Failed first-time breeding in Nigerian does. Where did I go wrong?

[makingshift]

Hi, all. You guys have always been so helpful to me in the past. I'm hoping you can help me sort out the following situation. I have two healthy Nigerian Dwarf does that I took to be bred in early October, right when they turned one year old. They stayed at a nearby farm with a 6-month old buck for two weeks. The breeder got video footage of him breeding one of the does and personally witnessed him breeding both of them. I wondered if two weeks would be long enough for them to go into heat ( I know they have a 3-week cycle) but she assured me that just being around the buck all the time would "bring them into heat". Fast forward to January and I was highly suspicious that neither doe was pregnant. I finally took them to the vet for a quick ultrasound where my suspicions were confirmed. So here I am, out $150, and needing to find another buck to try breeding them again. I've been surprised at how hard it is to find a stud. I'm actually considering buying a buck, especially since they go for $50-$150 around here.

So my questions are:
Was two weeks too short of an exposure time?
Was the buck too young?
What are the pros/cons of buying a buck rather than paying a stud fee?

Thanks, all. And just for you photo-lovers, here is a recent shot of my two does. Kiki and Clementine.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Two weeks obviously didn't work
6 months is old enough sometimes
First if they didnt settle the owner of the buck should give you another breeding
Second after this time buy your own buck

 

[OneFineAcre]

Brevity of my answer is because I am on phone

 

[makingshift]

Thanks. I knew when I went with that particular breeder that she was moving out of state shortly afterwards. So I don't get a second shot with her.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Thanks. I knew when I went with that particular breeder that she was moving out of state shortly afterwards. So I don't get a second shot with her.

Sorry

 

[Southern by choice]

I agree with OFA!
The breeder should give another breeding.

The buck although appeared to breed did you see the tell tale signs? Arched back etc?

I would focus on also watching your does for when they are cycling. I have quite a few Nigies that are very demonstrative... as in they scream the whole 3 days and stand by the buck fence being hussys!
I have several that are not at all and generally just see flagging tails... they may or may not stand by the buck fence.

Also it does not mean both does will cycle at the same time.

When you can see the signs keep track so when you know they are on their first day you can do a driveway breeding instead of leaving them.

We own all our bucks because we didn't want to leave our does anywhere, we didn't want to borrow a buck and bring whatever on the farm. We are also tested and very bio-secure. I would always recommend keeping your own buck. If you are breeding for dairy than you will need to do this every year to have milk or stagger the breeding does so you will have milk year round.
We have 10 bucks here... no fighting amongst them, no climbers, no mean ones, no fence jumpers, and just big lovey babies! We have many different breeds and they all live peacefully together. Not always the case but it is what our situation is. The first year when they are in rut and you are new to bucks you will be like
You get use to it and that nasty smell isn't all the time. We hug on ours regardless.
Because they need bussies I would get 2 unrelated so if you retain a doe you have something to breed back to. You will care for, provide food shelter, medical etc for a wether, just as a buck but you get nothing out of a wether.

 

[makingshift]

I have had so much trouble being able to tell when they are in heat. Kiki was hollering all morning today, which is unusual. This is the third time I've noticed this (the other two times were late last fall, several weeks apart) and I'm wondering if that is a sign of heat for her. Normally they are very quiet and I made sure that she wasn't yelling because there was something bothering her (the dog, etc). The other doe, Clementine, has not even done this. I will mark this on the calendar and see if I can be on the alert for other signs.

It sounds like I'm getting a buck.
Should I look for one that is at least one year old?

 

[makingshift]

My goat "run" is right next to the house. Maybe I should think about moving that.

 

[Southern by choice]

A proven buck would be great but make sure you aren't just buying someone's problem. If the buck is proven ask for buck/doe ratio also check teats on him and ask if you can see some of his offspring.
IMO you want to invest in a really good buck!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Agree with all above.

Too bad the breeder is no longer available. I do think 2 weeks is too short. A cycle is about 3-4 weeks so they could have completely missed the window. When I first started out with breeding, we left our does with the breeder's buck for two months just to be sure they had the chance to hit two cycles.

Now, as was suggested, we watch very closely for heat and have gotten good at spotting it so we can have an exact breeding date on the calendar.

I personally have only gotten one buck that was older and it worked but I made sure he was from good lines and a herd that tested for CAE/CL/Johnes and gave him a good look over before taking him him. He was a fantastic buck and I had the advantage of knowing what I was buying---with kids, you just don't know how they are going to turn out as adults.

On the other side of that though, he was more expensive since they already had some time put into him and I did not have the chance to work with him and train him the way I want my goats to be. We lead train early, make sure they are handled a lot, and teach them to not bite or jump up on us---it is hard to break habits.