Breeding goats can be an exciting hobby. You never know how many, or with some breeds, what colors you’ll get. It’s good to do your research and invest in good breeding stock. Quality stock will be more desirable to buyers when it comes time to sell the babies.
Breeding Age:
Bucks- The boys are fertile as early as 2 months of age, but it’s not generally recommended to use them for breeding until they reach about 1 year old. Personally, I think you can use a buck as soon as it’s tall enough to mount a doe. I am, however, careful not to over exert a young buck in their first breeding season if they are under a year old.
Does- The girls generally start going into heat at about 5-6 months old, but that doesn’t mean their bodies are ready to handle a birth yet as they themselves are still developing. Does can be bred once they’ve reached about 75% of their adult body weight which at the earliest would be about 8-10 months of age. I generally like to wait until my goats are about a year old before breeding them for the first time, but have done it as early as 10 months before. On average, people tend to breed their goats anywhere between 8 months to 1.5 years old.
When Do Does Go Into Heat: Nigerians, Pygmys, Boers, Spanish, Fainting, Kiko goats go into heat about every 18-24 days during the year. Seasonal breeders which breed about August-December include LaMancha, Saanen, Alpine, Oberhasli, Toggenburgs, and Nubians. 
Stud Services: If you don’t own a buck, you’ll want to find someone local with good lines who does have one and offers stud services. The fee for a buck breeding your does can range from $20-$50, sometimes more depending on the quality of the lines. Many times, you’ll bring your doe(s) to them to stay for a bit for a fee plus the cost of food until she’s been bred. Sometimes the buck can come stay with you instead. Or if you just want it to be a day thing you can try to trigger your doe into heat by acquiring a “Buck Rag”. This is a piece of cloth that’s been rubbed all over the buck, and bringing the smell to your does can trigger them to go into heat sooner. If you have many options nearby, be picky and make sure to pick a buck that is healthy, proven, and comes from a good background. Also, make sure your own doe(s) are healthy and free from any pests or parasites that could transmit to the stud buck.
Signs Of A Doe In Heat:
Swollen vulva
White to clear discharge from vulva
Bleating
Tail flagging or wagging
Pacing down the fence line and stand in heat
Frequent urination
Change in personality
If located next to the buck they’ll stand as close as they can to the bucks pen
Signs Of A Buck In A Rut:
Urinating all over themselves (including their face)
Become more aggressive and try to challenge any other bucks
Get a lot noisier and will flap their lips
Might turn down food and water
How Many Does Can A Buck Service In One Day: About 3 for a younger buck spaced throughout the day, 1-2 per day for an older buck.
How Much Should A Buck Breed A Doe In One Session: A buck should be good for about 2-3 mountings before running out of semen. Don’t make the mistake that I did and just leave the buck in with the doe for the day. We had a very avid breeder that ended up damaging his penis to the point of bleeding.
What To Expect During A Breeding Session: My husband and I refer to buck goats as “Two Pump Chumps”, essentially the deed is done very quickly and can be missed if you blink. You’ll know you’ve had a successful mount when the buck thrusts, and the doe curls up afterwards. You should also be able to see semen dripping from her back end. One of my silly girls even grins and exposes her teeth after she’s been bred. Other things to expect during the breeding process are . . .
-Between mountings, the Buck will lick and flap their tongue at the female.
-The female generally stands still and puts up with bucks antics.
-After the buck has bred the female, he generally checks his handy work and sniffs or licks her rear.
-Both male and females tend to urinate after a successful mount. When the buck urinates, it’s generally on himself, or he’ll gladly stick his face in the females urine stream too.
-After 2-3 successful mounts the doe us usually ready to go back to her own pen for a while, the buck at this point should also be depleted of sperm though he’ll still be more than willing to continue mounting.
-If breeding was done in the morning, I’ll usually bring the doe back to the buck that evening for 1-2 more mounts just to help ensure that she is bred.
Gestation: Average length is about 145 days for dwarf breeds, and 150 days for regular sized breeds (about 5 months).
Nutrition: Make sure all of your animals are in good health and have all the nutrition they need for breeding/kidding season. Feed good quality hay, provide a loose mineral supplement, and maybe even provide a little bit of grain or black oil sunflower seeds.
Flushing- By feeding you does a little bit more than normal about a month before you plan to breed them, you may encourage them to release extra eggs and have a larger litter. I have yet to test this out with my goats. Alternatively, I’ve heard it’s more a matter of your does getting the proper nutrition that’ll increase their litter sizes.
Preparing Your Doe For Labor: There’s not much needed during the gestation process other than making sure your does are fed well and have good nutrition. This would mean good quality hay, and a free choice loose mineral supplement at a minimum. This doesn’t however mean fatten them up or your just asking for a different set of problems come pregnancy time. When you get to be about a month out from your doe giving birth, you’ll want to start introducing quality alfalfa hay and grain to the diet to get their stomach used to it and to encourage good milk production.
When your doe is 2 weeks away from labor, it’s at that point that you’ll want to go ahead and put her in her own separate area or “labor pen”, hopefully within site of the herd so they don’t feel completely cut off. If your goats area is relatively small, you don’t want your momma goat to give birth amongst the herd or there is a risk that the baby(ies) may get picked on by the other members of the herd. On the other hand, if you have a nice wide open pasture with plenty of room for birthing, it will likely not be an issue.
In addition to giving 1/2-1 cup of grain per day, I also like to start adding a teaspoon per day of dried raspberry leaf. It has several nutrients/antioxidants and is supposed to help tone and relax the uterine muscles for delivery, shorten labor, and help with milk production. It’s also been said that it could possibly encourage labor which is why I wait until 2 weeks before the expected due date before giving it.
Signs Of Labor & What You Need: Honestly, goats don’t generally need any help from us when it comes to giving birth. They tend to go through the process with little to no problems on their own. Where you may want to step in is if it’s still cold outside. You may want to provide a heat lamp or try to be around to help dry the baby off with clean towels as soon as it hits the ground. It may be a good idea to have colostrum, milk replacer, bottle and nipples in case your doe can’t nurse the babies for whatever reason (too many kids, not producing enough milk, mom refuses to feed kids . . .). If you suspect that your goat is having complications (doe is extra stressed, smelly discolored discharge, hot udder), contact your vet to see if you may need to have your doe checked out.
Signs of Labor . . .
-Full/tight udder, sometimes this happens after birth
-Vaginal discharge – this can start as early as a month prior to labor
-Swollen vulva, sunken sides, prominent hip bones, crooked tail – means 1-5 days until labor
-Change in behavior, standing alone, getting up and down, pawing the ground
-Ligaments near tail loosen, meaning labor will take place within the next 24 hours.
-Contractions, heavy breathing or panting, arching back
It’s rewarding in the end to see the new bouncing, healthy babies. And just like the holidays you get to look forward to it every year!
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