Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Goats have a breeding season during which they come into heat (estrus) every few weeks for
a day or two. The breeding patterns of goats are related to the survival of their ancestors in the
wild; wild goats bred during fall and early winter so their kids would be born in the spring
when plenty of food was available. The Swiss breeds, which originated far from the equator,
have their breeding season in winter when daylight hours are the shortest. Nubian and Pygmy
goats, which have their origins closer to the equator, can breed year-round. Bucks have a
breeding season similar to the does.
Does usually stop lactating and are dried off for the last two months of their pregnancies to
give them time to rest before their kids are born and they start lactating again. Some dry off
sooner. That means each doe is producing milk for only 305 days out of the year, sometimes
as few as 275. If all your does come into heat and are bred around the same time, they also
will stop producing milk around the same time. This presents a challenge for dairy goat farm-
ers, who ideally need a regular supply of goat's milk year-round. A family that relies on one
or two goats to provide milk will have to do without for several weeks. The commercial de-
mand for goat's milk is greater in the winter than in the summer, yet summer is when the
goats reach their peak production. To keep the milk coming year-round, dairy goat farmers of-
ten try to stagger the breeding of their goats so some of them always will be lactating.
Does generally first come into heat in late August or September, when the days begin to
shorten. If a doe is not bred during her first cycle, she will continue to go into heat at regular
intervals until late in December. To ensure some of their goats always will be lactating, goat
breeders try to stagger the breedings so some goats get pregnant in September and others at
the end of December. This can be risky; if the doe is not pregnant by the end of her breeding
cycles, she will not go into heat again for another nine months.
When to breed your does
Bucks and doelings (does that have not mated for the first time) reach sexual maturity at the
age of 4 or 5 months, but sometimes, bucks reach puberty earlier. For this reason, buck kids
should be separated from does at the age of 2 ½ months. A normal young doe that has been
properly fed can be bred successfully at 7 to 9 months, when she has reached 65 to 75 percent
of her adult body weight (about 85 pounds). Breeding will help her udder to mature.
A doe should be prepared for breeding by flushing, increasing the energy in her diet to stimu-
late ovulation and conception. She should gain weight for two or three weeks before breeding
and for about three weeks afterwards. This can be accomplished either by feeding her high-
