Breeding questions

[farmerjane]

How often can a goat be rebred ?
I am curious as one of my does that I bought this fall is bred and due anytime now. It is wayyy to cold here IMO to be kidding, do they breed twice a year ? Would that be why she is bred for the dead of winter ?

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Dairy goats are seasonal breeders. Down here they cycle naturally from about August/September to Dec/Jan...with some breeds having July heats and some having Feb heats. So although the dead of winter for you, isn't an odd time for her to be having kids elsewhere.

Most goats are bred once a year to kid, nurse for 3 months or milk for 10 months depending on the breed.

If you keep goats in good shape you can get 3 litters in 2 years, or one litter and keep her milking forever without ever freshening again.

It's up to you when to kid out your does, how long to milk or when to wean kids. Vicki

[steff bugielski]

I try to get mine to breed as early as July. I sell the kids for Easter and when they are 3-4 months old I get an excellent price for them. Mine have all kidded end of Dec this year. Perfect timing for us. Not too cold yet and nice and big for Easter.

[cathleenc]

next year you can chose when to bred/have kids born - this year you got the benefit of someone else's planning. Like you, we had kids born in January last year - of course it was -20 the day they were born! This year the kids should start arriving 4/10 or so.

Good luck! make sure the new kids have someplace small and cozy to cuddle in, out of any breezes, to keep snug and warm. We got an xl dog igloo - and also built a small 'cave' from straw bales. They adored the straw bale cave till they crashed it in by jumping on it. LOL.

edited to add: for the straw cave, - we took a wide long board and put it over the top of the cave, tying it down onto the sides of the cave, big 'U" shape. Knew that the kids would be jumping on top and did not want an accidental death. The board and the rope meant that when it collapsed it did so by falling over - not falling in.

[farmmom]

My does always kid in the nastiest weather available. I think that is just the nature of the beast.

[betsy h.]

Most folks breed in Oct./Nov. to have kids in Mar./Apr.- I like to breed a little later for April, but have kids coming the end of Jan.

[Ernie]

Not just goats do that, farmmom. I don't know how many times we had to go out in a snowstorm or sleet in the middle of the night cause a cow was down trying to calve. For every five births that you didn't need to be present for, there will be one that your intervention was absolutely required and it will be at the worst possible time.

I remember one night, when I was fifteen. We had found one of our cows up in the woods and the calf was half out, positioned wrong. We got a chain around its legs (have to use chain because rope will pull their skin off) and managed to extract the calf. It was dead, and I was covered in blood and afterbirth from the cow. There was a freezing rain falling, it was the middle of the night, and we were trying to get the cow up and moving. I was shivering uncontrollably and my father looked over at me and said, "Son, this is why you need to get good grades in school ... so you don't have to do this."

Worst advice I ever got.

[hoofinitnorth]

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats are not (necessarily) seasonal breeders. They are supposed to breed year 'round and many do have success with this. A lot of breeders, of many breeds, use lutalyse but I don't know if that works "out of season" for other breeds.

Meat goats are often bred right back for two (or more) kiddings annually (since it is a 5-month gestation, you *could* get three kiddings in one year (a gestation overlapping in from another year), but not every year if they run full-term).

[farmerjane]

Ok makes sense, I just never knew for sure.

As far as winter here we have 3 feet of snow and it has been -30 to -40 for like 3 weeks straight without windchill. Thanks for the replys .

[farmerjane]

I dont think I will plan any for Januaury in the future, way tooo cold .

[jBlaze]

Lots of straw will help keep them warm. Hope it goes well.