New to goats, and breeding?

[victorialeetoo]

I am a new goat owner. I have 1 Nigerian Dwarf and 2 mini Mancha does. I was told that you can breed the ND anytime , but how would that work with the mini? How would their cycles work? The 2 mini's are in season now so I am gonna keep a record to see. I am just trying to figure out when I could breed them. They were born in March 2012 and I do want them to at least be 1 year before they are bred. Does anyone have any experience with mini's? Just so all are aware, I do have a lot of friends who have dairy goats, so I do have some help, but none of them have mini's. I would really welcome any advice everyone has to offer.

[Alice In TX/MO]

My Mini Mancha doe does NOT come into heat year round. She's a fall breeder.

[mygoat]

They don't need to be 1 year to breed, if they are managed properly. Most people breed their dairies for the first time around 7-8 months of age - so they kid about their first birthday. I have an alpine doeling who was 90lbs in Oct - born first week of March. Coulda bred her then, but opted to wait till Dec. Not because she coudln't handle it, but because I use CIDRs/PG600 to cycle them - and already have 9 does due for 3/5. Figured it can't hurt to give myself a break! hehe.

[andabigmac]

I don't have minis so I can't really give you advice but I can say welcome to HT and the wonderful world of goats!

We like pictures.

[Dreamgoat Annie]

We haven't bred any minis so this is just off the top of my head, but I'd think it could depend on how far they are from their Nigerian Dwarf background. If they're F1 generation, they might cycle like Nigerians--or like Lamanchas.

And of course some does cycle at times outside of the norm. One of my Nubians kidded in late November two years ago after her daddy climbed over the fence and in with her, her mom, and her "auntie". It was blazing hot at the time and none of the does appeared to be in heat, so we didn't lute them.

So really, it can be an individual thing.

And if your does are really well grown out, absolutely you can safely breed them early. If not, it's best to give them more time to mature.

Sue