Size differences

How much of a size discrepancy between buck and Doe is considered too much to breed? For example if I have a 23in buck around 40lbs and a 14 in doe around 25 lbs should I even consider the breeding?

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  • I agree with Rachel about not breeding a doe that small. The size related to the buck is irrelevant if a doe is too small. I have a 9-year-old doe that I never bred because she's only about 16 or 17 inches tall. Her mother, however, was right at the limit of 22.5 inches, and her two sisters were normal sized. She was born small and grew slowly, but it's just too risky to breed a goat that small, not knowing what the genes will do. The odds are too high that she'd throw normal-sized kids and would need a c-section. I never sold her for fear that someone would breed her, so she's remained here as a companion for any goat that needs to be quarantined. Being so small and bottom of the pecking order, she doesn't have a dominant bone in her body so is perfect as a companion for an injured goat or one that's not feeling well. I've also learned a lot by keeping a dry doe. She probably weighs 40 pounds now, but it's because she's obese. She LOOKS pregnant, but she serves as my model for body condition 5 (obese).

  • I did measure her and weigh her. She was taller than I thought and came in right at 17 inches but when weighed she was only 25 lbs so I’m just gonna wait and see. 

  • She may be a later bloomer since she's only two; some lines develop a little more slowly than others. She doesn't look too tiny in the pictures, from what I can tell. Have you weighed by chance? They often weigh more than they look/feel like they do, and sometimes they're taller than they look, too. I'd give her a little more time and she will probably make the 40 lb mark. :) 

  • 2771474334?profile=RESIZE_1024x10242771474653?profile=RESIZE_1024x10242771475914?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024these aren’t the best pictures but it would be the white buck with the darker cou Clair doe. The picture at the bottom has thebucks on one side and the small does on the other though it’s hard to compare size through the fence it’s the only one I had of them close. 

  • Thanks! That

    is very informative. I thought the minimum was 13 inches. She’s almost 2 years old. She seemed on the small side to me as well. The herd that she came from all seemed very small. I may see if she has a late growth spurt. If not she’ll just stay as a pet. 

  • I wouldn't breed a 25 lb doe at all to any size buck. 25 lbs is really small for an adult doe. The minimum weight a doe should be at breeding is 40 lbs.

    14" is also really short. Nigerians should be 17" minimum. Ideal is about 18-20" at the withers. I wonder if your doe was stunted by coccidia or underfed while she was growing. How old is she? They also keep growing until about 3 years old, so she may also just be too young still. 

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