[Viola5]

I have two nannies and I think their both pregnant. But I also have two young bucks. My goat Bow nursed and raised the two buck, their not her's by blood. The bucks are my breeding buck so I don't want to fix them.

Right now I have all four of my goats together. I would like to keep them all together as long as the nannies are pregnant or not in heat.

Bow just fully weaned the young buck about 2 or 3 months ago. Even though they will be a year at the end of April.

My questions are
Can I put them all back together after the new kids are 2 weeks or would the bucks be mean to new babies?

The only I'm even thinking of putting them all together again after the new babies are here is because, my bucks don't really show any signs that they are wanting to mate. I'm hoping that will change soon.

How long should I wait to breed the nannies after they kid?

When should I separate the bucks and pregnant nannies?

Should I also separate my calf and my nannies when I separate the bucks? or can I keep the calf with nannies up to when they go in to labor?

Have you ever had the weaned kid try to nurse when there's newborn kids?

If I shouldn't put them back together, What do I do when it is time to breed the does again and their still nursing? (hopefully they won't be nursing any more, but my goat Bow lets the babies nurse in-till their 7 months old)

Sorry for all the questions but I'm new at breeding goats and I want to get every thing right :book:

 

[adriHart]

wow that was a lot of questions that I didn't even think to ask in the beginning...I'll just tell you my story and let you decide if it worked or not. at one point I had 11 goats all turned out loose together, this is not a good idea in my opinion. I have two pastures with only one is attached to the barn with the stall open to the moms and babies. I had two does give birth in the stall last year about two weeks apart Plus somebody gave me a bottle baby buckling in Feb so by April when the new kids were born he was 2 months old. one of the does had given birth to a single buckling the year before and she was still nursing him almost all the way through her pregnancy. I had given her about 4 months to recover and then Bred her again. this time she had triplets. so when she was due I put the does in the one pasture with the stall access and the bucks and other does next door in the other pasture. the one year old baby from the year before tried to nurse off its mother after she gave birth and I let them all back out together. she was firm but nice about it and said no and wouldn't let him but let her other three babies just fine. he was bigger than all of my other goats but he was very gentle with the new babies. it's almost like they were above him in the hierarchy and he just fell in line. his mom cared for the new babies first and him second. he still ranked higher than all the other goats tho because she is the queen. so while the moms were nursing I kept them separated from the rest of the herd because I pull them out to milk once a day, and I wanted to leave them alone with their babies the rest of the day but the doeling kept sneaking under the fence to the boys side and she recently had a kid now.

I guess the moral of my story is that the goat will ween her kids herself and figure out the order that they belong in, but definitely get the boys away from the does even at an early age. I swear at 2 weeks old my Nigerian Dwarf bucklings were humping each and every goat they could. the nubian bottle baby that I received never did breed anyone even though he ran with them until almost 2 months ago, but the Nigerian bucks that I had got everyone bred anyways. sense that particular doe had 4 kids and two pregnancies in one year I am giving her the rest of the year off. I will milk her until next summer and then let her breed after summer. Maybe. her udder isn't faring so well after all the abuse. not to mention it was lopsided when I got her. good luck with your goaties. I love mine so much I spend most of everyday thinking about how to make their lives better. mostly though I could have prevented a lot of the problems that I have caused myself had I asked questions and thought about it ahead of time. separate your animals and save yourself the heartache is my opinion after the year I've been through.

 

[liz]

Depends on what breed of goat you are raising.
I raise ND and do not allow my bucks to run with my does.... I also milk my does so the kids are normally weaned at 8-10 weeks, bucklings are weaned or banded by 8 weeks due to the fact that they can and will breed at that age.
Because I do milk my does, hence the reason behind breeding them, I have my does bred each Fall to kid late winter which is usually at 8-9 months past freshening dates.

 

[toth boer goats]

How long should I wait to breed the nannies after they kid? First wean the kids at 3 months old, this is separating them from momma, this time will also allow the Doe to dry off for a couple of months at least, before breeding again. This will give her body time to recoup.

When should I separate the bucks and pregnant nannies? I separate after I am done breeding them,2 heat cycles.
It is good to at minimum to remove them a couple of months prior or if they start chasing the Does, which ever comes first.
Does will have a discharge and it smells inviting to bucks, giving false signals, as if they are in heat, in which they are not, it makes the buck chase the Doe's and risks aborting them by stress and possible accidental breeding, also be aware, young Doelings can be bred if a buck is in with them. Does should be a minimum of 1 year before breeding. If they are bred too young, which can be at 6 months sometimes younger, the Doe may need a c-section or die from birthing. They also are not real good momma's being to young..

Should I also separate my calf and my nannies when I separate the bucks? or can I keep the calf with nannies up to when they go in to labor? You can wait until they are closer to kidding, be sure the calf is out before babies hit the ground, the calf may try pawing at them ect.

Have you ever had the weaned kid try to nurse when there's newborn kids? It can happen, if it does, remove the Doeling so the new kids can have their milk or the older Doe may take it all, the older doe needs more weaning time.

If I shouldn't put them back together, What do I do when it is time to breed the does again and their still nursing? (hopefully they won't be nursing any more, but my goat Bow lets the babies nurse in-till their 7 months old) Does can get pregnant when they are nursing or just kidded.
Always separate momma's and babies when weaning, so mom has time to dry off and the kids have time away from her and are not use to having constant access to her udder. 1 month of separeation sometiemes longer helps. Sometimes, you have a stubborn kid or momma that allows the kid to nurse again, you can use teat tape and cover them, but with persistent kids, teat tape may come off , so retaping is nessary. Only use the teat tape after you have separated them, and are rejoining the goats. You don't want the older kids to steal colostrum from the new babies on their way, so even if you have to keep the older kids seperate for a longer period of time, it is crucial.

 

[Viola5]

Thanks for you guys advice. Sorry this is so late a lot has been going on. I see what you mean when you say that they will work out their own order. I got two baby goats on Christmas eve and I took them to meet my herd. My queen bee likes them so the others leave them alone.