Goat Help

[Sherry]

I have 3 pygmy goats. All female, a mama and her 2 babies, 7 months old. My neighbor has a male he will let me borrow.
My question....would you do it?

 

[helmstead]

That's a loaded question.

What is the buck like?
Why do you want babies?

And...the 7 month olds are way too young. You risk loosing them breeding that young.

 

[ksacres]

We breed at 7-12 months and have never lost a doe in kidding, and I've had goats for over 12 years. There are many schools of thought on when to breed, some people even wait until they are 2 years old.

The main thing I would be concerned with is not age, but size and body condition. You does need to be at no less than 65% of their total adult weight to breed. The early stages of pregnancy are not at all hard on the does and they will continue to grow and develope at the same rate as they would have otherwise. Watch their condition, as pygmies are more prone to being overweight than underweight, you need to be especially careful, as fat does have more issues than thin does in kidding.

 

[Chatychick]

Are you sure they are Pygmys...some think if they are small thats what they are. They could be Nigerian dwarfs and I wait to bred them till they are over 1. Also what breed is the buck? Is he like you girls? The size matters alot as if this is a dairy buck like Alpine or Nubian and you have small girls it spells disaster. You want a buck that is small like you girls to be safe. Just my 2 cents worth...Good luck

 

[thornberryvillage]

I've never had pigmys, but I do have a working dairy and at various times have had kids from Nubians, Alpines, and LaManchas, and I ALWAYS breed in October for March kidding, which makes those March kids 7 mos old when I first breed them...never a problem

Bob

 

[Sherry]

They are all pygmies. The buck is the cutest little thing. He's so fuzzy and is friendly but has just a bit of attitude too, if that makes sense. I just fell in love with him.

The other reason I was considering him is he's not a real big pygmy (an oxymoron I know

).

Does anyone know, if I decide to do this, can I just put him in the pen with my girs? Do goats basically get along or will they "fight"?

 

[cgjsmith]

They will butt heads a little bit to determin whos head of the heard. But the breeding shouldn't be a problem. My billy is the same way adorable but got an attatude (he gets into everything!!!) I just had my first kid. And am expecting another one any day now. The only complaint I have with my moe is that he really stinks sometimes. Like really strong onion grass. C

 

[Sherry]

Well, I did it. I put him in Saturday. They are all getting along great. He's the cutest thing. I'm going to keep him a month. If all goes well they will kid in July/August.