# When to buy your own buck?



## Ariel72 (Jan 19, 2011)

Sometimes it seems like it would be convenient to keep your own buck on your own property.  Especially if he's a breed that isn't readily available in your area.  Is it worth it to keep a buck for just one or two does...or is it more trouble than its worth?


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## Ariel72 (Jan 19, 2011)

And...how many does make a buck worth keeping?


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 19, 2011)

I have nigerians and I love my buck!  Yes, he's smelly and it adds a little extra work to have separate housing but to me it's well worth it.  He's super sweet and just as easy to handle as my does.  In fact, we're about to add a second.  I don't have any experience with full-sized bucks though.  I think in the end it's more of a "is it worth it to YOU" question since everyone's situation and preferences are different.

Edited to add: some folks might find it "worth it" to have a buck even if they only have one or two does to breed.  I think that depends on the availability of clean, suitable bucks in your area.


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## freemotion (Jan 19, 2011)

Yep, got one for only two does last year.  It was worth it financially, at least in my area.  To breed a doe here, it would cost as much as buying a lactating doe each time.  To a clean buck, that is.

Build a fortress to keep him in.  They are determined little buggers, as are the does you don't want bred.  They conspire in the night!


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## aggieterpkatie (Jan 19, 2011)

Oberhaslis aren't readily available in my area, so I bought a buck last year for my doe.  I kept him until I was done with him (well, untill my doe was done with him), and then sold him.  I could have bred back to him this year, but I decided to buy a buck kid this year. I'm going to be keeping him because it's just too hard to find the breed around here.


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## julieq (Jan 19, 2011)

We love our smelly bucks and would definitely have one only if we had a couple of does.  We've had ND, Alpine and Nubian bucks over the years and haven't had any problems with them at all.  Our standard sized guys were all bottle fed babies and always very friendly and easy to handle.


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## PattySh (Jan 19, 2011)

We have 12 goats and two are bucks. We have a  3 yr  old togg/alpine boy that is really sweet and easy to handle and I just bought a little Nigerian kid to be his future pasturemate (he lost his little wether buddy recently). The little nigerian will also be used to breed my daughters two goats, a nigerian and nigerian/togg/alpine who is nigerian size. It is so much easier when you own a buck to get the does bred especially when you have a busy schedule. I check them at feeding time for heat and take any goat I want bred to Silas for a few minutes, then right back to their pen. Quite easy.


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## chandasue (Jan 19, 2011)

I'll have 3 does to breed next fall (possibly 4 the following year) and I'm really hoping to get a buckling this spring to breed them. I've brought my does to a buck for the last year and I've decided that's more difficult to get my does bred through buck service when I want them to be bred, on someone else's schedule and putting my girls through the stress of loading them up, rushing off for a bad date, and hoping for them to settle with one try. :/  I might end up having to buy and sell every other year depending on the smell but it'll still be worth it. Going this long without milk is pure torture.


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## swest (Jan 19, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> I have nigerians and I love my buck!  Yes, he's smelly and it adds a little extra work to have separate housing but to me it's well worth it.  He's super sweet and just as easy to handle as my does.  In fact, we're about to add a second.  I don't have any experience with full-sized bucks though.  I think in the end it's more of a "is it worth it to YOU" question since everyone's situation and preferences are different.
> 
> Edited to add: some folks might find it "worth it" to have a buck even if they only have one or two does to breed.  I think that depends on the availability of clean, suitable bucks in your area.


+1 We have Boers, 4 does and 1 buck. Everyone's got their own opinion/take on this.


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## phoenixmama (Jan 19, 2011)

I am planning on getting a buck for my two does later on this Spring.  We've done the buck service thing over this last fall and winter, and I've been a stressed out, frazzled mess over the whole thing...I feel like it would be so much easier to just keep the buck with the does over their breeding season and be done with it.  I know a lot of people want to know a "due date" and don't want the does having babies out in the snow...but we live in the low Sonoran desert, and it's sunny and in the 70s this time of year.

My main concern with keeping a buck, was the bucky smell.  We live in a suburban area and I wouldn't want to offend any of the neighbor's delicate sensibilities.  A friend gives her bucks baths when they start getting really sticky and smelly...so I will likely go that route to keep the buck smell under control.


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## helmstead (Jan 19, 2011)

I've never been without a buck.  Matter of a fact, our first goat WAS a buck, Herbie...


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jan 19, 2011)

They're stinky but irresistible.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 19, 2011)

i only have two does right now and since they are saanen and there is a huge, healthy saanen buck right down the road... i just borrowed him to breed my girls. but i want to buy some does this spring and since i want an ober or nubian buck i think i'll be buying one in spring too. and i'm going to be buying some angora goats soon and there aren't any near me so i'll be buying a buck of that breed too...  
it depends on if you have the space and time for a buck and if you want a breed that isn't in your area.
good luck!

and i've been thinking about baths for bucks to keep the smell at a managable level... how about pine? boiling pine needles in an old pot with water and using the water as a "cologne" for the bucks? 
i'll have to work on that


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## Ariel301 (Jan 19, 2011)

It really depends on your situation. If there are plenty of good quality, non-diseased bucks available to "rent" in your area, in the breed you want, then it might not be worth keeping one if the breeding fee is less than the cost of feeding one all year.

I keep a buck or two all the time and right now only have three does. I don't ever have a large herd of does at any point, but it is also very difficult where I live to find a buck of the breed I keep that is purebred, good quality, and healthy, (there are only two others in the county, one is the father of my buck and the other I did rent for stud service this season) so it is worth it to me to feed him and house him and put up with his disgusting behavior and smell. Plus, it helps that my buck is a sweet, gentle boy who wants to sit in my lap and have his back rubbed! (That's him in my photo, when he was a baby--who could resist that cute little smile of his?)

I also make my buck(s) earn their keep in the off season as pack and draft animals. I train all my goats to carry packs while I hike and to be driven in harness.


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## mossyStone (Jan 19, 2011)

I broke down this year and 2 weeks ago bought my frist Buck..... 

I think even with houseing and smell, he is going to be worth it. In the past i have had to watch the girls, for heats then load them up and get them to the buck ( the gal i used a few times wont board so it was a chore)


 Reggie is just such a sweet heart and the girls think he is all that and a slice of bread LOL!


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## Ariel72 (Jan 20, 2011)

This is an enlightening thread.  The answers aren't what I expected.  I think I'll let myself have at least one season with my one or two  does and then start looking at bucks.


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## lilhill (Jan 20, 2011)

helmstead said:
			
		

> I've never been without a buck.  Matter of a fact, our first goat WAS a buck, Herbie...


Except, my first TWO goats were bucks.    Hubby kept "reminding" me that I'm never going to get babies from two bucks.


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## helmstead (Jan 20, 2011)




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## cutechick2010 (Jan 23, 2011)

Ariel72 said:
			
		

> This is an enlightening thread.  The answers aren't what I expected.  I think I'll let myself have at least one season with my one or two  does and then start looking at bucks.


You do know you have to have at least two goats, right? They are herd animals, and one by herself would be very unhappy.


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## rebelINny (Jan 23, 2011)

I keep one buck at least at all times and I have a wether for him for a friend. I really need to though since I have 21 does 

I will have to keep one of my mini-Alpine bucklings born this year since I don't have one yet and need one for breeding next season.


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## mossyStone (Jan 23, 2011)

Being new to buck ownership i sure have alot to learn.... like mr stinky pee'ing all over himself  And yesterday i Saw him do something i never thought i'd see....

we have always weathered our  boys and sold them like that..... never kept one intact...

so much to look forward too LOL


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## Ariel72 (Jan 25, 2011)

cutechick2010 said:
			
		

> Ariel72 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, if I only had one doe to start out with I'd keep a wether with her.  Then if I kept any of her doelings and wanted a buck (which I will) I could move the wether over to be the buck's buddy.  I'm really looking forward to all the weird funky things bucks do...Just kidding.


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