Should I breed her this year?

Goatgirl47

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I have a 9-month-old Nubian doe. We brought her home a little over a month ago and her previous owner said that she'd be ready to breed by September. But as some of you know, Harriet is stunted and weighed only 40 pounds when we bought her. I weighed her today and she is 45.5 pounds, and 24 1/2 inches tall at the withers.
We don't have a place to keep a buck, so this year all of our goats will have to be AI'd.
Would it be wise to breed her this fall/winter, or should I just wait until next year?

The first picture was taken when she first arrived, and the second one was from few days ago.

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image.jpeg


Thank you...
 

NH homesteader

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I am not a Nubian expert but she looks like she still needs to bulk up. I would wait and give her some time to catch up. Pregnancy and lactation take a lot of of the body and she'll be better off waiting I think.
 

Southern by choice

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Absolutely not.
We don't even breed our MINI nubians unless they are at least 60 lbs and then we still look at width etc.

This doe needs another year or so to grow.
Stunted in size is one thing but she still is not big enough.
Minimum of 90 lbs should be a more realistic weight.
 

CJ.

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I have a 9-month-old Nubian doe. We brought her home a little over a month ago and her previous owner said that she'd be ready to breed by September. But as some of you know, Harriet is stunted and weighed only 40 pounds when we bought her. I weighed her today and she is 45.5 pounds, and 24 1/2 inches tall at the withers.
We don't have a place to keep a buck, so this year all of our goats will have to be AI'd.
Would it be wise to breed her this fall/winter, or should I just wait until next year?

The first picture was taken when she first arrived, and the second one was from few days ago.

View attachment 21122
View attachment 21123

Thank you...
If I may, I have never bred at less than 1-1&1/2 yrs minimum and more often not until 2yrs. The flip side to the Doe you want to bred is the Buck you want to use. I've raised Boer and Boer-Nubien crosses, all very big and spoiled. I have bred mature (3-6 yr. old) Does to 3&1/2-4 mo. old Bucks that were at an uniform 7" dia. (10-12" by age 7-9 mo's of age) and the kids they produced were HUGE. Their heads too large for Does to deliver unassisted. Even kidding twins, those large, long bodies and legs did not have much for room, legs would become twisted and require braces for a couple of weeks. The short of it is regardless the age of the Buck, he can be too large for the Doe causing pre-, post and kidding complications for Doe as well as kids. You may want to consider keeping Harriet as a pet and companion for a 2d, more safely breedable Doe. Just a thot.
 

babsbag

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The short of it is regardless the age of the Buck, he can be too large for the Doe causing pre-, post and kidding complications for Doe as well as kids.

I am so glad that someone besides me has said that. I keep telling people that the age of the buck does not make him a small buck; it is what his potential is down the road that could possibly affect the size of the kids being born. Thank you.

And welcome to BYH from California.
 

CJ.

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If I may, I have never bred at less than 1-1&1/2 yrs minimum and more often not until 2yrs. The flip side to the Doe you want to bred is the Buck you want to use. I've raised Boer and Boer-Nubien crosses, all very big and spoiled. I have bred mature (3-6 yr. old) Does to 3&1/2-4 mo. old Bucks that were at an uniform 7" dia. (10-12" by age 7-9 mo's of age) and the kids they produced were HUGE. Their heads too large for Does to deliver unassisted. Even kidding twins, those large, long bodies and legs did not have much for room, legs would become twisted and require braces for a couple of weeks. The short of it is regardless the age of the Buck, he can be too large for the Doe causing pre-, post and kidding complications for Doe as well as kids. You may want to consider keeping Harriet as a pet and companion for a 2d, more safely breedable Doe. Just a thot.
I am so glad that someone besides me has said that. I keep telling people that the age of the buck does not make him a small buck; it is what his potential is down the road that could possibly affect the size of the kids being born. Thank you.

And welcome to BYH from California.
You are most welcome and thank you for "welcome".
 
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