When will he breed?

[KWAK]

My buckling was born in May, I know they are fertile at 8 weeks old... But when is it more likely that he will breed?

 

[AshleyFishy]

six months and you are good to go.

 

[OneFineAcre]

As soon as he can reach it.

They are capable very early. You more need to worry about them breeding a doeling his own age that you don't want bred when she is too young.

For a mature doe, it would likely be around 6 or 7 months old that he could get the job done.

When we first started out and we bought our first buck, he was 4 months old and I put him with 3 does who were 1 1/2 years old.

It turned out that he bred the shortest doe when he was 6 months old, and the two taller does when he was 7 months old.

 

[dhansen]

I'm always AMAZED at how the smaller/young bucks will find something to "reach" with, like a log or a bale of hay. The girls will just back right up to them. My problem has been that if there is an older buck, the older does always go for the smellier, more mature guys!

 

[animalmom]

Well, yeah, experience does count for something.

 

[CYGChickies]

My buckling went through his first "rut" about two days before he was 8 weeks old and he was mounting the does and coming closer than I liked to getting the job done. Needless to say he got his own pen that day. His sire bred his first doe at about 4 months old or so before I bought them together so about four months after purchase I got a crash course in kidding. These are all Nigerians so that might make a difference.