[iiweazle]

I recently bought 6 Nigerian does. I have had 3 does and a whether since last June. I was planning on breeding this fall for the first time. When I got my new 6 girls I noticed that they are all a little bit bigger than my crew. So of course I came here to do some research. I saw on a thread that the average weight for a whether and doe is 75 to 85 pounds and that you should not breed until a doe is 8 months and 45 pounds. Well in my original crew 2 were 2 years old in April and the other 2 were 1 in May. So I weighed my 2 and a half year olds and they are 48 and 51 pounds. My whether and doe that are both a year and a half are 32 and 37 pounds. The other 6 does I just purchased are all around the 55 to 65 pound mark. Are we just way the below the average or should I be concerned. Are they full grown at a year and a half. Should I not breed my 32 pound girl even thoigh she is over proper breeding age? None of my babies are skinny at all very healthy just more petite looking

 

[ksalvagno]

I would not breed a 32 lb Nigerian. She is just too small. Maybe you bought from smaller lines. What do you feed them and how much of everything? At what age did you get the goats? Have they ever been treated for coccidian?

 

[iiweazle]

No they have never been treated for Coccidia but they have never seemed the least bit unhealthy. I feed them hay and sweet feed about a bale of hay a week for the 4 and 2 cups of sweet feed each per day. I bought them all at the same time from the same breeder the older 2 were bought at just over a year and the younger 2 were 2 months.

 

[ksalvagno]

With the older ones you have no idea what went on that first year. So they may just be from smaller bloodlines or could have been stunted somehow during that first year.

 

[Stacykins]

I had a super slow growing Nigerian Dwarf. I basically stuffed her with calf manna every morning and evening, in addition to her usual free choice hay and normal grain ration. She held at the 30lb mark for the longest time. I kept her on a coccidia preventative every 21, in case she was more sensitive to them.

She actually wasn't big on grain at ALL. I had to separate her, so she'd eat her grain, or else she'd run and snarf on the morning hay instead. Probably why she grew slowly, eating mostly hay and not anything more nutrition dense. In hindsight, I should have given just her alfalfa hay first thing in the morning.

She hit a growth spurt this past spring, just past her 1st birthday. She went from 30lbs to 48 prettty quickly! She is still a petite looking girl, but filled in, sleek, and lady-like. I would have not bred her if she never reached the 45lb mark. She'd have just been an expensive pet, since I love her to death.

She actually just had a date on Sunday with my buck. In a month I'll draw blood and see if she took!

 

[iiweazle]

Wow so interesting. So at almost a year and a half she should be full grown?

 

[KW Farms]

No, I wouldn't say that. Each goat grows at it's own pace...some grow slow...some grow average...some grow fast. Genetics and feed play a big part. They can be growing up to four years old. If they aren't stunted by worms, coccidiosis, or low quality/lack of food then you've probably just got some slow growing goats on your hands...which is fine. Some are just like that. I've found that the ones that grow slow really blossum in there 2nd and 3rd year. By 3 years old, they should be nearly if not already at full height...they may fill out a bit more though for another year or so.

As for breeding...wait. They should be bigger before they're bred to be safe. Let their bodies mature a bit more.

 

[KW Farms]

Also, height is something else to take into consideration. A 19" doe isn't going to weigh as much as a 22" doe so you also might have smaller goats altogether...height, size, weight, etc.