How to find the right buck for my does....time is now!

[savingdogs]

Okay, so I'm the city girl moved country in my middle age, who fell in love with dairy goats last summer, now have two quasi mini nubian does about 14 months old and I'm dying to breed them and get my first milk! Advice needed!

I realize the first freshening might not be much but I would like to make soap so won't need but a few cups and want to try the taste, etc. A safe and healthy delivery of something saleable is the goal. We were thinking smaller buck this time, mini nubian next year. Learn to milk our girls as we wean the babies, teach them about the stanchion, etc.

My does are actually 1/2 full nubian and 3/4 nigy mixed with 1/4 pygmy. So they are too small to breed to a full nubian and I'm having trouble finding a mini nubian buck that isn't half a state away. The one that is coming in heat (Molly) looks somewhat like her 1/8 pygmy heritage so I was thinking of breeding her to one since there are many locally available for stud cheap, one just a few miles down the road although he isn't particularly cute.

My other goal is to make my money back on the breeding and disbudding costs, etc., so I'd like to choose the right buck!~

Do you generally take your girl to the buck for awhile? I don't want a bucky smell here and don't want the two females delivering at the same time.

Second doe is a little larger but is double-teated so we are not as anxious to breed her to just any buck. I'd like to find something known to have good udders in their line. And if I'm gonna pay more, I'd rather it be a real mini-nubian, so I'm considering just not breeding her this year unless I hear of the right thing. She looks like a mini-nubian so I would not want the same possible pygmy buck as I might choose for Molly.

Would it be a lot to take on, having two females with babies the first time in the same spring?
I need a little advice too on the correct questions to ask someone offering their buck for stud. My goats were from a healthy herd whose parents were tested, but have not performed any tests myself as we are 100 percent isolated. Will buck owners want to see this testing is done? Or if they don't, should I be worried their buck could carry illness?
I've posted similar questions on here before but as the time draws near I realize I need more guidance from some experts I can trust, like you guys! Thanks in advance!

 

[freemotion]

Learn to milk our girls as we wean the babies, teach them about the stanchion, etc.

Can't help you on your main question, as there are so few available in my area that I just buy a buckling and sell him when he has had his way with the ladies. Or maybe they've had their way with him....

But I do want to urge you to get your girls used to the stanchion now, and not wait until you are dealing with their screaming kids in the background, making your girls all nervous and fidgety. Feed them on the stand and handle their udders, even wash the udders and as many steps involved in milking as you can recreate now. Make that stanchion attractive. It will make life SOOOO much easier later.

 

[ksalvagno]

I wouldn't use a Pygmy if you are wanting dairy goats or promoting your kids as dairy goats. If you can find a Nigerian Dwarf to use, that would be better. If you want to move goats quickly, then you want cute and flashy. So I wouldn't use a buck just because he is down the road. No matter what your girl, make it a good breeding so the kids are sellable.

i don't have mini Nubians so I really can't answer mini Nubian questions in particular. I'm not sure what you mean by 2 teated unless you mean that she has more than 2 teats. No matter what, she can genetically pass that on so while you do want to breed to a quality buck, there will always be a fault.

 

[savingdogs]

There is actually a nigy advertised currently for 50 dollars stud fee, and I was looking at him. I'm not sure what I'd call that cross to advertise however....Nigy mix?

We don't have our actual stanchion but we do practice milking type stuff already. We have a platform they like to jump on and eat and we handle them and do their feet there. Good advice to wash them and stuff too, thanks.

Yes, Ginger has a total of four teats, two on each side. The extra ones are small and high and we hope to still be able to milk her, but we were not as sure about breeding her as the more desireable looking teats one, Molly. However Ginger looks more mini nubian and also is a better calmer personality.
We are not looking to show, we want milk and to have the goats cost us as little as possible overall is the goal. But it is Molly who is in heat.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

Learn to milk our girls as we wean the babies, teach them about the stanchion, etc.

But I do want to urge you to get your girls used to the stanchion now, and not wait until you are dealing with their screaming kids in the background, making your girls all nervous and fidgety. Feed them on the stand and handle their udders, even wash the udders and as many steps involved in milking as you can recreate now. Make that stanchion attractive. It will make life SOOOO much easier later.

I agree...get them on the stanchion ASAP...trim their hooves...wash udders..get them some grain up there...just so thier use to be handled...its hard to teach an old dog new tricks...not impossible..but well worth it if you get them familar long before you actually do it.. Less stressful to them too. My girls were on a small wooden table my husband made when they were weeks old...and there very easy to handle...Thankfully! Good luck...Unsure about the buck question cuz we keep a buck...But ask the breeder who advestises the services..

 

[Calliopia]

Just offering one solution to the extra teat doe.

One of my old girls is a boer/nubian cross and has a terrible udder. She is a great mom though and takes in orphans easily and raises nice big babies that are all destined for the freezer regardless of sex.

This is less of a solution with minis but there are always people interested in goat meat.

This way you could still breed her and see how she does with milking, etc and not feel bad about putting possible genetic time bombs back into the mix.

 

[()relics]

Will buck owners want to see this testing is done? Or if they don't, should I be worried their buck could carry illness?

Yes...They should want to see a Certified Vet Inspection as well as negative test results for CAE/CL, at least, with the animals specific ID number/tattoo on the forms, that is dated within the last 90 days...Yes...You should want to see the same paperwork from the owner of the buck...IF the owner isn't that interested in seeing paperwork then, I would think the buck he is using for stud services isn't very valuable to him or it already has whatever you don't want....

There is actually a nigy advertised currently for 50 dollars stud fee

Honestly I wouldn't even let you into my pasture for $50....But If he had a nice buck and it is clean, that sounds like a good deal to me. It is substantially cheaper than keeping your own buck all year. He may offer a driveway service, which would essentially mean you put your goat in your own trailer and pull it to his farm. You unhook your trailer and leave. He introduces his buck to your doe inside your trailer, then when the deed is done he calls you to come and get your trailer and goat. He may charge you a couple of dollars per day to feed and water your doe. I would get a guarenteed service in writing so if in 150 days your doe doesn't kid you either get another service or your money back.
I would think the stud route may be the best way for you to go. It will allow you to have your goat bred then kid without you actually buying a buck. As you spend more time around Your goats you may change your mind or formulate new goals about your herd plan. Then you can look for a billy that fits your idea of a perfect billy....jmo

 

[Hollywood Goats]

Will buck owners want to see this testing is done? Or if they don't, should I be worried their buck could carry illness?

Yes...They should want to see a Certified Vet Inspection as well as negative test results for CAE/CL, at least, with the animals specific ID number/tattoo on the forms, that is dated within the last 90 days...Yes...You should want to see the same paperwork from the owner of the buck...IF the owner isn't that interested in seeing paperwork then, I would think the buck he is using for stud services isn't very valuable to him or it already has whatever you don't want....

There is actually a nigy advertised currently for 50 dollars stud fee

Honestly I wouldn't even let you into my pasture for $50....But If he had a nice buck and it is clean, that sounds like a good deal to me. It is substantially cheaper than keeping your own buck all year. He may offer a driveway service, which would essentially mean you put your goat in your own trailer and pull it to his farm. You unhook your trailer and leave. He introduces his buck to your doe inside your trailer, then when the deed is done he calls you to come and get your trailer and goat. He may charge you a couple of dollars per day to feed and water your doe. I would get a guarenteed service in writing so if in 150 days your doe doesn't kid you either get another service or your money back.
I would think the stud route may be the best way for you to go. It will allow you to have your goat bred then kid without you actually buying a buck. As you spend more time around Your goats you may change your mind or formulate new goals about your herd plan. Then you can look for a billy that fits your idea of a perfect billy....jmo

I found someone an hour away that will stud my doe for $50, so I guess it is the usual price. her goats are gorgeous!!

 

[()relics]

Will buck owners want to see this testing is done? Or if they don't, should I be worried their buck could carry illness?

Yes...They should want to see a Certified Vet Inspection as well as negative test results for CAE/CL, at least, with the animals specific ID number/tattoo on the forms, that is dated within the last 90 days...Yes...You should want to see the same paperwork from the owner of the buck...IF the owner isn't that interested in seeing paperwork then, I would think the buck he is using for stud services isn't very valuable to him or it already has whatever you don't want....

There is actually a nigy advertised currently for 50 dollars stud fee

Honestly I wouldn't even let you into my pasture for $50....But If he had a nice buck and it is clean, that sounds like a good deal to me. It is substantially cheaper than keeping your own buck all year. He may offer a driveway service, which would essentially mean you put your goat in your own trailer and pull it to his farm. You unhook your trailer and leave. He introduces his buck to your doe inside your trailer, then when the deed is done he calls you to come and get your trailer and goat. He may charge you a couple of dollars per day to feed and water your doe. I would get a guarenteed service in writing so if in 150 days your doe doesn't kid you either get another service or your money back.
I would think the stud route may be the best way for you to go. It will allow you to have your goat bred then kid without you actually buying a buck. As you spend more time around Your goats you may change your mind or formulate new goals about your herd plan. Then you can look for a billy that fits your idea of a perfect billy....jmo

I found someone an hour away that will stud my doe for $50, so I guess it is the usual price. her goats are gorgeous!!

I stand corrected.....I guess you could get your goat bred for a $50 stud fee....I wouldn't worry about quality or structure...and forget any sort of paperwork...Just breed her to the cheapest billy you can find...that sounds like a good business plan to me...You breed to a Fullblood/purebred buck that actually betters your line you aren't going to spend $50, you may not even find a breeder that will even breed 1 goat for you...But what would I know....and use that drive-by breeding scheme...I think you need a handgun for that....that is probably why it is so cheap

 

[freemotion]

use that drive-by breeding scheme...I think you need a handgun for that....that is probably why it is so cheap

Is that something like a shotgun wedding?