2 different Cashmere does, bred by our Boer sire.

HigherGround

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Born within 2 days single bucklings. We have never had only singles from any of our does. How unusual is this :rolleyes:
 

Pearce Pastures

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It is not that unusual, just might be something that you want to take note of in those does (the buck has nothing to do with the number of kids---they determine gender but the does are responsible for the quantity since they are the ones who release the eggs to be fertilized). If your does continue to produce singles, you might first consider their nutrition, since that can impact how many eggs are released and how many fertilized eggs develop to term. If their diet and condition are not in question, then it could just be that the number of eggs released in ovulation is low.
 

HigherGround

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Thanks, we have never had cashmere type goats before, and found singles unusual.
 

Renegade

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Pearce Pastures said:
It is not that unusual, just might be something that you want to take note of in those does (the buck has nothing to do with the number of kids---they determine gender but the does are responsible for the quantity since they are the ones who release the eggs to be fertilized). If your does continue to produce singles, you might first consider their nutrition, since that can impact how many eggs are released and how many fertilized eggs develop to term. If their diet and condition are not in question, then it could just be that the number of eggs released in ovulation is low.
A bucks fertility can have quite a bit to do with number of kids born. If does bred to this same buck continually have singles or require being bred more then once I would suspect the buck has a fertility issue. That can be anything from low sperm count, poor motility, deformed sperm, etc. etc.

Donna
 

HigherGround

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Renegade said:
Pearce Pastures said:
It is not that unusual, just might be something that you want to take note of in those does (the buck has nothing to do with the number of kids---they determine gender but the does are responsible for the quantity since they are the ones who release the eggs to be fertilized). If your does continue to produce singles, you might first consider their nutrition, since that can impact how many eggs are released and how many fertilized eggs develop to term. If their diet and condition are not in question, then it could just be that the number of eggs released in ovulation is low.
A bucks fertility can have quite a bit to do with number of kids born. If does bred to this same buck continually have singles or require being bred more then once I would suspect the buck has a fertility issue. That can be anything from low sperm count, poor motility, deformed sperm, etc. etc.

Donna
The other does he breeds seem to consistently have triplets. This would be his 5th or 6th litter. He is only three and still very vocal when courting his girls. These does are new to the herd. They are 3 and four years old.
 

Pearce Pastures

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A buck's fertility is rarely the cause of singletons. Each time a goat ejaculates, the average buck releases 2x 10 to the 9th power (2,000,000,000) sperm per milliliter and in order to be considered able to effectively reproduce,only ten percent of those have to be "motile". How many eggs a doe release and how able they are to carry those eggs to term are much more likely the cause of single births than a buck not having enough motile sperm to hit the 1-4 targets that are usually available.
 

Straw Hat Kikos

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Pearce Pastures said:
A buck's fertility is rarely the cause of singletons. Each time a goat ejaculates, the average buck releases 2x 10 to the 9th power (2,000,000,000) sperm per milliliter and in order to be considered able to effectively reproduce,only ten percent of those have to be "motile". How many eggs a doe release and how able they are to carry those eggs to term are much more likely the cause of single births than a buck not having enough motile sperm to hit the 1-4 targets that are usually available.
A big x2
 

Southern by choice

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If your other does are not having a problem with singles then I would not think it is the buck. If it is where all the does being bred are producing singles then I would say check the bucks sperm.
 

Renegade

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Pearce Pastures said:
A buck's fertility is rarely the cause of singletons. Each time a goat ejaculates, the average buck releases 2x 10 to the 9th power (2,000,000,000) sperm per milliliter and in order to be considered able to effectively reproduce,only ten percent of those have to be "motile". How many eggs a doe release and how able they are to carry those eggs to term are much more likely the cause of single births than a buck not having enough motile sperm to hit the 1-4 targets that are usually available.
The owner says it's not the buck since he has a history of breeding other does successfully. I just don't want to see someone in the future get rid of a perfectly good doe because of your blanket statement of it's never the buck's fault. If a buck were only breeding one doe at a time the above statement would be accurate but if he's in a herd situation breeding multiple does a day and/or a large number of does over time a low fertility buck will have singletons and does that don't get pregnant.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. As a retired vet tech I have seen it be the buck a few times.

Donna
 

Pearce Pastures

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Renegade said:
Pearce Pastures said:
A buck's fertility is rarely the cause of singletons. Each time a goat ejaculates, the average buck releases 2x 10 to the 9th power (2,000,000,000) sperm per milliliter and in order to be considered able to effectively reproduce,only ten percent of those have to be "motile". How many eggs a doe release and how able they are to carry those eggs to term are much more likely the cause of single births than a buck not having enough motile sperm to hit the 1-4 targets that are usually available.
The owner says it's not the buck since he has a history of breeding other does successfully. I just don't want to see someone in the future get rid of a perfectly good doe because of your blanket statement of it's never the buck's fault. If a buck were only breeding one doe at a time the above statement would be accurate but if he's in a herd situation breeding multiple does a day and/or a large number of does over time a low fertility buck will have singletons and does that don't get pregnant.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. As a retired vet tech I have seen it be the buck a few times.

Donna
It can be the buck (no blanket statement made that it can't be just not as likely as the doe, which I based on studies done at Cornell University, not on my own experiences).


Edited to add, I just love how the topics we talk about are read into the ads underneath the page---I just offered sperm donation by a fertility clinic :lol:
 
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