Letting doelings grow out

[IndyGardenGal]

Does anyone here breed for does to have their first freshenings as 2 year olds? The more I see from my own does, the more I lean towards going to this method. I know it's not possible for everyone, because of money and costs of keeping a non-producing animal. I'm just wondering if anyone else does this, and what benefits do you see from delaying breeding.

TIA

[oberhaslikid]

I do and I never have had to assist in a kidding since doing so.

[dozedotz]

Do you mean ALL doelings - not matter their weight? We left one of our girls out of the breeding pool two years ago do to her size (weight) and think that we made an excellent decision for her. This year one of our girls who weighed in at 145 pounds and did not settle is pretty unhappy not being part of the milk room crowd. She KNOWS that all her friends are getting some wonderful treats and attention that she is missing and she is mizerable twice a day. I think it should be a decision based on the size and condition of the doe.

[yarrow]

we hold ALL doelings over as dry yearlings..breed them all to freshen for the first time around their second birthday...works well for my herd.
...only csection we ever had was a ff yearling...big single buck...only prolapse..again yearling with a single buck...now we wait and get twins instead of big singles..does get the chance to grow up..not having to share with a fetus...cuts birthing issues for us
susie

[IndyGardenGal]

Yes, all doelings, regardless of weight. Good to hear Susie, I was looking at Dolly today thinking she is growing so well, and I want to give her a chance to get even more good growth before her body needs to focus on kids.

[Cyngbaeld]

I've done both and couldn't really tell much difference. Most will have a growth spurt during pregnancy if fed right. I rarely have any birthing issues with any of the does.

[bluefish]

I've done both, the only thing I've found is that I have a hard time keeping the fat off the ones that I hold. However, that's probably because I don't have a way to separate does long term and so they all get fed the same.

[myheaven]

I wait till their 2. My girl Emily delivered a 10.5 lbs doe without help. I wait, even with the high cost of feed at this moment.

[mygoat]

I see no good reason to wait, personally. Livestock that can't be bred on time, I don't really want around. As for growth - my girls are not stunted or runty when bred at an adequate size. FF'ers kid just fine around here. If they couldn't, I don't want them. I attend all births, and I have never lost a doe in kidding and RARELY lost kids - I will still grow out kids but kidding problems more than once is a great way to get yourself treated with 'trailermycin'.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

We've always bred FF to freshen around their first birthday and haven't ever had any problems. We had one yearling FF deliver a 10 pound single buckling with out issue, other than she was tired. A little CMPK to help get the placenta out and that was it, she bounced right back.

[Cyngbaeld]

I don't see anything to be gained in waiting till age two. The only yr I let them go so long was because I was too ill to handle the work of kidding and milking so many. I only bred 2 does that yr.

[yarrow]

we bred everyone to kid first birthday for years...but after the 12lb 8ounce c-section buckling...I decided the money/stress/pain for the doe.. guilt on my part...well it just wasn't something I wanted to do anymore...for ME these are NOT just livestock..they are my friends and pets...just like the dogs...(except they give lots of yummy milk LOL)...

In the beginning..I tried to be a REAL homesteader/farmer gal....thinking of them as livestock...wanting them to pay for themselves ..eating the extras...HATED IT...realized I am a city minded girl who lives in the boonies because they won't let me have a big herd in town..middle ground for me was to allow me to be who I really am...to love my goats for who they are...and not just have them for what I can make off them via kids/milk/meat ect...so just like I know a dog can be bred at 6months...doesn't mean I would ever do that!!!(every dog I have owned in 30 years has been fixed and puppy free)...so with that mindset...I had to ask myself WHY would I breed a barely out of her kid-hood doe???...If didn't need every kid she could pump out for a sale?...hence my decision to hold them back an extra year..just enjoying watching them mature..the animals have it pretty easy here LOL..(we also don't eat goat...we don't eat the chickens..I do gather the eggs and use those...we no longer sell any milk...learned quickly that I don't enjoy customers LOL....WHO MAY OR MAY NOT show up when they are suppose to..Everything is done just for our enjoyment..so we milk and bottle feed in the spring...make some cheese...retire does at age nine..I think that by that age, they have given me more then enough kids to sale.. (The retirees all live together, as much loved pets)...I don't really LOVE milking (in the beginning of kidding season.. I sort of enjoy it.. I like the quite time, laying my head on a friend's flank, listening to the milk as it goes into the bucket..but soon I'm ready to garden ect.. so we slowly work down to once a day milking..then dry up most of the girls by aug...all the girls by oct...surprisingly...even tho I do nothing in the expected/normal way things are done on most homesteads...the herd now pays for it's self.. (at least all of their hay and feed)..with even some left over this year...from just kid sales.

again lots of ways to do something...none of them the most right or the most wrong...I just had to find what was right for me...so i do ONLY what makes me HAPPY... doelings having to produce young didn't make me happy...

susie

[The Tin Mom]

I like Susie's method. We do something similar. Plus, the dc can show dry yearlings in our fair, so it gives them another class in which to compete.

[southerngurl]

My nubians would be tubs of lard if I didn't breed them for yearling kiddings. They always want to be FAT.

I think a lot of it comes down to management styles too though. I think if you are kidding them out as yearlings, you need to have intensive management to get them to size. If you just want to put them on out some pasture to grow, you may need to have them kid at 2. There's a reason people who kid out their does as yearlings feed lots of milk and up to 5-6 months, often feed alfalfa and grain... I don't recommend feeding them the way you would for yearling kiddings, if you are going to wait until two.

[Cyngbaeld]

I love my goats, but they are livestock.

[yarrow]

[QU9OTE=Cyngbaeld;6564739]I love my goats, but they are livestock.[/QUOTE]

and mine are pets..

as I said..many different ways of doing things..and I do realize that most of the kids I sell end up being thought of as livestock..and I am okay with that...but it's the reason I rarely if ever sell adult does.

susie

[IndyGardenGal]

Mine are my friends and livestock. And I know plenty of folks that breed to kid at a year, and I have, with no issues. I just like the way some of these does look when you hold them over an extra year.

I do not think breeding early is wrong or an issue. Just personal preference.

[GoldenWood Farm]

Mine are pets and livestock as well but I breed so they kid out as 2yr olds. I just prefer the growth I get and I don't have to worry about a yearling having issues. I also breed all FF to a Nigerian Dwarf buck for smaller kids so again I don't have to worry about issues.

This is just how I like to do it and it works well for me and my herd. I know some people who kid does out as yearlings and that is perfectly fine as well, I just prefer doing things a little different .

Justine

[mygoat]

Watch the weight on the yearlings if you wait to breed. There is one HUGE predisposing factor for metabolic issues at birthing - fat animals are much more likely to get hypocalcemia and/or ketosis.

[Hollowdweller]

I usually wait till they are 2.

But as was said if you feed really well they will get too fat if you don't keep them on a grain free diet.

I doe freshened as a yearling will give more milk over her lifetime.