Keeping Bucks

[Missmonty]

Hello all:

Forgive me if this question is a "dumb question" we are looking into getting goats this spring and we are considering breeding. A big reason is we want a few goats to help us manage the property! (Well that's the excuse I'm telling my husband LOL)

So I understand that when a doe is pregnant she should be separated from the buck. So for those who keep bucks do you keep him alone or how do you handle that? I wouldn't want him to be lonely so would getting a wether be good?

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Rather than keeping a buck and wether, consider keeping two bucks.

I don't like keeping bucks alone, they do better with a companion. When they are not rutting, our bucks LOVE each other and really enjoy the companionship of another buck.

Some bucks can be pretty terrible to wethers, constantly "using" and harassing them during rut. If you have another buck, it is "fair game" and they'll defend themselves. This would allow you to retain kids and already have a buck to breed too.
If you are paying for two males, it may as well be some that can produce for you. It costs about the same for feeding and management.

 

[SonRise Acres]

We do two bucks as we don’t breed father to offspring. This allows Buck A to mate with Buck B’s offspring and Vice versa.

 

[Southern by choice]

A big reason is we want a few goats to help us manage the property! (Well that's the excuse I'm telling my husband LOL)

I agree with the above posters but I would like to go back to your first statement.
How big is the property?
What are you trying to manage?

Wethers are best suited for this. No need for breeding animals. There is a great deal more work and much more consideration in doing so.

 

[GLENMAR]

My advise is start out with 2 wethers. See if they stay in your fence, and get used to goats first. Baby goats are cute, but a lot can go wrong that requires experience to care for.

 

[Missmonty]

Rather than keeping a buck and wether, consider keeping two bucks.

I don't like keeping bucks alone, they do better with a companion. When they are not rutting, our bucks LOVE each other and really enjoy the companionship of another buck.

Some bucks can be pretty terrible to wethers, constantly "using" and harassing them during rut. If you have another buck, it is "fair game" and they'll defend themselves. This would allow you to retain kids and already have a buck to breed too.
If you are paying for two males, it may as well be some that can produce for you. It costs about the same for feeding and management.

We do two bucks as we don’t breed father to offspring. This allows Buck A to mate with Buck B’s offspring and Vice versa.

I like this idea, we have the space we could easily separate them if needed as well into their own paddocks if worst came to worst. Long term goals is to have a nice little breeding program going for the time my kids reach 4H age (the oldest is only a couple years off). I love goats and always have, I've been planning to add them since we bought the property 3+ years ago. I just would rather do things slow and steady and research. We are finally getting to the point I should be adding my first few goats this spring as we finished fencing this fall. So now I'm looking into the smaller details

I agree with the above posters but I would like to go back to your first statement.
How big is the property?
What are you trying to manage?

Wethers are best suited for this. No need for breeding animals. There is a great deal more work and much more consideration in doing so.

We have 4 acres we own, super over grown around the edges. Roughly 2 acres fenced pasture and a couple stalls for bad weather (we actually have multiple out buildings on the property so tons of space for more stalls as we grow). We plan to get into showing and 4H down the road. I've bred and owned a variety of animals over the years.

My advise is start out with 2 wethers. See if they stay in your fence, and get used to goats first. Baby goats are cute, but a lot can go wrong that requires experience to care for.

We are use to building fences that are animal proof. We have Siberian Huskies (not anywhere near where the goats will be) and we literally had to build a husky prison in the backyard! So I'm use to animals trying to go through, over, and under the fence!

The main pasture is fenced with climb proof horse fencing and we plan to re-enforce it as needed but its pretty sturdy already and we're considering small breed goats.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I have 8 bucks at this time.

 

[Missmonty]

I have 8 bucks at this time.

I'm glad to know it can be done! I think I am use to stallion horses and intact male dogs that are just jerks around other intact males. I definitely have some space I can always separate as needed down the road.

Do you guys think it will have better luck with raising two together versus getting adults? I don't really want siblings but getting two younger ones around the same age and size that way they grow up together.

 

[Missmonty]

Oh and I meant to add, we are looking at getting into breeding so not getting a buck and just getting wethers will be counter productive for us

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Do you guys think it will have better luck with raising two together versus getting adults? I don't really want siblings but getting two younger ones around the same age and size that way they grow up together.

I would get two bucklings and raise them up together. Right now we only have 4 mature bucks, but we used to have a “buck herd” with 15+ bucks. They got along great, but we always brought in kids to raise up with the other bucks. We found the mature bucks were always more accepting of younger goats, rather than another mature buck.

I think Nigerian bucks are by far easiest breed of buck to own.