How big should she be????

[trnubian]

What is an approximate weight for a 6 month old saanen doeling? I want to ask before I post pictures and weights on my girl. I want an idea, because I am thinking she is rather big, size wise not weight wise, for her age.

Thanks in advance!

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

If your goal is to get her bred for spring than she should be 80 to 90 pounds by October so she can kid in March. If you don't breed this year than 10 pounds a month plus her birth weight is fine...so she should weight 68 pounds or so. My end of Feb, March and beginning of April kids weigh from 105 down to 82 pounds and will be bred in November...honestly the two heavyweights should be bred in October but I am waiting on an April buck to mature, so it likely will be November. Vicki

[Patty0315]

I have a 5 month old weighing 87 pounds I have 4 month olds in th 63 lb range. each line will differ somewhat also.

Patty

[trnubian]

Ok then maybe she isn't that far off then. I taped her at the tightest setting possible and she taped at 110-115 lb.

Here she is

[MamaDee]

Wow, are Nubian's smaller than Saanen's? Or maybe I have a runt....I have a doeling, Nubian Alpine mix, born in January. She weighs 50 pounds. I weighed her b/c she is old enough to breed, but I thought she was too little. She doesn't look too thin, she's just small.

Would she be a cull in a hard core herd (Vicki?) At this point, I'm afraid our goats are pets who give us milk. But I know we need to start being more vigilent. If she is a runt, will she pass this to her kids?

Didn't mean to highjack your thread...I was just shocked at some of the weights I read! Although we have a 6 month old Nubian who weighs almost as much as the cross--but still less than all the girls mentioned here.

Beautiful goat, BTW.

Dee

[MamaDee]

Wow, are Nubian's smaller than Saanen's? Or maybe I have a runt....I have a doeling, Nubian Alpine mix, born in January. She weighs 50 pounds. I weighed her b/c she is old enough to breed, but I thought she was too little. She doesn't look too thin, she's just small.

Would she be a cull in a hard core herd (Vicki?) At this point, I'm afraid our goats are pets who give us milk. But I know we need to start being more vigilent. If she is a runt, will she pass this to her kids?

Didn't mean to highjack your thread...I was just shocked at some of the weights I read! Although we have a 6 month old Nubian who weighs almost as much as the cross--but still less than all the girls mentioned here.

Beautiful goat, BTW.

Dee

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Dee not making your 10 pounds per month gets you sold here, because being on top of worms and cocci, there is no other reason not to make 10 pounds unless you are a throw back to smaller genetics, and in Nubians there is nothing worse than a fine boned doe Now I will keep a quad out of a younger doe or a quint out of an older doe longer to watch her catch up. I can't keep does dry here waiting for them to get to size to breed. Now a purchased doe like Lucy on my site, yes I did keep her dry although her full sister kidded at the same time as my April kids. Lucy and Hummer were bloodline purchases though, being a granddaughter out of my Shoofly. But does who are born here are critically looked at each month for growth. You can't breed young does who aren't in a gaining plane of nutrition, they will simply be small in April to kid with twins or triplets and then milk.

But a pet doe who milks, just hold her over, and breed her in December as she hits 100 pounds.

In having most breeds on the dairy except oberhasli, almost all swiss breeds are bigger/longer at birth than Nubians...nubians are slower overall at maturing but in the end are usually longer and wider framed than swiss does, who are usually taller headed but don't weigh what Nubians do. And they milk circles around us

But there are shorter boned bloodlines of Nubians, smaller framed Alpines, squat Toggs, and fineboned LaMancha's...and the bigger varieties of each also, why you breed type, knowing what bloodlines breed what type so you don't end up with stock you don't find attractive. I like big does, not fat does but big, so I stay away from short, shorter boned (like Mica, notice no daughters or son's live here even though she is a beauty) and short follows short with every bone in the body...and ear and width follows width from the nose through to the rump. Vicki

[susanne]

laura she is beautiful and very well grown.
are you breeding saanen now?

dee was this kid born on your place? she might has other genetics, like nigerian or pygmy, in her as well.

[DocM]

Mama Dee, nubians are smaller than saanens. Still, your nubian/alpine should be considerably larger than 50 lbs, unless historically, the lines she comes from are slow maturing, or she was out of a large grouping, triplets or more. I had some lamanchas that didn't grow fast, but eventually matured the right size (3 yr olds). I got rid of that line. All of them. The genetic mix just didn't produce goats that were good for showing OR production. I can't show small yearlings, and they never showed well as juniors, but the new owners (mostly homesteading types) are quite happy with their "family milkers". My '07 February lamancha kids, which would be smaller than your alpine/nubian mix, weigh around 75-80 lbs as of this week. I would carefully consider your management. My lamancha/alpine kids from last year, were 90 lbs and ready to breed at 8 months of age. Lamanchas are typically smaller in the first year than other breeds, but mine still make an 8-9 lb monthly gain as singles or twins.

trnubian, that is one beautiful doe. Really nice.

[trnubian]

Thanks Susanne & Doc M. We like her too! She is a big growthy girl. We will see what she looks like with an udder between her legs. Her lineage shows it should only make her prettier, but we all know how that can be a crap shoot when you least expect it to be. :baby04:

Susanne, we aren't breeding saanens quite yet. Gotta find a nice saanen buck close by first. This year she will either be bred nubian or boer, most likely boer. Next year though we hope to have a saanen buck near by.

[MamaDee]

First, thanks Vicki, for all the information. It's about what I thought....I should cull her, but I won't.... At least not till I'm sure of what I'm dealing with. We'll probably take a chance on her and breed her at the back end of the season and see what her kids are like. We bought her at 3 months old, so she could have had issues before we bought her, I guess. Your info. about the different breeds was really helpful. Thank you.


And...


<<<dee was this kid born on your place? she might has other genetics, like nigerian or pygmy, in her as well>>>

I'm beginning to wonder. She was not born here--she was 3 months old when we got her. I don't know much about her except the lady said she was a nubian alpine cross. So who knows. She was a pity buy....I know, I know.....40 lashes with a wet noodle to me. We're getting better able to resist that pitfall of goating since we've finally got our own herd going. No more new goats for us except what we have here. For sure. Most likely.

<<<<I would carefully consider your management>>>

DocM, yes, we are making progress in that area. We still consider them pets who milk, but are learning more every day. We are slowly going from pets to "pets" who pay for themselves. It's a learning process and I appreciate everyone who helps us newbies. We'll never be all hard core, but we've got to get more so or we'll go broke! I appreciate everyone's candor.


<<<<Thanks Susanne & Doc M. We like her too! She is a big growthy girl. We will see what she looks like with an udder between her legs>>>

Yes, she is a pretty thing! And, I'm sorry, but that udder line just cracked me up for some reason!

Dee

[Patty0315]

Nice doe can I ask her pedigree?


Patty

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

We bought her at 3 months old,
....................

So this won't happen to you again, never go anywhere without your weigh tape. At 3 months old she should weigh 30 pounds plus her birth weight and that is a minimum. Now, looking at the paperwork, if she is a triplet out of a young first freshener or a quad out of a 2 or 3 year old, or a quint out of an older doe, as long as she has excellent conformation than still buy her, but any other reason pass. Now if she is simply purchased on bloodline than that part of it isn't as much of a deal...although it's hard to have that purchased bloodline doe in the barn small and not being able to be bred to kid until 2.

Pretty kid Laura! Vicki

[trnubian]

Originally Posted by Patty0315

Nice doe can I ask her pedigree?


Patty

Thank you and yes you may. Here is her pedigree http://www.adgagenetics.org/DoeDetai...ber=S001402015



MammaDee- LOL


Thanks Vicki

[Patty0315]

Thats why I like her ..3 of my does share some of the same pedigree.


Patty

[southerngurl]

She's a nice looking doe.

(and I don't really care for saanans)

[HazyDay]

WOW! Are you sure she is not a yearling? My stupied little Nubian herd is looking so bad now! But Im killing 1 whole bloodline from my herd. Just the slow growing and lack of good udders. My one doe is so small you would think she is only 2 months old! Her mother is so dairy, I hate to sell her but the udder is so crapy! and I just can't get pounds on her! What ever she gains she puts 2 times that in MILK!!!

[trnubian]

Yep, I am sure she is no yearling.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Hazy Dayz. What is your feeding regimen and do you run all your stock together? What about worming, Bo-Se? That one doe is milking very well from what it sounds like. I would keep her and try to breed up on that. A good milking doe is always an asset, but not so if her udder is dragging the ground.