One of my does, at 18 months old, is still really small. Probably 75 % the size of the other grown does and maybe 40 lbs. Is this it for her or will she continue to grow? Will it be safe to breed her to a "normal"-sized buck? Is it likely that all her kids will be small? She is an absolute dollbaby, not pushy but loving. And it is fun to watch her politically maneuver between the two other, larger adult does and the 'Manchas! (But she does NOT tweet pictures of her udder to anyone!) <sorry, couldn't resist....
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Nigerians continue growing until about age 3. In fact, every few years, people have a debate about bucks who become champions before they're three years old, because they could still go over height. Does mostly gain width and depth after 18 months, but might still gain a couple inches in height. You should check with her breeder and see what the mature height is for her parents. If she has two 18 inch parents, then odds are good that she will be small. But if both of her parents are over 20 inches, then she's probably just taking her time. If you haven't weighed her yet, go ahead and do so. I just take my bathroom scale out to the barn and weigh myself with the goat in my arms and subtract my weight -- one reason I really like the NDs! If she's at least 40 pounds, she shouldn't have any trouble kidding unless she is especially narrow in the pelvis. I haven't had any trouble with does giving birth to big kids, so as long as your buck is within the standard, it shouldn't be a problem. I personally don't like the idea of breeding tiny doe to tiny buck because then you're mostly breeding for the pet market because a milker under 19 inches is less than ideal. You need a really short bucket, and their production is usually not great.
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