# How do you do your breeding?



## allanimals21 (Sep 26, 2012)

I like to witness whats going on...I've in the past either stood aside and watched or have been hands on in either holding the buck or the doe on a lead.  Never had any issues...Today I tried breeding one of my older does to my young buck.  Had the doe on the lead.  She decided she was having none of what he was offering so in the process of trying to get her out the buck decided to take his frusteration out on my and hooked my leg above my knee.  I really want this breeding to happen but I'm worried she just doesn't want a young buck.  My older buck was such a gentleman...I've only had him here a month or so but he was just fantastic.  The young buck I've had since he was like 2 months old.  He's a great guy normally but he was just a rowdy @$$ today!  I've noticed him getting a little "hornsy" with me lately...I know that sounds bad but I mean he has been rubbing his head on me.  Everything I have tried has not seemed to deter him in the slightest.  

so my questions are....

1.  how do you do your breeding?  

2.  any ideas how to stop young buck from being and @$$?

If it helps at all the are Fainters.

3.  and my alpine wether that has been wethered since he was probably 7-8 weeks old is turning into a nightmare lately....being bucky with the girls.  He is 3 and this year is just being a terror! Ideas? Input?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Sep 26, 2012)

When I have several that I want to breed to one buck I throw the buck in with the girls for as long as I want. My Kiko buck has been in with the does for a couple weeks and I may leave him with them until they kid.

My Nigerians, I put them into a large kennel and let them do their business. I let him get the doe twice then remove him. When they go into heat in 7-10 days I put them back together. I also sometimes let the buck breed the does all three days of heat, for the Nigerians.

I'm thinking that your does may not be in heat. A doe will stand for a buck when she is actually in heat. It's their natural instinct.


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## pdpo222 (Sep 26, 2012)

When I had my Nubian buck we would bring the does on a leash  he would do his thing and we were done.  Then we would do it again.  He was a real gentleman.  But he was used to being handled as he was shown and knew how to act.  Now the pygmy I have has been used for breeding, just not by me.  His nature now is very calm, but I'm not sure what he will do when he's with the girls.  Guess I will find out in December...  Hope he just does his thing and all is over.


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## SheepGirl (Sep 26, 2012)

I don't have goats, but I raise sheep. The ram gets let out in the flock of ewes, but he wears a marking harness with the color changing every 17 days. The marking harness lets me know when the ewes are bred so that way we know when to expect babies. Also if a ewe keeps getting remarked then it clues us in if she's sterile or not and if a ram keeps remarking a couple of ewes, it means the ram is probably sterile and needs replacing. This saves 5 months of time waiting for babies to arrive only to find out the ram couldn't do his job and then you have a wasted season.

However, (today actually) I made an exception. I noticed my ewe in heat and I was soo excited to use my new ram so I brought him over to my ewe since I couldn't catch her and he covered her once. But then I realized that I want March babies a lot more than Feb babies so I took my ram back to his pen. He goes in with the ewe flock on Oct. 5 anyway.


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## ohiogoatgirl (Sep 27, 2012)

way we've done so far is:
dry off does
put buck in december (shooting for may kiddings) and he stays in the pasture with em until end of the month.
cross your fingers until may 

my parents  did it the same way for years. i dont recall ever having a doe not kid. though you have a range to watch for kidding this way.


i had gotten a bottle buckling in february (two wks old i think) and raised him up. this month i lost him to meningeal worm  unfortunately.
now i have a couple yr old buck that i'm keeping until he's bred the girls then probably selling him. he is smaller sized (a pygmy-nigerian) and a bit shorter then my smallish saanen does. he doesnt have horns and i havent had a problem with him other then escaping the pasture. which i fixed by tethering him inside the pasture 

last year i borrowed a huge saanen buck for the month to breed. he was ginormous and horned and not handled hardly at all.
this is the way my parents did it as well. borrowing the grown buck for the month and then returning him when he was finished.
all i can say is become the head of the herd. mostly with bucks its all about the show for the girlies/herd. once you've lost he thinks he is a big shot and runs the place. though usually i've found that 90% of the time its a show/fakeout. they are just trying to intimidate you into backing off and giving up.
if he is younger buck or smaller and you can then dont hesitate to knock him around when he asks for it. i used to have a good sized stick about as thick as a wooden broomstick that i'd take with me in the pasture. when needed bonk him square on the head where he'd be knockin another goat with his head/horns. this is where their skull is evolved to take a beating. dont knock his brains out but make sure he feels it.

with the buckling i was raising he didnt give me much trouble. i bottle fed him from about two wks old and worked with him plenty. rule one: i'm in charge... rule two: i can and will flip ya and hold ya down (like wrestler move style)... rule three: you have 5 seconds after the goat does something wrong to reprimand them, any longer and they won and will repeat it more. though i had to flip and pin the buckling four or five times before he stopped jumping on me. after that he always kept his feet on the ground though.

not telling anyone what to do. this is just my experience and what i do.
good luck


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## Pearce Pastures (Sep 27, 2012)

I agree with SHK that she is probably not in heat.  

What we do?
I plan out when I first would "like" to have kids on the ground, then count backwards on the calendar to figure out when we should put the buck in with the doe or does.

Then when that time approaches, we watch for signs of heat (swelling, moistness, or a reaction to a buck rag).  Then we put the buck in with the doe for a few days, watch for him to cover her a few times, and then put him back into his barn.  

We mark the calendar from the first day the doe was covered and then watch to see if she comes back into heat-so far it has taken on the first try everytime.


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## 20kidsonhill (Sep 27, 2012)

We used a marking harness this year and I really really liked it.  

I would say if the doe isn't standing, try again in a few hours , she just may not be ready.  Or pen them side by side and let him in with her every few hours to see if she will stand.  Most the time we just put the buck in with the does for around 45 days.  Normally they are all bred with in the first couple of weeks.  I try to write down what I observe, I don't always catch everyone being bred.  We used a markig harness on one of our bucks this year and that was nice. Cant wait to see the results and how accurate my recordings are. I witnessed half of them being bred and the other half I recorded based on the marks on their back. They all bred within 5 days of each other.  

As far as your wether, that is normal.  Not all wethers do that, but some wethers make great teaser bucks. I would use his talents and let him help you identify the does in heat, if you don't want to put them with the buck for several days at a time. 

Your buck being obnoxious, that is also normal.  You have to be prepared for things like that and never turn your back on him. I would swat him on the ear and yell at him, so he knows you have personal space and you don't allow that, but he is a buck in rut.


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## lilhill (Sep 27, 2012)

I always have a breeding/kidding schedule and plan my breedings accordingly.  With the doe that is due to be bred, say, in September, cycles, then she goes into the breeding pen with the buck I want her bred to.  I like to see at last one cover and her totally receptive to him before leaving them together for a couple of hours.  Then the buck and doe are once again separated into their respective pens and the date of breeding logged.  I really don't like surprises and want to know when the babies are expected to arrive.  When the doe reaches 140 days gestation, she goes into a kidding stall (which is on camera) for the night and let out the next morning provided her ligaments have not disappeared and her udder is not tight.


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## poorboys (Sep 27, 2012)

this year I had three does I wanted bred to one buck so they were all penned togather, I put 3 other girls in with another buck for same reason, If it's one on one, I put them in a pen separte from the others for a couple of hours and watch. I do mine in groups for lack of stalls, first are my registered nubians (older does) then a couple of younger Nubians, then I start going to my boers as I notice when they are in heat, so I stagger mine. Our young does which will be their first time (nubians) will wait till Nov-Dec according to their weight.


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## allanimals21 (Sep 27, 2012)

I was pretty sure she was in heat because she was flagging and calling to the older buck.  He's on one side of the yard and the young buck on the other.  I could be wrong...I will just have to watch her I guess.


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## Pearce Pastures (Sep 27, 2012)

My ND Rosie is a horrible flirt, even not in heat.  She will rub up and down the fence, wag her tail, and just tease the heck out of the boys who can't get to her-but if I put them with her, she won't stand unless she is in heat.  When she is in heat, she was good to go.


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## Queen Mum (Sep 27, 2012)

I have one doe who picks her buck and WILL NOT STAND for any other buck regardless, no matter how much in heat she is.  She is such a queen!  Her picture is my avatar.  See that discerning look on her face?  Yep, she is a prima donna alright.  She would sooner diie than let another buck have her other than her pick.  

All the others will just stand and be delivered.  Done.  Some girls are like that.


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## GLENMAR (Sep 27, 2012)

lilhill said:
			
		

> I always have a breeding/kidding schedule and plan my breedings accordingly.  With the doe that is due to be bred, say, in September, cycles, then she goes into the breeding pen with the buck I want her bred to.  I like to see at last one cover and her totally receptive to him before leaving them together for a couple of hours.  Then the buck and doe are once again separated into their respective pens and the date of breeding logged.  I really don't like surprises and want to know when the babies are expected to arrive.  When the doe reaches 140 days gestation, she goes into a kidding stall (which is on camera) for the night and let out the next morning provided her ligaments have not disappeared and her udder is not tight.


This is the way I do it too.


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