The average gestation period for a goat is about 145-155 days. As usual, make sure your goats have plenty of quality forage, hay and grain. It is possible for a doe to safely kid about every 9 months. You just need a blood sample from your doe and you can send it off to a lab to test for pregnancy. Billy goats (intact males) do tend to weigh slightly more than wethers - or castrated males. . A small decline was noted in 1983 as cows aged from 8 to 10 years of age. Providing a solid foundation during the first months of life can go a long way in preventing disease and weight loss in young goats once the weaning process has begun. Regardless of whether you bottle-feed your baby goats or let your momma goats raise their babies on their own, the time to wean is the same. 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. Because of the unique nature of an anti-mating apron, it's not easy to find a lot of places where you can buy one. One sure sign that your doe is in heat and ready to be bred is when she shows evidence of "Standing Heat". If the goat's weight is below 24 pounds or you should have at least 20 pounds to stop weaning. Standard breed does will usually start coming into heat in August and should come into heat every 18 to 21 days. This means they can breed year-round! Then, you measure the goat's length, from the "point of shoulder" back to the goat's "pin bone" near the tail. JavaScript is disabled. That way, they'd at least have the horses for company. A Toggenburg goat is pregnant longer than the average gestation period. Birthing, Weaning, and Raising Young Sheep. A buckling can start breeding as early as 7 weeks old. Even if you are extremely careful to observe the breeding and calculate the gestation period, you will find that new kids can often arrive unexpectedly several days early, or several days late. Consider Mineral Supplements. It is important that you are sure that your goat kid has received colostrum, the antibody-filled first milk provided by their mother. Intact bucks and does over 8 weeks of age should not be kept together because a young buck can, and will,breed a female at 2 months of age, this includes his mother and 2 month old sister! For example, the oldest goat ever reached 22 years and 5 months old! A doe continues to ovulate and can get pregnant throughout her entire life. Ewes usually give birth to either one or two lambs at a time. For example, you may only have one buck, and he will give you trouble if you try to leave him alone since goats are herd animals. Weight Chart by Breed, Make Sure That Newly Weaned Goat Kids Have Access to Plenty of Water, Watch out for Coccidia and Other Illnesses. If you encounter this problem, just try leaving the buck and doe together for an extended period of time in a smaller pen where it will be harder for the doe to run away. The answer to the first question is that some goats have a breeding season, and some goats don't. Pygmy goats can produce a ton of milk for their small size. If you want to be safe, it's suggested that you skip a doe's first breeding season, and plan to start having her first kids with the second breeding season, to be sure she has reached her full adult growth potential first. For now, feel free to continue reading. The criteria you look for will be different if you are breeding dairy goats, versus breeding goats for meat, for fiber (Cashmere or Mohair), for pets or for other purposes. There are many goat farmers who do this themselves, if they have the right equipment and training. So, ironically, if you try to speed up your doe's birthing process, it actually lowers the rate of producing new kids. You may need to use a device called a "Bolus Gun" to make this process easier. A doe can reach puberty and be ready to conceive in as little as 4 to 12 months of age. Putting a buck and doe together for a short time (on a "date") will allow you to know when breeding occurs. These goats are non-seasonal breeders and can give birth to their young ones during practically any time of the year. The female goat is called a doe or nanny. Up to the age of 12 months, she is sometimes referred to as a doeling. The doe can reach puberty between 4 to 12 months of age, depending on the breed, season of birth, level of feeding/nutrition, and overall health status. However, a better practice requires breeding adults who have achieved 70% to 75% of their mature weight. Or a doe can be sent to someone else's farm to be bred and returned later. Research suggests that the ideal weaning time is not a date but actually a weight. Most breeding occurs in late summer through early winter. He will certainly watch out more closely around his goats. This can actually be beneficial, and is used by some herd owners to accentuate certain desirable qualities in their goats. If you want to dig deeper into these revenue sources as a possibility for your own farm check out our blog post "Raising Goats for Profit: 7 Proven Ways to Make Money.". The most humane practice is to stop a doe from being bred after she passes a certain age or physical condition. Typically, a male goat can be castrated when he's fairly young (a "buckling") using elastrator pliers which apply an elastrator band (a small circular latex rubber ring) around the goat's testicles. First, when someone makes their own buck apron pattern, it probably hasn't been tested in different variations like a professionally made buck apron. Usually after about 2 weeks, the testicles simply shrivel up and fall off. Do a fecal analysis and/or deworm. May 17, 2010. We had about 10 kids born in the week or so before I'm writing this article, and we had several sleepless nights in a row helping our does deliver all of them in a short period of time. It's in PDF format, so you can easily save it and print it. Miniature breeds average about 145 days. The story illustrates one reason you should castrate bucks unless you know they will be sold for meat: they outgrow their cuteness and become undesirable as pets. Nutrition during goat breeding season is critical. Before you wean any goat kid, you should take a few precautionary steps first. This Breeding/Kidding Record Form includes sections where you can record all of those things. I've heard of does being milked for their 10th lactation before. Before we focused on planned goat breeding, we had several Nigerian Dwarf kids born during Winter snowstorms back when we lived in Virginia. However, goats have also been known to safely deliver septuplets (seven kids) on more than one occasion. Next, let's look at how goat breeding works exactly. 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. In other words, use a buck that has more desirable characteristics and conformation than the goats you already have. Weaning a goat kid too early or Breeds & Breeding - Goats . Joined Apr 19, 2012 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. Wethered goats are male goats that can no longer reproduce. Multiply that weight by 2.5. A doe can often reach the safe goat breeding weight by around 8 months old or so. The great thing about an ultrasound is that it can sometimes detect how many kids are going to be born. If you plan to do a lot of AI, then it may be advantageous to buy the equipment and learn how to do it yourself. If you miss one heat, there will be another one coming around again shortly. 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. Under-feeding can lower her chances of getting pregnant and having kids and canalso reduce milk production after having kids.The genetic makeup of the animal also determines when puberty occurs in the female. Even though they may make you laugh, be cautious. There are three popular methods for wethering goats; 1) surgically, 2) burdizzo, or 3) banding: Surgically wethering goats is done by physically cutting and has the disadvantage of leaving an open wound. Male goats can breed as young as 7 weeks old. We bought her because she was the dominant goat and milks/births easily - a friendly starter goat, more or less. As her pregnancy progresses, a doe will often be tired and will look for a flat, cool surface where she can rest her big belly. Several factors play into when a young doeling will be ready to conceive. While some goats breed only during a certain season, some breeds of goats will breed constantly and breed year-round if you let them. I know that sounds early, but it's totally possible! You are using an out of date browser. Generally in normal condition, a goat can survive for about 12 to 14 years. 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. The burdizzo method crushes the spermatic cord. For a short time, the baby goats will cry for their moms or search for the milk bottle they were used to getting each day. When he mounts a doe to breed her, the crayon leaves a colored mark on her back. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Another less-permanent method to keep goats from breeding is to use a goat "anti-mating apron", or "buck apron". Other goat owners believe that allowing a young doe to go so long before breeding is a bad thing. After that, he's referred to as a "wether" rather than a "buck". Your goat can even deliver five or more. Information on the production basics for raising dairy and meat goats is included, as well. During Standing Heat, she may even stand with her rear end up against a fence when she knows bucks are on the other side. In this way, if she actually got pregnant, at least you will know the approximate date you can expect the kidding so you can be prepared to participate. These goats have what is often referred to as a "Roman nose" because their muscle is long and convex. We had one buck that was so desperate he tried to scale over a really high electric fence, got stuck and almost broke his leg. If temperatures drop too low, goats will not eat as much or be as active, leading to stalled or stunted growth. This serves for supporting their maintenance and growth during weaning when milk in their diet is absent. We keep several bucks to create some genetic diversity in our herd. There really is no exact number of days that will determine when you should wean your goat kid. Otherwise, typical lifespan is up to about 12 years. Not only that, people have found that if you retire your doe after she reaches about 10 years of age, it can increase her lifespan to 20 years or longer. Bucks can breed, but they also take on some problematic behaviors that might not be a good fit for your setup. With AI you don't have to deal with the bucks. It is important that all goat kids have their CD-T vaccination to keep them from getting tetanus and enterotoxemia, a bacterial disease that wreaks havoc on a goats gastrointestinal system. At 1 year of age, the buck should service no more than 10 does at a time (inonemonth). A buckling should probably not be castrated before he's 10 weeks old, or you may increase the risk he could have problems with urinary calculi (occurs when his urethra gets blocked and the pee can't get out), which can be fatal. So you will want to give your goats a supplement like "BoSe" which is a prescription Selenium/Vitamin E injection. It's usually best to keep the apron design simple, with a single strap. These are the reasons some goat owners don't even own a buck, but will lease one when needed for breeding. We keep them in an area where they are separated from the does until we want them to breed. Most goat breeders don't like keeping bucks around if they can avoid it. By using this to record breeding and kidding details, you won't forget which doe bred with which buck, when they bred, when kids are expected, when kids actually arrived, how many kids were born, which ones were male or female and what challenges, problems or other special circumstances you encountered with your doe's kidding that you want to remember for next time. Some goat breeds may produce one or two kids per pregnancy. Reading Time: 5 minutes BREED: The Nigerian Dwarf goat is an American breed developed for small-scale dairy production and companionship.. Acidity. Raising your own goats is often a rewarding, yet challenging They will need this vital milk within the initial 18 hours after they are born. Getting butted unexpectedly can really hurt and cause injuries to you if you're not prepared for it. The best time for a baby goat to leave its mom while still being safe and healthy is between two and three months old, or when the baby goat has reached 2.5 to 3 times its birth weight. When a buck breeds a doe it only takes a few seconds to get the job done. Another rule related to this is, always breed to make your herd better. Estrus, or heat, is the period in which the doe will stand and allow the buck to breed her. 3. If a doe rejects a kid, then the baby goat will require bottle feedings and can be removed from the mom immediately. Goats do best in moderate climates with temperatures between 60-75F. Most goats breed easily when they are put together. Stay tuned for the first newsletter in the morning, straight to your inbox. stressful task. life. One option is to buy a livestock scale, but that could cost you several hundred dollars or more. Some Nubians will breed year-round. Boer does can be bred at 6 months. A commercial dairy in California (Alpines) had a standing age of "10" for their does to retire. When a buck is in "rut" he will attempt to attract a doe by urinating all over his own legs, beard and face, and even in his mouth. Sometimes this is due to the fact that the apron chest strap was too tight or too loose. For example, the "Alpine" type breeds which originated from colder climates, including LaMancha, Saanen, Alpine, Oberhasli and Nubian, will pretty much only breed during the typical goat breeding season which runs from August to December each year. (source). However, intensive breeding programs may . Follow label directions. the key elements to successfully transitioning a young goat off milk and onto Usually a young buck, about a year old, should only be allowed to breed with a group of 10 does max within the same month. Toggenburg does are pregnant for 179 days. You may prefer to have kids born all at once to get it over with. As you learn about goat breeding, it's important to first learn some of the basic terms that goat keepers use. The bottom line is that, even though your doe can give birth more often, allowing a minimum of one year between kiddings is going to be healthier for your doe and more productive and profitable for you and your herd in the long run. Diet, living conditions, and other factors also affect the lifespan of the average goat. The average is two. Other breeds average about 150 days. This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. When my daughter got her goats, she had planned on breeding them, but it never happened. Bucks can be very determined when they want to breed, but a sturdy woven wire fence with electric wires on the top and sides will do the trick. So some people use a device called a goat "breeding harness" or "marking harness", especially if they have a large number of goats. solid foods. Kids are born in the spring (late May or early June) after a six month gestation period. Once you know your goat's approximate kidding date, the next step will be for you to get ready for the new baby goats that are coming. As we were taking care of those three, we were totally surprised and caught off-guard when a fourth suddenly shot out. A breeding or marking harness is a nylon or leather harness that straps around your buck's chest, and it has a big colored "crayon" that sits in the middle of his chest. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. . Oh, I didn't know that. Here's a calculator that calculates both Standard sized goat breeds, as well as Miniature goat breeds, which each have different gestation periods. This is completely normal due to the initial shock of all the changes they are facing. A doe in heat will often exhibit "buckish" behavior like blubbering and tongue flapping. (source). Here, the kids can nurse whenever they want while developing a strong maternal bond. As you can see, when kidding time arrives, you may suddenly be handling multiple little kids all at once. Test for CAEV. However the most consistent decline in reproductive performance was noted after cows were 10 years of age. Once you have an approximate weight estimate on your doe, you can then be confident deciding whether she is an appropriate weight for breeding. Putting a buckling apron on him can prevent an accidental inbreeding from occurring until you're ready to wean him. Goats of this breed usually have a butcher weight of approximately 25 to 40 pounds (11 to 18 kilograms). However, if you want to take proper care of your goats, it's best to have your doe give birth no more than about once per year. Not only do you need to track breeding and kidding dates, but also monthly medications, supplements, feeding routines and other stuff, for multiple goats! This accelerates when he smells a doe in heat nearby. Also, don't be fooled into thinking a young buckling can be left with your doe and won't get her pregnant. The elder, age 6, is a cheerful, friendly saanen who looks like skin and bones in her back hips with a huge belly done below. Many people have reported a lot of success using a buck apron from House of Bacchus. 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. What months do goats breed? 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. A buck apron can help reduce or eliminate urine scald. This is when the doe stands still so a buck can breed with her, rather than her running away as a doe usually does when not in heat. Once they reach 2-3 weeks of age, we start allowing the mother goats out to forage for a few hours each day, keeping the babies safe in their enclosure. I would be real careful breeding at that age. Full-size dairy goats can be bred when they reach 8 months (or 80 lbs.) A doe can often reach the safe goat breeding weight by around 8 months old or so. Another possibility if your goats aren't breeding, or if you don't have your own bucks, is to use Artificial Insemination (AI). Why? This is a sign that will persist through a goat's entire estrus cycle and doesn't necessarily mean she's reached her standing heat phase. A 35-day breed-back schedule is recommended. You can stop the milk access immediately. Wild goats include the ibex and markhor. Physical Characteristics. By 1-2 years goats are fully matured. Another side benefit of anti-mating goat aprons is that they can help avoid urine scald because the apron blocks the buck from urinating on his own face or front legs. Breeding Age. You can breed your nanny twice per year, but that doesn't mean it is healthy to breed too close together. They attain puberty after 4 to 5 months of their birth. One tool that can help identify does that have been bred is a harness called a "breeding harness" or "marking harness". They're a great source of extra Vitamin E, zinc, iron and selenium, which can add butterfat to your goats' milk and make their coats shinier. Full size dairy type goat does can be bred at about 8 months of age if they have "made weight". Best of all - it's simple and all fits on one page! Welcome! Another advantage to limiting time between births to no less than one year is that it gives your doe more time to nurse her kids which will help them grow. One sure way to stop a buck from breeding is to castrate him. If you make a homemade buck apron, be sure that the bottom of the apron is weighted to keep it hanging down at all times. Whatever method you use to stop your goats from breeding, the main point is for you to stay in control of the process. We're glad you're here! Also consider giving your goats a "Copper Bolus" for extra copper. Goat blubbering and tongue flapping are just behaviors goats wxhibit when they're feeling their hormones. Insert the needle under the skin into the tent, toward the body. Therefore, it's critical to make sure that buck has the kind of strong, desirable conformation that you want to see being developed in your entire goat herd. However, there is a huge variation of when she will actually come into heat and potentially become pregnant. That's why so many goat breeders will spend the money to get a quality buck. Dec 15, 2017. how many kids have they had thru their lives? If your old goat is struggling to keep its weight balanced, breeding from him/her again may be a bad idea. Some herd owners don't even own a buck. Beginning with the proper type of goats will save you lots of future headaches. It's usually more of a challenge to keep them from breeding, than to get them started breeding. Regardless of which breeds you select, there are certain general rules you will need to remember when breeding your goats. Breeding only takes a few seconds for the buck. Later, when you see this, you can know exactly which does have been mounted by a particular buck. A downside of an anti-mating apron for goats is that the apron can move around and sometimes the buck may be able to get around it and still breed. Or, if you have someone show you how the first time, you can easily draw the blood yourself to save some time and money. And, they've never been bred at all. Feb 24, 2011. I dont want to take a chance. Breeding can be exhausting on bucks and does because they're constantly awake, alert, excited and active at all times of day or night while they are in estrus or rut. This is something a male goat often does during breeding season when he's in "rut". The milk is super rich and can contain as much as 11% butterfat. 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. The characteristics of the buck is more crucial than that of your does because your herd will be produced from many does, but many of those does will usually be bred by a single buck (more about this below). I read that if you stop breeding does at 9 0r 10 they will live up to 20 this is what I intend to do then again it dependes on the doe. The way it works is, when your buck mounts a doe, and he has a crayon on his chest during the process, you will later notice that any does that were bred by that buck will have a big colored mark on their back. For larger goats, you need to use a livestock scale, bathroom scale or weigh tape. The difference between those two measurements is the weight of the goat. They will have served you well, and they deserve to live out the rest of their lives peacefully, without enduring the rigors of the birth process every year. Domesticated goats are descended . Regardless of which method you use to determine if your doe is pregnant, the main point is that it's important to learn as much as you can. A goat can absolutely breed if it's in poor body condition - but that doesn't mean you should let it. The pheromones emitted by a buck that cause a doe to go into heat don't come from his urine or his smell. You are using an out of date browser. Of course, in that case your herd can get out of control. Ideally, goats should be a healthy weight before being bred, which older goats may have slightly more difficulty maintaining. Because a doe's body isn't prepared to grow and deliver a kid safely until she reaches a certain body weight, which is usually 60-70% of an adult doe's typcial body weight. A doe in heat (estrus) will also act nutty. The weaning process is meant to be gradual, not a sudden switch overnight, if possible. However, breeding the does before they reach the proper weight (generally around 80 pounds) can stunt their growth and lead to reproductive problems. It is good practice to spray the tail and scrotum cuts with anti-bacterial. Their rationale is that she has to grow a strong body and bones before she's mature enough to carry kids. Goat kids can fall prey to dehydration quickly if they run out of water. The amount of time can differ depending on the breed. At this age, goats can be used for meat, physical labor, and breading. Lastly, when a doe is bred before she has reached her full growth potential herself, her growth can be stunted. If the goat is older than 5 weeks using a knife will cause less bleeding. Goat Breeding Age. Goats live an average of 8-14 years, depending on breed. You'll want to get familiar with goat breeding-related terminology as well. She may pace a lot, mount other does, and put her rear end up to the fence if she sees a buck on the other side. However, somewhere between 60 and 90 days of age is most common for weaning baby goats. This squirts the supplements directly into her throat so she can't spit them back out. While I'm addressing dairy goats in this . Do not go back to feeding your goat kid milk or let them back with their mothers simply because they cry or beg for it. JavaScript is disabled. Day length has an effect on reproduction in the buck and the doe. The same studies also suggest that kids that are already eating at least 1 ounce of solid food each day in the days leading up to weaning will have a higher growth rate afterward. They can breed while in estrus for 12-36 hours. By 2 years old goats stop growing physically with no more physical milestones to hit. Even though it's a good amount of butterfat it's still going to be hard to make butter from this milk. Surprisingly, there is usually minimal pain for the goat (treatable at the start with some medication) and it's usually not as big of a deal as you might think it would be. It's important to know because you need to be ready to help with the delivery, so you don't increase the risk of losing new kids if you're not there and there's a problem. Females are called does or nannys, and immature goats are called kids. Of course, retirement meant they went to live out their remaining years being bred each year but only to raise their kids. Reactions: AmberLops. There is no reason to wait this long. 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. Puberty is reached when the female exhibits her first heat (estrus)andovulation. When he is 2 years old, heshould be able toservice 25 does ata time. Most goat gestation calculators online don't account for the fact that different goats have different gestation periods. Goats can often suffer from a deficiency of Copper, Selenium and Vitamin E which can lead to serious health problems. The Goat Horn Guide: Should You Dehorn Your Goats? This is mating between goats that may be somewhat related but not direct family. We had a good friend whose goat reared its head and stuck its horn into the friend's eye socket. The goat gestation period lasts between 148 and 152 days. This form can easily be inserted into a 3-ring binder, and you can make a copy for each of your does. The groups of nutrients that are essential in goat nutrition are water, energy, protein, minerals and vitamins. They are serviceable even for up to 12 years in exceptional cases, and up to 14 years in rare cases. But for the breeds that breed year-round, the bucks are interested in breeding any time there's a doe in heat, regardless of the time of year. A much cheaper option for larger goats that are hard to lift is to use a goat "Weigh Tape" or a regular measuring tape. Make sure that the needle isn't in the skin or muscle, or through the other side of the tent.
