Does most goat owners have their own buck?
I had NO plans on getting a buck. I have had goats for about 7 months and now have four does, and two giving birth anyway now (am selling the babies). I have a friend of a friend selling her year old buck because she is moving. So now I am thinking of getting him. I was always going to use a stud but with four goats is this two expensive? Can I use him for a stud to pay for his feed, is this easy to do? Here is his info any advice is appreciated..
LITTLE TOTS ESTATE BLUE HAIKU *B
DOB: 08/30/12
* BLUE EYES*
SIRE: MCH WOODHAVEN FARMS LUZIFER BLUE +B
SS: WILLOW CREEK LUZIN STREAK
SD: WOODHAVEN FARMS ZESTA
DAM: GCH SM3PINES TS VANILLA 3*M
DS: GCH SM3PINES PT TSABER +*B
DD: GCH/PGCH/MCH SM3PINES JUREN’S SUGAR GLIDER 2*M
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I forgot to point that part out! Rachel is correct. Although the girls will cycle during the year, and the guys will breed them, they (girls) still seem to have much stronger heats during actual breeding season and that is when the guys seem to smell the worse! (actual RUT) My bucks are only about 60-70 feet from my door so, yes we could smell them when we walked out during that time of the year, but I would say that may have lasted 2 months. And we did not shave or bath last year! So, it wasn't intolerable! This year I am going to shave, just for other reasons and then if they smell to bad I will bathe them too!
My bucks are worse during "rut" and even though the WILL breed all year round, it's been my experience that the bucky behaviors are more intense during peak breeding season, and it's significantly less during the off season.
That does help, thanks. I never thought about bathing a male, but I guess if they're good natured, there'd be no reason not to. I do have a question on "breeding season," though - since these guys will breed year around, I assumed the males would display breeding behaviors (spraying, etc.) year around as well. Is that not the case?
My hubby is pretty tolerant of the constant parade of chicks in the house, thankfully, but neither one of us really wants to add another significant barnyard odor to the mix. I guess I should find someone local and take a good whiff of their males ;)
I suppose they do Jill, but they don't have to smell bad all the time. Like anything else it varies from buck to buck depending on their habits and if their scent glands were burned during disbudding too, I suppose.
I have 2 and they smelled some for a little while last year but not as bad as I thought they would and not for all that long! The main time that it is a problem is during breeding season. And if someone really wanted to they could do things that would help like shaving them so that they are not covered with hair that is saturated with pee and even bathing them if they wanted to do that during the rut! Most of the stinky old bucks people envision are ones that don't really get the kind of care that most of us give our little brats!
My Hubby is one of those very sensitive to smells types with a weak stomach and they don't bother him on a daily basis! At their worse last year he would just make comments to them or about them being stinky. But he handled it very well and that is saying a lot. He has fussed way more about how bad all the chicks I have been brooding this year smell. If that helps you any!
Do the Nigerian bucks smell as bad as the larger breeds? My husband is also pretty adamant about no bucks - but it certainly would make life easier (in some ways)
I am so glad this was brought up. I have my two does and a wether, but the husband is firm on no bucks. He said that the smell too bad. I have no clue what I am going to do. I can take them back to the breeder, but I don't want them gone and I am still waiting on their registration papers a year later.
Thanks for this thread I can't wait to get more information.
BTW, I LOVE my goats! I am so happy that I have Nigerians.
I never intended to have bucks, either, but then the breeder I was working with dispersed their herd and I didn't know anyone else well enough to do a "driveway breeding." So I bought two bucks, and their breeder has become a wonderful mentor and friend. Plus, the bucks are sweet and easy to take care of, and they play together all day long. And when I'm ready to breed, I just walk one of them over to the doe barn (with the unintended does locked up) and arrange a date. No one has to travel, and I can time it when the doe is well into her cycle. And this year I brought him over two days in a row, just to be as sure as possible.
Plus, some people charge you several dollars a day boarding on top of that and if you need to leave them several weeks to make sure they are bred that is going to add up too!
You didn't say what prices are like in your area, but I charge $50 for breeding, so that would be $200 per year just for breeding your four does ... and you'd have the added challenge of getting them to him at exactly the right time when they were in heat, so add at least 4 (probably more) round trips to the breeder. After two years, that would be up to $400 in breeding fees, plus gas to go round trip to the breeder. And so on ...
Replies
Thanks for the information. I will start making my case. When is the actual "rut".
Now I just need to get my registration papers.
Thanks Rachel! Sorry Jill!
I forgot to point that part out! Rachel is correct. Although the girls will cycle during the year, and the guys will breed them, they (girls) still seem to have much stronger heats during actual breeding season and that is when the guys seem to smell the worse! (actual RUT) My bucks are only about 60-70 feet from my door so, yes we could smell them when we walked out during that time of the year, but I would say that may have lasted 2 months. And we did not shave or bath last year! So, it wasn't intolerable! This year I am going to shave, just for other reasons and then if they smell to bad I will bathe them too!
My bucks are worse during "rut" and even though the WILL breed all year round, it's been my experience that the bucky behaviors are more intense during peak breeding season, and it's significantly less during the off season.
That does help, thanks. I never thought about bathing a male, but I guess if they're good natured, there'd be no reason not to. I do have a question on "breeding season," though - since these guys will breed year around, I assumed the males would display breeding behaviors (spraying, etc.) year around as well. Is that not the case?
My hubby is pretty tolerant of the constant parade of chicks in the house, thankfully, but neither one of us really wants to add another significant barnyard odor to the mix. I guess I should find someone local and take a good whiff of their males ;)
I suppose they do Jill, but they don't have to smell bad all the time. Like anything else it varies from buck to buck depending on their habits and if their scent glands were burned during disbudding too, I suppose.
I have 2 and they smelled some for a little while last year but not as bad as I thought they would and not for all that long! The main time that it is a problem is during breeding season. And if someone really wanted to they could do things that would help like shaving them so that they are not covered with hair that is saturated with pee and even bathing them if they wanted to do that during the rut! Most of the stinky old bucks people envision are ones that don't really get the kind of care that most of us give our little brats!
My Hubby is one of those very sensitive to smells types with a weak stomach and they don't bother him on a daily basis! At their worse last year he would just make comments to them or about them being stinky. But he handled it very well and that is saying a lot. He has fussed way more about how bad all the chicks I have been brooding this year smell. If that helps you any!
Do the Nigerian bucks smell as bad as the larger breeds? My husband is also pretty adamant about no bucks - but it certainly would make life easier (in some ways)
I am so glad this was brought up. I have my two does and a wether, but the husband is firm on no bucks. He said that the smell too bad. I have no clue what I am going to do. I can take them back to the breeder, but I don't want them gone and I am still waiting on their registration papers a year later.
Thanks for this thread I can't wait to get more information.
BTW, I LOVE my goats! I am so happy that I have Nigerians.
I never intended to have bucks, either, but then the breeder I was working with dispersed their herd and I didn't know anyone else well enough to do a "driveway breeding." So I bought two bucks, and their breeder has become a wonderful mentor and friend. Plus, the bucks are sweet and easy to take care of, and they play together all day long. And when I'm ready to breed, I just walk one of them over to the doe barn (with the unintended does locked up) and arrange a date. No one has to travel, and I can time it when the doe is well into her cycle. And this year I brought him over two days in a row, just to be as sure as possible.
Plus, some people charge you several dollars a day boarding on top of that and if you need to leave them several weeks to make sure they are bred that is going to add up too!
You didn't say what prices are like in your area, but I charge $50 for breeding, so that would be $200 per year just for breeding your four does ... and you'd have the added challenge of getting them to him at exactly the right time when they were in heat, so add at least 4 (probably more) round trips to the breeder. After two years, that would be up to $400 in breeding fees, plus gas to go round trip to the breeder. And so on ...
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