"The Buck Effect"

 I've always wondered why some does, including mine, go into apparent heat and get bred, then come back into heat five days later.  This may be old news to other people, but this is the first time I've seen this theory.

Quoted from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension webpage - 

In goats, estrus can be induced with the strategic exposure of anestrus does to intact males. This response is dependent on the depth of seasonal anestrus and associated with a first ovulation in two to three days after the introduction of the buck. The first ovulation is usually silent and of low fertility. The second ovulation five days later is accompanied by a fertile estrus. The response to the male effect is influenced by the sexual aggressiveness of the buck, the intensity of the stimulation and the body condition of the does. Immediate contact results in a greater response than fence-line contact or intermittent contact. The pheromores responsible to induce estrus are present in buck hair, but not in urine, and are not associated with buck odor during the breeding season.

So what I'm gleaning from this is that when breeding season comes around this year, I should just plan on taking my doe back to the buck 5 days later as a matter of routine. Or expose her to a buck rag during heat and then wait for the five-days-later heat? 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

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  • You are lucky to have such considerate does! I don't currently have a buck so getting my short-cycling doe bred was a challenge since the buck was 100 miles away. I finally just left her there for four days when she was in heat. That seemed to do the trick because she's due in about 2 weeks. I've been speculating how much the presence of a buck makes a difference with regard to fertility in does that don't conceive easily. I'm thinking I might keep a buck out of my other doe (if she has one) for the sake of easier breeding. 

    I just find it all very interesting and wonder how much of a difference keeping the process as natural as possible affects the outcomes. 
    Emily said:

    So far all but one of my does have gone back into heat 5 days later. People in my area (Florida) usually call it short-cycling. It seems pretty common down here, especially with first fresheners. If I were you I'd breed them on the first heat and just wait to see if they start showing signs again. If they show signs of heat 5 days later I would absolutely take them back to the buck. For me, the second cycle has been very obvious. Both does that were rebred on their second cycle freshened exactly 145 days later, so I guess I just have very punctual does lol. 

  • So far all but one of my does have gone back into heat 5 days later. People in my area (Florida) usually call it short-cycling. It seems pretty common down here, especially with first fresheners. If I were you I'd breed them on the first heat and just wait to see if they start showing signs again. If they show signs of heat 5 days later I would absolutely take them back to the buck. For me, the second cycle has been very obvious. Both does that were rebred on their second cycle freshened exactly 145 days later, so I guess I just have very punctual does lol. 


  • The NC Coop Ext. only has information on meat goats, because they're a big thing out here. So perhaps they're referring to meat goats only. That's why I posted this, because it confused me too. I've been looking for more information on the bit about the buck hair. I'll let you know if I found out anything more.
    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    Based on what this says, a buck rag would not be worth anything because they're saying it's the buck's hair, not his smell that causes ovulation. This is the first time I've heard this. It is definitely not true that all does come back into heat five days after being bred. Most of my does do not. What's the context of this passage? It kind of sounds like they're talking about getting does pregnant off-season -- "This response is dependent on the depth of seasonal anestrus ...."

  • Based on what this says, a buck rag would not be worth anything because they're saying it's the buck's hair, not his smell that causes ovulation. This is the first time I've heard this. It is definitely not true that all does come back into heat five days after being bred. Most of my does do not. What's the context of this passage? It kind of sounds like they're talking about getting does pregnant off-season -- "This response is dependent on the depth of seasonal anestrus ...."

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