WHen to breed...if ever.

[Aped]

I have a really tiny nigerian dwarf doe. She is probably only about 15 inches tall but she is 9 months old. At this point, her and my 7 week old buckling are the same size. She's so tiny I'm wondering if she can ever be bred. I read that ndga's standard height is 17-19 inches. She would still be so small at 17 inches.

I wouldn't know what buck to breed her to since both of mine are larger then her. Which, everytime I talk to someone that breeds goats, they say either they bred their does to bucks smaller than them or that is what you should do. Honestly, i think these people are talking about breeding a 7 month old buck to a 2 year old doe because I've never seen a buck that is smaller than a doe. The age difference physically makes the buck smaller but that's not his true size. Anyway, that always kind of annoyed me

But does anyone have any really tiny nigerians that they have bred or that perhaps were real small but maybe got to be big enough by 1 to 2 years of age?

 

[ksalvagno]

I have an extremely small Nigerian that is 1 year old. Supposedly she comes from a line of slow growers. I'm going to wait until she is 2 years old to breed her.

 

[Aped]

I hope she's a slow grower. I paid quite a bit for her and I'd have trouble selling her for the same amount if no one could breed her. I doubt I'd sell her though. She'd be easy to keep around ironically because she takes up no space at all! And also she is really really friendly.

 

[Ariel301]

I have a mini-Mancha who is tiny like that. She was bred by accident to an Alpine buck (a smallish one fortunately!) at five months old. The doe kidded just fine, a single female kid that weighed about two pounds. (it died from complications not related to the doe's size or young age) Shortly before kidding, she weighed 38 pounds, and was 21 inches tall. The thing is, even though she is very small, she is also a very wide doe, with big hips. So I think that is what made her ok. Certainly not an experience I wish to go through again, it was nerve-wracking as she's our favorite and we worried about losing her.

If your doe is really super small and not mature looking, it might be best to wait until she is 18+ months old. Breeding her to a buck that is on the small side as well can help (yes, that's adult size, not breeding her to a half-grown buck who could grow to be a 200 pound monster, since the adult size is what is genetic). At least a buck of the same size; don't breed her to one that is significantly larger than her, like a Boer lol. Also, to reduce the birth weight of her kids, you can avoid feeding grain during pregnancy. That is routine at my farm, once does are bred, I reduce their carbohydrate intake, and when they are dried off, no more grain until they start being milked again. (except for one old doe I have who is always skinny, she gets grain year round)

 

[ksalvagno]

I have a nice small Nigerian male that will be perfect when the time comes. I think she will be fine. As a matter of fact she recently had a growth spurt. She will be on the smaller side but I think it still will be in the "normal" range.

Good luck with your little girl!