I prefer not to buy does until they are at least a year old – preferably two years. When we purchased our original breeding stock, we tried buying both doelings and grown does. The older goats almost always had a better overall result. The obvious disadvantage of the grown does is that they are that much closer to the end of their usable years (usually around 8-9 years old). However, at two years old, they are just entering their prime.

The disadvantage of doelings is that the first year can be a very difficult one.
We lose more does before they reach one year old than any other age (that's why the price goes up after they reach a year). Since they are smaller, they are easier targets for predators. No matter the breeding program, there will be some natural survival of the fittest. That first year is usually a very telling period for which goats are the fittest and which ones aren’t.

Bucks are another consideration when buying young does. When the doelings are 8-9 months old, they are still pretty small. This is why we keep a couple bucklings to breed our kids, instead of our older sires. Once the bucks reach about 2 years old, they are just too big to breed to the little doelings without hurting them. If you do decide to breed any doelings, you will definitely have a better result using a buckling instead of a grown buck. Young bucklings (under a year old) can usually cover 10-15 does per cycle.

But the doelings’ struggles don’t end after breeding. While they’re carrying their kids, the doelings are still very young - and it takes a toll on them to raise that first set while they are still trying to grow themselves. We breed our young doelings almost every year to get their hormones in phase (we usually wait until they are 8-9 months old though) - but we usually don't require much from their first kidding cycle.

So the bottom line: this means that you must hold on to these does for almost a year and a half before you start seeing a decent number of kids hit the ground. As long as you understand that buying doelings is a long term investment, any age can be a good choice. But I think most new ranchers would like to see a return on investment a little sooner.

What are the most important worms to be aware of for small ruminants?

The most important worm parasites are the host-specific nematodes of the stomach or gut of ruminants. This is a whole family of worms, but the really important one is the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) -- it causes many small ruminant deaths every year. This is a bloodsucking parasite that causes anemia but usually not scouring. Some other near relatives of the barber pole worm can cause scouring, but are not the annual cause of disease and death like barber pole worm.
In order to use anthelmintics (dewormers) and other means of parasite control most effectively, there are some facts about the life cycle, which are important to understand. Adult female worms produce eggs that are passed in manure. Larvae hatch out and go through several stages of development in the environment before they can infect the next host. During the warm months of the year, many numbers of larvae can build up on your pasture.

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