In the goat business, it is common to tell your fellow goat ranchers things like "have a good kidding season" and "have a good breeding season." This works out pretty well because goats spend most of their time either breeding or preparing to kid. But from the rancher's perspective, when is the best time to officially start breeding cycle?
Over the years, we've tried a lot of different timings for breeding our goats. We've bred in early August, late December, and every month in between. But with all that experience, the best breeding date still seems to be a moving target.
One of the biggest factors effecting breeding season has nothing to do with the rancher's timing at all. If you have more than one herd sire, chances are you'll want to know which babies belong to which buck. But when the bucks get impatient for the rancher to start breeding season, sometimes they'll just knock a hole through the fence and elope with the entire herd. So if your buck pens aren't quite up to snuff this year, early breeding may be the best (and only) choice because it will be early.
Another factor is breeding the does when they are most fertile. We've heard scientists claim just about every idea and theory imaginable for the proper date. But for the last couple years, we've had good success with breeding in September to October and running a clean-up buck in November. For us, this has given lots of twins and triplets. We attribute the improved results to the cooler weather - so if it has been a hot year, we usually wait a little longer to breed (until it gets cool).
Weather is also a condition that can make a difference in how well your kids do. If you breed early (like we try to) the kids will begin popping out in late January - the coldest, snowiest month of the year. For us it is worth the risk since our does usually weather the storms quite well, but gambling with big blizzards is a tricky business. So what if you go the other direction and breed as late a biologically possible? Then you have the heat - and with it, the flies - to contend with. If you hit a really hot year or heavy flies, it can be just a devastating as any winter storm. The heat will make it harder for the mother to sustain herself as well as her kids and the flies will attack the kids right after they are born (while covered in after-birth). So pick your poison. It's pretty hard to find a date that will avoid the hot and cold without exception.
So the best time to breed goats is whenever you will be able to live with the decision. Kidding seasons can be disrupted no matter when you breed. But test the waters. Try different strategies. That's what goat ranching is all about!
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