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

[cmjust0]

AI...the main reason it's not widely used on goats yet is that there aren't many producers who are any good at it, nor are there many producers willing to pay a good repro specialist. As far as it killing does, LOL...doubt that.

Yep..

You could take the world's best goat repro specialist and put them up next to the ugliest, most poorly conformed, wormiest, funkiest buck in the world...and the repro specialist is but a rank amateur in comparison.

 

[savingdogs]

Well so far there is zip on CL and the breeder doesn't have anything not related or too large.

I just got hit with some financial woes so might have to postpone breeding anyways, unless my hubby can pull a rabbit out of a hat somehow with our finances. Anything that costs much is out of the question at the moment certainly.
By next year I could have lab tests done and go with paper in hand to shop for a buck. At this rate I'll be feeding these goats a long time before I see any milk, it looks like, and I'll have to make soap with goats milk from a can.
At least they are clearing our property........

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

At least they are clearing our property........

yay! then count it a success!

our gals got rid of most of the poison ivy that was plaguing us. everybody works - even if its eating weeds

 

[MysticScorpio82]

I have been reading all these posts and now I am scared to death to have a stud, and I really don't want a buck around (I only have 2 acres to work with, not enough room for a second barn to ensure my dairy won't be "bucky").

Take a breath, MS, the world is not as scary as it might appear on this forum at times! Millions of goats are bred each year and actually survive the process! (Not laughing at you....really. Laughing at....where this thread ended up.)

yep MS.... dont let all this flamflam scare you off. there area million ways for your goat to die - but most likely they wont. after reading all this you'd think they were talking about rocket science and not farm animals!

some folks do AI but its NOT a guarantee (but neither is natural breeding, i guess). depending on where you are it may be expensive or just hard to find someone. we live pretty far out and its hard to find a livestock vet for goats around here.

call around to your local breeders. talk to the folks you got your goats from and see if they have recommendation. call your local vets also - they probably know who's running a good operation. and dont rule our your local 4H club as a resource.

if you are new to goats (especially full sized ones) you probably do not want a buck unless there are no other good options and/or you want this to be a business.

bucks are generally housed separately from does - especially for dairy goats, they are big, and any intact male can be dangerous and hard to handle. and they stink horribly especially in rut. like, you have to bleach your clothes to get the stink out. if you only have a few animals the costs and extra work with having a buck may not be worth it.

Freemotion uses bucklings (younger guys) and then sells them after they are um.. "done with their chores." which i always thought was a good option.

do you research and do what is best for you.

Lol Yes I am new to goats. I don't even have my herd yet, I just want to be prepared and have everything planned out before I get them. I was just planning on just paying a stud fee when the time came, but it just sounds like there are so many people out there with plague-bearring animals, that I am a tad nervous.

How expenses are the vet fees (one average) to get the health tests done to make sure that my animals are disease-free before going to a breed and after? I just keep picturing thousands of dollars just to get them bred for milk Yes I would like them registered, but only for the purpose of selling the kids easier; not for showing (unless I change my mind later).

 

[ksalvagno]

It really depends on your area and what tests would be required. If all they want is a vet to look them over, then the cost would be a vet visit and whatever they charge to give you a health paper. My alpaca vet charges $32 for a farm visit and $5 for the health paper. If need other tests like CAE, CL, Johnes, Brucellosis, TB, etc then you are looking at a blood draw or a couple different blood draws and then different costs for the different tests. The TB test, the vet has to come back out a couple days later and look at the spot where they injected the stuff so you are looking at a second farm call charge for TB.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

it just sounds like there are so many people out there with plague-bearring animals, that I am a tad nervous.

HA! you would think! but nah. i guess the rest of us are happily goating right along. i think most folks post when they have problems instead of "hey look at my goat!"

but... hey look at my goat!

http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2010/09/nibbles-being-cute.html

you'll do just fine. common sense and research go a LONG way.

we save tons of money with our milkers so it totally works out for us. if you dont have your gal picked out yet, you might want to consider getting a goat in milk - that way you wont have to feed out a doeling and hope she's right for you.

its actually really normal to "test milk" a doe before you buy her. just make arrangements to show up at milking time and give it a whirl. most folks will spend time to teach you - and then you'll know immediately what will work for you. for instance, its easier for my husband to milk my saanen (big ol' white goat) but its easier for me to milk the la mancha. so its not "the best" goat - its "the best goat for you."

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Now now ... I heard AI could kill a doe.

Not sayin' it's true. Just sayin' I heard it.

I hope no one took me seriously here.


I guess I'm not the best at joking around in text. I DID hear that though. But I'm certainly not meaning to pass it along as info.

 

[Ariel301]

You know, I was just thinking it is kind of funny that it could be so difficult to get stud service for goats...but with horses and dogs, it is the norm. Most people who want to breed their mare or female dog do not go buy a stallion or stud dog for the purpose, they go to a breeder for service. Good places will ask for health papers on those animals, and you should be able to see them on the male as well, most horse and dog breeders don't keep a "closed herd" that I have heard of....why is it so different with goats? Do they just have more diseases to spread to each other than other animals? I'm not too familiar with what dogs get, but I know there's a goodly number of communicable diseases in horses and even some STDs, not to mention the danger of a crazy stallion biting or kicking and hurting the mare (I've seen mares with huge chunks taken out of their neck from a biting stallion! In my mind, that doesn't need to be a stallion anymore!).

My issue here with finding a buck to breed to (should I need one other than my own) is usually not so much that none are available for stud service, but that there are none of quality or my chosen breed within a reasonable drive...at least until my neighbor down the way got her herd, she brought in some good ones, and offered me free use of any of her bucks. Other than that option now available, it used to be more convenient for me to buy a new buck than to go to say, Phoenix or even Colorado for stud service, and then need to go back to get the girls re-bred if it doesn't take...

Most people here just keep a mixed group of scrub goats that are no good for anything but lawn mowing, or grade Nubians that make maybe a quart a day of milk at most while wolfing down the same amount of feed as a 2-gallon a day milker would. I get very little interest from advertising my own purebred dairy buck for stud, except from a couple of friends who don't really care what buck they use, but mine happens to be convenient and free...and yes, I make them show me health papers and negative CAE/CL tests on their does.

 

[savingdogs]

I see a nice Nigerian dwarf stud offered at 50 per doe within a reasonable drive although not close on CL. Is blue eyed and "throws blue eyes" is that good?

However I also see for SALE much closer for 75 a mini-nubian/oberhasle or however you spell it buckling. Couldn't I just wait until he has serviced my girls and then resell him? When do they get the bucky smell? Even if I don't make back the full 75 later in the fall I would be spending a lot less. Is that sort of what you do, freemotion? But a buckling from your own herd?

I see other bucklings for sale as well, that is just one that had some mini nubian in it and dairy type I see on there today.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

How old is the buckling for sale? Probably old enough, or will be soon.

My little buck/ling is old enough and has bred one of my does. He does pee on himself. He doesn't stink. Just his face is not as soft and the color is slightly darkened. I suspect he'll smell worse next year.

I originally planned to buy him and use him as a buck for several years. His behavior was getting bad and then I thought I might sell him or butcher him and just do as Free does. But with a combination of techniques his manners are FINALLY improving so hopefully I can keep him after all.

But yes, you can just buy a buckling, let him do the job, then resell him. That's one way to get the does freshened.

Mini-Nubian x Oberhasli sounds interesting to go with your girls. If you're worried about breeding them with a full-sized buck, can you find out how big his parents are? Mini Nubians aren't always so "mini" in the first generation or two is what I hear. I don't have experience with them myself -- just repeating.

Good luck whatever you decide.