Here’s a question on which you may receive a broad spectrum of answers.
How Old Do Goats Have To Be To Breed?
You will likely read and hear answers ranging from 4 months old to 12 months old.
And that may be a bit confusing for you.
Our best answer comes from the Penn State University extension service; and the answer has more to do with the body weight of the goat than the age of the goat.
A doe should weigh about 75% of her anticipated adult body weight before she is bred.
For example, if her fully grown body weight is likely (due to breed, etc) to be 100 pounds, then when she weighs 75 pounds, her biological systems have matured enough for her to breed.
A male goat or Buck may be mature enough at 8 wks to mount a doe and breed her. However, this is not recommended. Most goat experts recommend allowing the buck to mature for about a year before breeding.
PSU reminds us that underweight does who are bred (too early), tend to be less productive, weaker mothers, and may never reach their full body weight. (That’s worth reading again!)
What Age For Breeding Goats – Short Term Thinking vs Long Term Thinking
When a doe is bred, her body chemistry significantly changes and for the next 155 days she is channeling a tremendous amount of energy and nutrients toward growing a baby goat in her uterus. And eventually maturing her teats so they are ready for nursing.
The energy and nutrients that would have gone towards making the doe stronger and fully mature, instead go toward growing the baby. As a result, the doe who is soon to be a nursing mother, misses the opportunity to fully mature in her own natural time. Further, the doe often is weaker than most and is never able to reach or become the strong mother that she would have otherwise become, that she was meant to be.
Short term thinking – Breed the young doe as soon as possible.
Long term thinking – We want this doe to be healthy and productive for a long time, so let her fully mature before breeding her.
Here at hobby farm heaven we always try to make decisions in favor of the
long term health of the animal.
We are not a for profit farm, so we are not tempted to push hard for the production of animals and we don’t have to try to maximize output.
Instead, we can take our time and let animals fully mature before we breed them.
At Hobby Farm Heaven we make decisions in favor of an animal’s health and longevity.
What Age Does Goat Stop Getting Pregnant
At what age does a goat stop getting pregnant? A healthy doe will continue to come into heat her entire life. Goats do not experience menopause, they continue to experience estrus for as long as they are healthy.
So, depending on breed, we’ll say the average healthy domesticated goat lives 10 or 12 years. This means that healthy does may breed and have kids for 10 or more years.
So, to the question of at what age should you stop breeding your female goats, we say: If your 10 year old doe is active and healthy, then you can continue to breed her.
However, please consider not breeding her as frequently as you would a 2yr old or even a 5yr old.
Age To Stop Breeding Bucks
Similar to the does, healthy bucks can continue to breed into their old age. A healthy buck can continue to breed until he gets sick and dies.
Please note that he may not be able to productively service as many females as he did when he was young.
Similarly, you may consider using him for breeding on a less frequent basis than when he was younger.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To What Age To Breed Goats
How To Tell If A Goat Is In Heat?
That’s not an easy question to answer, unless you have a buck nearby.
Click here for a good explanation: How To Tell If A Goat Is In Heat?
How Often Do Goats Go Into Heat?
That’s not an easy question to answer. Some goats are seasonal breeders that do not go into heat year round and other types of goats are year round breeders.
Click here for more specifics: How Often Do Goats Go In Heat?
Here’s a link to a helpful video by Blue Cactus Dairy Goats
A cool family run goat operation, with emphasis on breeding goats!
Final Thoughts on How Old Do Goats Have To Be To Breed
The best answer we can offer is: Wait until the young doe weighs at least 75% of her expected maturity weight.
She may come into heat prior to reaching 75 % of her maturity weight, but that does not mean it is time to breed her. Just because she can breed, does not mean that she should breed.
Again, we promote long term decision making for the long term health, vitality and productivity of our animals. Taking short cuts will, sooner or later, lead to heartaches.