Chat
10-11-2017, 10:15 AM
Aw, so glad he's doing well! We were pretty worried about that little guy I remember. I would not give up hope. Getting him a buddy his own size would be a good idea. Another idea (if you can bear to part with him) would be to find him a pet home where he could be with smaller goats than yours. A petting zoo might even be the perfect home for a little guy like this. But if you want to keep him he'll need a companion his size. He will definitely keep growing and I should think he will top 100 lbs. by next year unless his lungs are defective.
Here's a story to give you hope. We bought a buckling, Pac-Man, who was only about 65 lbs. at nine months. He was perfectly healthy, but he was stunted from being kept with a bunch of older, bigger bucks who pushed him around. Pac-Man wasn't thin when we got him, but he was an intact buckling in full rut and had already been bred to quite a few does during the past 3-4 months. I believe his heavy breeding schedule at such a young age was another factor in his lack of growth. When we got Pac-Man, my six-month old doelings were much bigger and heavier than he was and I was worried that at his age he would never catch up. However, once he came to live with us his growth took off and within a month or two he was much bigger than my doelings. Now he's ENORMOUS! After he was wethered he got sold as a packgoat to some friends of Taffy's and she'll tell you he's one of the biggest goats she's ever laid eyes on. Pac-Man is the father of my goat, Sputnik, and I'm sure you've seen how big Sputnik is.
Here's a photo of Pac-Man that Taffy sent me last summer. He's four years old in this photo.
Depending on his health issues, Rafiki may not have the potential to get huge like Pac-Man did, but I'd definitely say there's hope that he'll at least be big enough to run with your does by next year. And as much as you love him, don't be too hasty to rule out rehoming him. If the right situation comes along, someone else with a different setup may be able to give him a more comfortable life than you can, and that's perfectly ok.
Here's a story to give you hope. We bought a buckling, Pac-Man, who was only about 65 lbs. at nine months. He was perfectly healthy, but he was stunted from being kept with a bunch of older, bigger bucks who pushed him around. Pac-Man wasn't thin when we got him, but he was an intact buckling in full rut and had already been bred to quite a few does during the past 3-4 months. I believe his heavy breeding schedule at such a young age was another factor in his lack of growth. When we got Pac-Man, my six-month old doelings were much bigger and heavier than he was and I was worried that at his age he would never catch up. However, once he came to live with us his growth took off and within a month or two he was much bigger than my doelings. Now he's ENORMOUS! After he was wethered he got sold as a packgoat to some friends of Taffy's and she'll tell you he's one of the biggest goats she's ever laid eyes on. Pac-Man is the father of my goat, Sputnik, and I'm sure you've seen how big Sputnik is.
Here's a photo of Pac-Man that Taffy sent me last summer. He's four years old in this photo.
Depending on his health issues, Rafiki may not have the potential to get huge like Pac-Man did, but I'd definitely say there's hope that he'll at least be big enough to run with your does by next year. And as much as you love him, don't be too hasty to rule out rehoming him. If the right situation comes along, someone else with a different setup may be able to give him a more comfortable life than you can, and that's perfectly ok.