A few questions

Just some things I've been wondering.

First of all, we've been planning to breed our doe and everywhere I can find says that you should breed them once they've reached at least 70% of their weight, or at about 7 or 8 months.

Everywhere I look says the average weight for Nigerian Dwarf Goats is 75lbs. Our goats are 7 months now (we're going to weight them later today or tomorrow), but last month they were only around 30lbs.

Is 75lbs. actually how big they get?

And, I was just wondering this today: All our goats love to eat wood. They'll nibble on trees, logs, boards, anything wood. They'll pull up pieces if they can and actually eat them. Is it ok for them to do this?

And, when trimming their hooves, I've noticed the hair down on their feet is long and comes down in between each hoof a lot. I was wondering if this ever bothers or irritates them and if I should trim the hair there while trimming their hoofs just to help keep it cleaner.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

I like my does to be at least 40 pounds before I breed them, which some reach by 8 months, and other don't reach that until 18 months, so it really varies from doe to doe. I'm glad people have started talking about weight because when I started, everyone was just saying 7-8 months, and you can wind up with some pretty bad situations if you breed a doe that is too small. Most does get to 60-75 by the time they're full grown. I had had one get up to 80. I probably only breed about 1 out of 3 of my doelings to freshen around a year of age. The rest don't get big enough until they're 2.

If they're eating the bark off trees, that's fine and completely normal. They're actually not grazers -- they're browsers, which means that small bushes and trees are their preferred food. I might be concerned about them chewing on lumber though because it could be treated with something poisonous.

Don't worry about the hair between their hooves. I don't think they notice it. Stuff will get stuck between their toes regardless of whether or not there is hair there.

Replies

Deborah Niemann-Boehle January 7, 2012 at 1:22pm

I like my does to be at least 40 pounds before I breed them, which some reach by 8 months, and other don't reach that until 18 months, so it really varies from doe to doe. I'm glad people have started talking about weight because when I started, everyone was just saying 7-8 months, and you can wind up with some pretty bad situations if you breed a doe that is too small. Most does get to 60-75 by the time they're full grown. I had had one get up to 80. I probably only breed about 1 out of 3 of my doelings to freshen around a year of age. The rest don't get big enough until they're 2.

If they're eating the bark off trees, that's fine and completely normal. They're actually not grazers -- they're browsers, which means that small bushes and trees are their preferred food. I might be concerned about them chewing on lumber though because it could be treated with something poisonous.

Don't worry about the hair between their hooves. I don't think they notice it. Stuff will get stuck between their toes regardless of whether or not there is hair there.

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