# Could wether still be a buck?



## TheBanditQueen (Feb 2, 2013)

I have some questions that are probably really dumb, but I am worried about my little goats. We got 2 Pygmy goats sometime between October and Thanksgiving last year. They were (we think but not sure) born around May or June. They were bucks, and should have been banded LONG before we bought them. We waited a few weeks to tame them, and then had to castrate them the old-fashioned way with a knife. Then, the week after Thanksgiving, we brought home 3 Nigerian Dwarf does and an ND buck, all around 3 months old. We were very careful to keep the little buck separate from the doelings, since the breeder told us they can be fertile at surprisingly young ages. The two Pygmy wethers got through the fence several times from their pasture into the pasture where the does were, but there didn't seem to be any problems.

One Pygmy, Elmo, is rather small and skittish, and the other one, Wendell, is much bigger and he is an obnoxious bully. He head-butts Elmo and the buck, shoves them out of the way, etc. The other day, the little ND buck was starting to notice that the girls are nice to talk to, and Wendell was trying to get in on the conversation. Later that day, he got through the fence again, and it looked like he was trying to mount one of the doelings (who may have been in heat but I'm not sure). I've heard that can be a dominance behavior, so it may just be Wendell being snotty. But is it possible that we might have missed something when we wethered him? I've seen that happen with one of my horses before. When we wethered these goats, my fiance did it (while I held them down), and he grew up working on ranches with livestock, so he has a lot of experience.

I am worried because two of the doelings (5 months old now) are extremely fat. They have 5 acres of brush to roam on, so there is a lot of food out there. But the 3rd one, in the same pasture with them, is not as fat. Is it possible that Wendell could have still bred them 3 months ago, since he was barely wethered when we brought the does home? I wouldn't have thought they could get pregnant that young. But I have since heard horror stories about does having babies too young.

I really hope some wise experienced person will tell me I am just ignorant, it's impossible, and they are just fat and Wendell is just a bully. Perhaps the two fat ones (half sisters) have different genetics and are just built heavier than the third one (unrelated)? I can't post a picture yet because I haven't made 10 posts. But I don't want the does to be injured even if it's just a dominance thing. And I have no idea how to cure Wendell of being so violent with them and the buck and the other wether. (We are, however, building a new Wendell-proof fence today.)

Come to think of it, some friends gave us some homemade smoked goat jerky last week, and it was really tasty. I believe Wendell's days may be numbered...


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 2, 2013)

Wethers will sometimes mount does or bucks even though they are wethers not bucks. You said you guys castrated him yourselves? Good for you and I would think that it would be hard miss anything esp when doing it with a knife. I have a hard time believing he is still intact in some way and bred them, but it's not impossible I guess. Have the does gone into anymore heats since he "bred" them?


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## Pearce Pastures (Feb 2, 2013)

> The two Pygmy wethers got through the fence several times from their pasture into the pasture where the does were, but there didn't seem to be any problems.





> I am worried because two of the doelings (5 months old now) are extremely fat.


I would not be concerned that they are still bucks.  Pygmy's can have and usually do have a very rounded shape and tend to just have a pregnant look to them.  There are a few questions I have though. 

First, is how long after being castrated did the buck/wether escape into the doe's pasture?  Second, have you seen the doe's come into heat since the escape?  Third, do you have a photo for reference?  And lastly, the doe that is more on the skinny side---have you had her tested for parasites?


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## PendergrassRanch (Feb 2, 2013)

My wether does this.

If you are sure you got both testes and there is no chance they are cryptorchids then they are just wethers being obnoxious boys.


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## marlowmanor (Feb 2, 2013)

My wethers have mounted my does before and they were banded at 5 weeks and 8 weeks. They hounded one of them a few days when she was in heat, it was actually the only way I knew she was in heat.


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## PattySh (Feb 2, 2013)

How long had he been castrated. I castrated one of my dogs (well my vet did) He bred my female dog a week later and she concieved a single puppy that looked just like him. Vet said sperm stored in testicles but travels thru the body before "being used". There is a several week period that you have to keep neuteted boys away from the girls.


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## TheBanditQueen (Feb 3, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos, how do you tell when they are in heat? I thought one of them might be, a few days ago, because she was hanging around the fence across from the buck, talking to him, and they were very interested and sniffing each other and talking back and forth. He was making these weird snorts at her. The other two does were doing that a few days before that. But I am not sure of how to tell.

Pearce Pastures, we wethered the Pygmies in (I think) late October or early November, and brought the does home the weekend after Thanksgiving. Then it was the beginning of December when the wethers got through the fence. And the does are all Nigerian Dwarfs, more dairy-type, so they are not as stocky as the Pygmies. The one that is less fat, she isn't at all skinny. She is plump and lively and is very healthy looking. She just looks more slender next to the other two. I have a few pics. Looking down on them from above, they are very rounded. One of them is rather short-legged and diminutive, so being a little overweight may show more on her. Maybe?

I am glad to hear that some wethers might be just obnoxious. I hope that is all it is. :/


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## pdpo222 (Feb 3, 2013)

If you removed two testicles from each one, then that should of been it.  It does take awhile for the hormones to settle down.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 4, 2013)

Depends on the goat. Some scream non-stop, flag their tail like crazy, mount other goats, will stand by the fence for the buck, shove her stuff up on the fence for the buck, pee by the fence for the buck, sometimes they'll act like a buck, etc. They could show some, all or none of these signs.

I have several goats that go into what I call "loud heats" where they scream non-stop. Some of them also flag their tail, some mount other does, some act like a buck etc.

I also have several does that show NO sign of heat and it takes a very trained eye to be able to tell if they are in heat if you don't keep track of dates. Does go into heat every 18-21 days and it lasts 2-3 days.


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