~Pygmy Goat Breeding Questions~

[The Wolf Queen]

As a couple of you know I got some pygmy goat kids a couple of weeks ago. A breeding pair, and since then Ive gotten 2 more that are bottle babies. So in advance I would like to ask 3 questions on breeding Pygmy goats.
1. How old do pygmy does have to be to be bred? Ive heard 7-8 months, a year, etc so I would like some clarification.
2. What is the oldest that you can breed a doe at? Ive heard 8 years but im not possitive.
3. How old (if at all) are bucks when they get too old to breed and start shooting blanks.
Thanks everyone

 

[NewHopePoultry]

1: Does can be bred at 7-8 months of age if they have reached good size, but some breeders do wait until a year old(Theres even a few that wait until they are 24 months to 2 years old)

2: I never bred a doe over 8 years old, but Ive seen where other breeders breed them until they are 10 or so. It all depends on the breeder. I personally dont see my animals as breeding machines, so I retire them once they reach a certain age.

3: I dont really think theres a set age,I had a buck that was over 10 that was still breeding and I had some that by the time they were 5 or 6 were wore down.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

I DO NOT see my animals as breeding machines. Ive met people that live off of breeding their animals and boy do I hate them! I DO plan on breeding them (as a hobby) a couple of times though so I wanted to know this info. PLEASE DO NOT guess someone is doing something just because they ask a couple of questions!

 

[NewHopePoultry]

I didnt say you did and I wasnt implying that you did. I just said there are some people that do and that I retire my animals at a certain age.
Everyone who breeds is different, so you will get different answers on her and when you look on the internet.

 

[dutchhollow]

With pygmy's you have to wait until the does are full grown, and you have to separate your bucks at a very young age, they can and will breed at a couple of months old. Which leaves you with small doelings having to give birth, large goats you can get your hand in there and rearrange kids and pull, with pygmy's you can't and small pygmy's it is very hard. So if they are over eight weeks old, hope you have them in different pens already!

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
I understood what you meant and in no way were you implying that the op wwas a mass breeder

 

[CherokeeCowgirl]

I just got a pygmy girl that is 5 months old. I was getting a billy but I have decided to wait because I have read and read that they need to be at least a year old. I will not breed my girl until she is over a year. A very reputable ADGA breeder with pygmys in my area that I found will not breed her girls until they are 2 years old. She explained it to me like this: Say you have a 12 year old daughter that can get pregnant at 12 but that doesn't mean you would want to breed her at 12 years old. So just because the does can get pregnant at 2 - 3 months doesn't mean you want to breed them then either.

I guess you can breed them eariler than 1 yr and successfully end up with kids (I read several stories of success when breeding at 6-8 months) but that would have to be your choice on your own goats. I am now just going to go get another doe for her for company (although she now thinks she is a horse and loves our horses) and wait until she is at least 1 yr before getting my billy. If I can go ahead and find a grown healthy doe then I am going to buy one of those to get started on my cheese and soap projects.

I just googled breeding pygmy goats and found lots of good info.

Good luck with your girls

 

[hearthnsoul]

I just love pygmies! I have two nigerians (doe and buck) and one pygmy doe, Flower, I swear she thinks she is a dog. It's so funny she even sits like a dog, none of the other goats do that.
So congrats on your new babies! Anyhow my Flower is age undetermined, we are at least her third and last people. Best guess is around three. She was never bred and her and my Nigi Appy have been roomies for a year now. I decided to introduce a buck for two reasons. As my nigi is registered, I got a registered buck, the intent is that we would have babies that are registerable with nice lines so that we could A) have some milk!!! and B) we could pass the registered babies forward at a nice enough price to cover our goats needs, i.e food, bedding, vaccinations and so on.
So of course, the buck, doesn't just have eyes for Appy, it reminds me of a bad episode of PePe Lepue, tongue wagging, grunting and chasing poor Flower every which way, She loves him one moment, then runs and says look what he is trying to do!!!. Appy is all set with him I think we have babies on the way.
This is, we now know, going to be Flowers first run at being a mommy. So needless to say I checked about,..seems the norm is 1 year for breeding,..I don't see much about retiring of bucks,..in fact most of what I read about bucks treatment kind of bugs me. They are sort of viewed as studs,..out of site, up a hill at some other location and so on. I am finding with my buck, even in his state of doe mania, he has sweet soulful look in his eyes just a cutey with a little extra musk, okay you kind of want to encapulate your hand after a patting, but hey you take the good with the bad. Actually to be real honest,..the smell doesn't bother me so much as yet.. He is three by the by. So from what I read and asked around to breeders is a year is the norm for the does,..you should give them plenty of space inbetween breeding which you can do as you have more than one. Smart not to breed them, as I have together,..stagger your births. Have one pregnant and birthing and let your second doe become pregnant when the first gives birth, it will keep you in milk and not overhwhelm you with babies.
Ok so here is my question for you,..what do you plan to do for your buck when the gals are birthing and you need keep him away from the gals for fear of impregnating the mom who just birthed and the doelings that hit some weeks to be able to have an unexpected pregnancy? I myself am building a separate minibarn for him and I plan to introduce another buck for company, as well so we don't end up inbreeding. For instance, Appy has a doe we would like to keep when her time comes to mate, she can't be impregnanted, well shouldn't be, by her sire,..so buck number two comes in. This way is also logical because you can't keep a goat alone. Alot of people get a wether to chum with the buck, but I figure if I am going to be feeding and housing boy number 2, he should also have a nice job to contribute to the overall farm.
By the way I just love your website. Again congrats!

 

[farmgirl360]

I have Pygmy goats and we justs got a girl who has had a kid before and two Nigerian dwarf goats (same height a Pygmy ) how do you breed them like not when as in months but how do you just stick them in a pen and wait or what

 

[farmgirl360]

And how do you make a new thread