Regardless of which breeds you select, there are certain general rules you will need to remember when breeding your goats. ORIGIN: Dwarf goats evolved in West and Central Africa, mainly in coastal countries with humid, sub-humid, or savanna climates.Known collectively as West African Dwarf goats (WAD), local types vary widely in size, body proportions, and coat colors. These goats are non-seasonal breeders and can give birth to their young ones during practically any time of the year. When using a buck to breed your does, always make sure the buck is healthy and exhibits excellent conformation to the breed standards. Heat occurs in a doe about every 21 days, and can last 12 to 48 hours. Although weaning goats can be stressful for all involved, mama goat, kid, and goat owner alike, there are some tips that you can follow to help keep your goat kids happy and healthy after weaning. Just be careful - it will accentuate bad qualities also. You may need to use a device called a "Bolus Gun" to make this process easier. Here, the kids can nurse whenever they want while developing a strong maternal bond. The best plan is to watch the calendar while also monitoring the kids growth and food consumption. You can have too many kiddings to handle properly, and with kids being born at bad times (eg, during the freezing cold of Winter) So how do you keep goats from breeding? Many commercial rabbit producers will breed does back 14 to 21 days after kindling. An ultrasound is considered one of the most reliable tests for goat pregnancy. Goats are hardy animal. Goats live an average of 8-14 years, depending on breed. While some goats breed only during a certain season, some breeds of goats will breed constantly and breed year-round if you let them. However, breeding the does before they reach the proper weight (generally around 80 pounds) can stunt their growth and lead to reproductive problems. Another strategy is "hand breeding". The average is two. Proper goat breeding starts with picking the right goats. Following the birth, it is usual for the ewe and lamb to be placed in a small pen for a few days away from the flock. Next, let's look at how goat breeding works exactly. Also, we have noticed that our does don't seem to get the same level of milk production in hotter months, compared to cooler months. It's also a good idea to aim at cooler months rather than hotter months. JavaScript is disabled. Follow label directions. A Toggenburg goat is pregnant longer than the average gestation period. Meat goats require nutrients for body maintenance, growth, reproduction, pregnancy, and production of products such as meat, milk and hair. There are some better ways to test for pregnancy. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Some of the typical signs of a doe being in heat are A "buck rag" is created by taking a rag, rubbing it all over a buck, then keeping it in a jar and using it to help does come into heat. If you have multiple does coming into heat, you only need one buck available to breed with them. Many bucks have been able to actually breed a doe through the openings in a fence and get her pregnant. This can often work well with goats because, when they breed, you will see that it only takes a few seconds and it's done. One sure sign that your doe is in heat and ready to be bred is when she shows evidence of "Standing Heat". They get very aggressive during rut and will do just about anything to reach a doe for breeding. Most goat breeders don't like keeping bucks around if they can avoid it. Conservative goat owners like Mom like to wait until a young doe is at least 1 year old to breed her. These goats have what is often referred to as a "Roman nose" because their muscle is long and convex. Test for CAEV. (source). That way, they'd at least have the horses for company. too late can be detrimental to their health and future lives. A big problem with this is that it creates a condition called "Urine Scald". However, it's fairly common for a Nigerian Dwarf doe to deliver 3 or 4 kids, and sometimes 5. However, there is a huge variation of when she will actually come into heat and potentially become pregnant. After that, it will take the doe many months to finish what the buck started. A doe needs time for her body to rest and recuperate between kiddings, especially with the demands of nursing kids and producing the milk. More on this later. Knowing when to wean and understanding the weaning process are If their mother is still producing milk, there is a chance they will regress and start drinking the milk again. Let's take a look at the answers to both of those questions. Young male goats, also known as bucklings, will grow up to be bucks. If you use this method, the buck and doe should ideally be left together 40 to 45 days which includes heat cycles. This will either keep them calm or cause them more stress. Also, leave the doe and buck alone overnight for a few nights. However the most consistent decline in reproductive performance was noted after cows were 10 years of age. The pheromones emitted by a buck that cause a doe to go into heat don't come from his urine or his smell. to be weaned and prepare for the journey ahead. The weaning process may seem challenging and at times it can be, but if you are prepared for the journey and know how to determine the right time to wean your goat, you will do just fine. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Goats can often suffer from a deficiency of Copper, Selenium and Vitamin E which can lead to serious health problems. Goats of this breed usually have a butcher weight of approximately 25 to 40 pounds (11 to 18 kilograms). If you're not sure exactly when your doe got bred, at least make sure to notate the approximate date when she comes into heat. This common question can be taken two ways. One of the main suppliers of quality buck aprons is the House of Bacchus Goat Supplies where they sell the Bacchus Johnson Shield (anti-breeding goat apron). Access Goat Breeding Resources. When a buck breeds a doe it only takes a few seconds to get the job done. For miniature goats, like Nigerian Dwarf goats which can average up to about 60 or 70 lbs for a typical adult, a doe should be at least 60-70% of that (around 40 lbs) before you allow her to breed. However, those numbers are considered somewhat rare. If you blink your eyes, you might miss it. The male goat is called a "buck" or "billy." If he is castrated, he is called a "wether." Male goats up to 12 months of age are sometimes referred to as "bucklings." Adult male goats can weigh anywhere between 100 to 350 pounds, depending on their breed, health and nutritional status. Many goat keepers have had a pregnant doe pass away during kidding because she was bred when too young and her body wasn't developed enough to carry kids to full term and deliver them. First, when someone makes their own buck apron pattern, it probably hasn't been tested in different variations like a professionally made buck apron. If you do that, you will never know when they are being bred, so you will never know when kids are coming so you can be prepared. Goats wag their tails frequently while they're eating or playing around. The answer here is that most goats will typically give birth all at once to 1, 2 or 3 kids (babies). As your hosts here at GoatFarmers.com we would love to have you join our community of crazy goat people as we learn together how to have fun, provide for our families and enjoy the awesome benefits we experience from raising our own goats. So, to the question of at what age should you stop breeding your female goats, we say: If your 10 year old doe is active and healthy, then you can continue to breed her. When choosing a buck to breed with your does, look for one that has desirable characteristics you want in your herd. This is especially true of Nigerian Dwarf goats which can breed any time year-round. . If you suspect this illness, consult a vet immediately and separate your sick goats as soon as possible. Coffee's Ready, Come and Sit on the Porch, Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey, Member's "Self Sufficient Living" Journals. However, the ideal time for banding baby goats is at a young age when he is 8 to 12 weeks of age to allow for maximum development so that their scrotum can fit the rubber band. One reason knowing a goat's pregnancy length is critical is so you can know approximately when a new kid may be born. The difference between those two measurements is the weight of the goat. Overall nutrition is important anyway, for both does in heat and bucks in rut, due to the extended, significant physical energy that goats burn up throughout the entire breeding season and process. Just by letting a doe smell the rag, this can sometimes trigger her to come into heat. Most dairy goat breeds are seasonal breeders, such as my full-size Nubian goats. Does should never be housed with bucks on a regular basis. Neither strategy is wrong, and you should do what works best for your situation. The key is to understand the different types of revenue that can be earned with goats, and to focus on one ore more of those income sources to specialize in. The answer is "No". A young doeling will begin to come into heat at about 4 months old. A buck apron is a weighted apron that hangs around your buck's waist, held in place by a girth strap, and the apron gets in the way when he tries to breed a doe. Male goats can breed as young as 7 weeks old. The main thing is to keep a close eye on your buck's health and his nutrition during periods of breeding. Another rule related to this is, always breed to make your herd better. Otherwise, typical lifespan is up to about 12 years. They sometimes will borrow or lease someone else's buck just to breed him with their does as a "stud buck", and then they return him back home. It is important that you are sure that your goat kid has received colostrum, the antibody-filled first milk provided by their mother. A doe in a standard-sized breed should be at least 80 lbs or so before breeding safely, so if you're breeding her, make sure she has at least reached that weight by the end of breeding season so she'll be ready. There really is no exact number of days that will determine when you should wean your goat kid. Nigerian dwarf goats are unlike other goats in that they go into heat roughly every 21-28 days. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Not sure, this year we have a doe who turned 7 years old and she just had triplets and another doe who turned 6 years old and she currently has quads.