154 MODERN MILK GOATS 



the uniformly large size of his does, their vigor and con- 

 stitution, and their high average of production. Remem- 

 ber, Mother Nature did not have in mind the creation of 

 a milk goat, yielding milk ten months out of each year, 

 and ten to twenty times her body weight in each period of 

 lactation. But that is what the goat breeder has in mind. 

 To obtain his ideal, he must give his goatling time to 

 finish her own growth before she is submitted to the task 

 of reproduction. 



Yet every breeder can point to animals who either 

 accidentally or purposely were bred much earlier, but 

 have, nevertheless, made a creditable growth and have 

 developed into good milkers. We cannot but feel that 

 such instances are the exception rather than the rule, 

 and that repeated early breeding in any given line will 

 result in diminishing both the size and the yield of 

 the animals. 



If it is necessary for any reason to breed before the 

 age of eighteen or nineteen months, there are some points 

 that will help determine the earliest moment at which a 

 goatling may be bred with reasonable hope of her future 

 good development. She should have replaced her two 

 front baby teeth with the large permanent incisors, and 

 should have completed the change of coat that follows 

 the cutting of those teeth. She should weigh at least 90 

 to 100 pounds, and should be in good flesh and good 



