HigherGround
Just born
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- Jan 10, 2011
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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
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.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.
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.Renegade said: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.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.
Donna
A big x2Pearce 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.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.
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).Renegade said: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.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.
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