07/16/14, 04:19 PM
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Caprice Acres
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: MI
Posts: 11,232
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Feed/manage for the growth you want.  Expect 10lbs/mon in addition to the birth weight. an 8 lb kid should be 18lbs by 1 mon, 28 lb by 2 mon etc. That puts them at 88lbs by 8 months. I feed well and manage parasites well because though it's a little more work and more pricy, it's NOT as expensive as keeping a doe to freshen the first time as a 2YO.
I bred a doe this year at 6 months old. She was around 75 ish pounds. I bred her because she was a JUNE baby and I HATE 2YO FF. She was just a tad smaller than my March born doeling (changed management on that batch of kids as an experiment and did NOT like the growth rate as normally instead of 80lbs at 8 mon we'd have 90-100 or so and changed management right back, but she still managed a late breeding size-wise so all was well) so I figured what the hey. That being said, I'm familiar with her lines and the sire's birth weights and I've been raising goats 12 years. I've fixed about every kidding problem possible, and the slight risk of kidding her out at 11 months old was worth it to me than not breeding her. I do not suggest it to the average raiser, however.
She ended up having a good sized single doeling in May. Everything went smoothly. Kid was a bit big but she didn't tear or struggle too much, and she stubbornly refused to lay down to kid... I think kiddings go much smoother/faster when the doe lays down. :P
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Dona Barski
"Breed the best, eat the rest"
Caprice Acres
French and American Alpines. CAE, Johnes neg herd. Abscess free. LA, DHIR.
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