Baby buckling....when to band?

[arabianequine]

When should he be band or separated from the girls?

He has been trying to mount them all for at least a couple weeks and he was born April 10th....so going on 5 weeks old now.

 

[Tmaxson]

I'm no expert but from what I have read, they should be band or moved somewhere around 8 weeks. The mounting could just be a dominance thing. I have a little buckling that was trying to mount his twin brother the day he was born, they are two weeks old and have mastered it now. My first two goats I ever had was a buck that was 8 weeks and the doe was 4 months old. They lived together and didn't breed until she was ready at 8 months old. Hopefully others will have more advice.

 

[DonnaBelle]

We band at 8 weeks. Before that can/will keep them from proper development.

DonnaBelle

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

There is some controversy about ages for banding.

Its said they can potentially be fertile at 8weeks, so that can be a good age, but, breed is important too. Age makes a difference, as does size of the goat.

With the mini goats, its a good idea to wait until 3 months old because the urethra, the tubing the pee goes through needs to be fully mature, or you risk it staying small and potentially they can be more suseptable to urinary blockages from urinary calculi (spelling?). Its where they get a calcium stone in the urinary tract that can be painful and cause infection or even death.

You might want to just seperate in a small pen for a few weeks where they can see each other, but not possibly mate. Its worth the extra troble for a few weeks to avoid a possible health problem later in life.

Maybe you can call a vet and ask for advice on that one. Everyone has their own opinions and experiences. For my nigerian dwarfs, I wait until 3 months, just to be on the safe side.

 

[arabianequine]

I have an extra pen but he does not need to be band or separated till 8 weeks at a min?

 

[elevan]

Remove / separate him at 8 weeks of age (no later) and then band as late as you can but no earlier than 8 weeks. Males are fertile at 7 weeks of age but females aren't fertile until 8 weeks which is why you want to separate and / or band at 8 weeks.

 

[arabianequine]

Remove / separate him at 8 weeks of age (no later) and then band as late as you can but no earlier than 8 weeks. Males are fertile at 7 weeks of age but females aren't fertile until 8 weeks which is why you want to separate and / or band at 8 weeks.

Will do....thank you!