Reproductive traits of interest in a meat goat enterprise would be conception rate, kidding rate and the ability to breed out of season. In general, goats have a high reproductive rate with conception rate not being a problem. Several studies have shown that even though twins and triplets have lower birth and weaning weights and have slower growth rates, they produce more total weight of kid weaned. Thus, prolificacy, defined as the number of kids born per doe, is an important reproductive criterion. Goats that have evolved in the temperate zones on the world tend to be seasonal breeders.
Females come into estrus in the fall with anestrus occurring in late spring.
This breeding pattern does not always coincide with the optimal marketing period of weaned kids. This desirable trait of non-seasonality should to be incorporated into a meat goat enterprise. A high pre-weaning ADG not only reflects the genetic potential of the kid but also the mothering ability of the doe. As an animal grows, it tends to increase the percentage of fat in the carcass, decrease the percentage of bone while the percentage of lean stays about the same. Of the four production traits mentioned, only carcass characteristics are not readily measurable on the farm.