------



## Egg_Newton (Aug 30, 2013)

Just found my own answer! Thought I would post it in case anyone else had the same question. So, I will weigh her and probably end up waiting a couple/few more months.

How do you know if your goat is mature enough to breed? Bucks (male goats) are fairly easy - they can breed as early as 3 months.  If they are ready to breed they will and if they're not they won't. But what about the does (female goat)? How do you know if she is mature enough to breed? Does can cycle as early as 3 months old, but usually are not ready to support a baby that young. This article will help you tell when your doe is ready to breed.

What you will need:
Doe's date of birth
Weight tape or scale 
Buck

Determine your does age. I like to wait to breed my young does until they are at least 9 months old.

Determine your doe's weight. For the full size goats, you can breed them when they are above 80#s, or about 2/5ths of their mature weight. For MiniNubians and other Mini-Dairy breeds 2/5ths of their mature weight is about 40-50 lbs. 

If your doe is over 9 months and more than the minimum weight, you can put her with the buck. If her body is not ready, she will not come into heat. If she is ready, she'll breed and you will have kids in about 150 days!


----------



## KWAK (Aug 31, 2013)

I was told that they are safe to breed at 7 months depending on their size...?


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 31, 2013)

We always breed our ewe lambs on their first heat (about 7-8 months). Don't know why you couldn't do it with a goat.


----------



## Trigoat&pbrlover (Aug 31, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> We always breed our ewe lambs on their first heat (about 7-8 months). Don't know why you couldn't do it with a goat.


Some breeds, like the Nigerian Dwarf, can go into heat at 10 weeks of age.


----------



## frustratedearthmother (Aug 31, 2013)

My neighbor once bought a Pygmy doeling that was 12 weeks old.  This little doeling kidded 4.5 months later - which means she conceived at 10 weeks.   And believe it or not - she didn't have a lick of trouble.  She had a tiny single doeling and did a good job of raising her.  Not recommended, but it can (and did) happen.


----------



## Egg_Newton (Sep 1, 2013)

Trigoat&pbrlover said:
			
		

> SheepGirl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I know they can but doesn't seem good to breed them taht young on purpose.


----------



## meme (Sep 1, 2013)

I would definitely wait until she is at least 80 pounds. Bigger is better, and size is more important than age any day. I personally wait to breed them until they are 1 1/2 to 2 years old.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Sep 1, 2013)

*Rule of thumb for goats is 8 months and 80 pounds. MINIMUM. A year and a half is better.*


----------



## Egg_Newton (Sep 1, 2013)

Well, she's a mini so I don't know if she will ever reach 80lbs. If so it will be a while. I weighed her this afternoon and she was 35lbs. I'm going to breed my ND's tuesday and wait 2 months and the breed my minis. That way she and the buck will be a little more capable. I did notice today the boys are starting to smell a little musky. And Blue, my ND buck, had a yellow streak on his forehead....and so it begins....
I'm pretty excited this will be my first breeding season. I can't wait for babies and milk!


----------



## meme (Sep 1, 2013)

Egg_Newton said:
			
		

> Well, she's a mini so I don't know if she will ever reach 80lbs. If so it will be a while. I weighed her this afternoon and she was 35lbs. I'm going to breed my ND's tuesday and wait 2 months and the breed my minis. That way she and the buck will be a little more capable. I did notice today the boys are starting to smell a little musky. And Blue, my ND buck, had a yellow streak on his forehead....and so it begins....
> I'm pretty excited this will be my first breeding season. I can't wait for babies and milk!


80 pounds is for standard breeds, sorry. I am not sure of the 'rule' for Nigies and pygmies.


----------



## chicken pickin (Sep 19, 2013)

I was curious as to when to breed also. I know I have read numerous times that 12-18months is best. I have 2 ND doelings they are roughly 5 1/2- 6months old. The breeder I got them from said the larger doe(she was a single) should be ready and the right size for breeding in January, that puts her roughly at 10 months old. The 2nd doe was a twin and she is smaller and also her mom was petite (I so hope she grows bigger than her mom) I will wait to breed her until she is about 18months old. 

And I had a question - At what age are goats considered full grown?


----------



## Egg_Newton (Sep 19, 2013)

They aren't fully grown until they are 3 years old. From what people on here said they should be 2/5 their full grown weight.


----------



## HoneyDreameMomma (Sep 20, 2013)

Our NG, Holly, was pregnant when we purchased her last year.  She was almost 6 months old, and was more than a month along.  We were a bit concerned she might have issues, because she was smaller than the other two goats we purchased (we're more on the side of waiting 12-18 months).  However, she gave birth to two beautiful doelings without much trouble, and has been an amazing mama.  

Like others have said, it can work, but I think the weight and size should be taken into consideration.  Holly is definitely our smallest adult goat.  Our 5 doelings that are 5-6 months old are almost as big as she is.  I've heard that breeding your does too early can stunt their growth.  Not positive it's true, but taking our girls into consideration, it looks like it might be.


----------



## OneFineAcre (Sep 20, 2013)

HoneyDreameMomma said:
			
		

> Our NG, Holly, was pregnant when we purchased her last year.  She was almost 6 months old, and was more than a month along.  We were a bit concerned she might have issues, because she was smaller than the other two goats we purchased (we're more on the side of waiting 12-18 months).  However, she gave birth to two beautiful doelings without much trouble, and has been an amazing mama.
> 
> Like others have said, it can work, but I think the weight and size should be taken into consideration.  Holly is definitely our smallest adult goat.  Our 5 doelings that are 5-6 months old are almost as big as she is.  I've heard that breeding your does too early can stunt their growth.  Not positive it's true, but taking our girls into consideration, it looks like it might be.


I don't know of any scientific studies, but Fiasco Farms website said that they could see no difference in size at 3 years old for does bred at 7 months vs does bred at 1 1/2 years.


----------



## meme (Sep 21, 2013)

OneFineAcre said:
			
		

> HoneyDreameMomma said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have always read that too, but last month I saw two twin Lamancha yearlings. The dry yearling was much taller and more filled out than her sister who had kidded two months before. Very interesting!


----------



## OneFineAcre (Sep 21, 2013)

meme said:
			
		

> OneFineAcre said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't doubt that a bit.   But, according to Fiasco farms, they will catch up by the time they are full grown at 3 years old.  Again, that isn't scientific and I don't know for sure.

 We usually breed most of ours at 12-13-14 months I had a doeling accidently bred at 8 months old.  She's 18 months old now and smaller than others from the same line at 18 months.  I guess I will find out if she catches. up by the time she is 3 y/o


----------

