when to breed

[goat lady]

Okay I have read on here that you should not breed a doe untill she is about 12 months old. Makes sense to me. Couple of questions.
1- At what age is a buck ready to do his job?
2-After an adult doe kids. Then if I pull her little ones and sell them off when is she fertile again? Is there a waiting period before she can get pregnant again if I leave her in with a buck? I would guess there should be a healing time for her?

Thanks

 

[lilhill]

Bucks can breed as young as 3 or 4 months, and definitely at 6 or 7 months.

A doe can be bred on her next heat cycle immediately following freshening. Since Nigerians are "year round" breeders, their cycles are generally every 18-21 days. I personally wouldn't breed a doe on her next cycle after kidding. Some breeders (I've read) breed their Nigerians to kid 3 times in 2 years and give them at least 6 or 7 months off. That's a personal choice, but as a general rule, my does are bred in the late summer/early fall for winter/spring kids.

 

[ksalvagno]

I was told not to breed Nigerians earlier than 18 months. I have 2 five month old Nigerians and I will be breeding them in the fall of 2010. I was also told that you can breed the Nigerians 3 times in 2 years as Lilhill said but it was recommended not to breed them more than once a year. But it is a personal choice. Since I want spring births, I will breed mine in November for April kids and will only breed them once a year.

If you do choose to breed more than once a year, be sure that their body condition can handle it. They really need to be very very healthy and you will need to be very vigilant with parasite control.

 

[goat lady]

So since my buck is 4 months old I should get on my husband to get the goat house built for the other pen, so he is not running with my girls. And do the deed before I am ready for him.

 

[ksalvagno]

Definitely!

 

[lilhill]

If you aren't ready yet, then your buckling needs out of there fast. These guys start "practicing" up when they are 2 days old.

 

[freemotion]

You definitely don't want newborn kids when the Ohio winter is at it's coldest. You are looking at January babies right now! Eeeek!

Ooops, you are in Florida. January might be a very nice time for kids!

 

[crazygoatlady]

We pull kids as they are born and bottle feed, that way if someone wants to buy them, they are already to go and we have the extra milk. Those I keep I let them wean themselves which is usually about 4 months give or take. Although some say that the large breeds mainly go into heat in the late summer and early fall and go until Jan or so. I have a full sized Nubian that was bred this spring--well we are almost certain she is bred, she is a hard one to tell until she bags and then that is the last week before she kids. I could do a blood test, but decided just to wait, she is loving her ears rubbed and scratched, which she didn't normally like, so we are pretty sure she is bred. Hard to tell by feeling her also. We bought her-she kidded early Jan, the herd owner was ill and her children were helping her, Dyna got into the pen with the yearlings to be bred, we bought her early Feb, she kidded in June. Also just because the kids are on them doesn't mean they won't get bred. I also had a standard Nubian doe that kidded in late Oct. OHH my boy is soooo cute right now, the 2 full sized does are in heat and his lip curls up and he is sniffing-*sigh* gotta love those little boys we raise into handsome men.

 

[goat lady]

My buck doesn't go near the girls right now. He is alot smaller than them. We were going to start working on the new house yesterday, but my brother called and needed help moving some furnature. So my husband is going to work on it this week sometime. I just worry about him getting to my 6 and 8 week olds when I move them over in a couple of weeks with the older girls.

So Crazygoatlady.... Are you telling me you pull your kids right when they are born? Or do you let them in with the momma for a few days?

 

[trestlecreek]

We breed the 1st time by maturity. The doe needs to have grown to her adult size before being bred. That's usually from 18-26 months.
A buck can get the job done at around 2-3 months. However, when you breed that early, you don't know what you will get? Bucks do not mature out until they are around 2-3, so you won't know if your breeding quality any sooner.
A doe needs at least a 9 month to a year recovery period after she weans or the kids are gone. The does condition will tell you if she is ready.
She would probably be fertile within a few weeks, but you would ask for big trouble by letter her get bred that soon.