What are the thoughts on this? I have only seen one breeder that offered "buck" service. Does anyone have any ideas on my luck with this? A neighbor has goats and she offered a buck rag for me when fall comes. My girls were a year old in March and I really want to have them in milk.
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With the amount of space you have, it would be best to put them in an area small enough that they'd kill the grass, and then you could feed hay all the time. The problem with having them in an area that is too small with grass is that internal parasites use the grass as part of their life cycle, so you'd probably have a big problem with worms in the goats, and it doesn't take very long to wind up with resistant parasites if you have to deworm regularly.
The other option would be to use 16-foot livestock panels to make a pen and move them regularly. WG4 does this with her goats and has posted pictures of her pen in other threads on this forum. Bucks and does really should not share a fenceline, because of the risk of accidental breeding, but if they have to, then livestock panels are the most challenging option for them to jump over.
Adrienne said:
At first I had not considered a buck, but in my area it may prove difficult to find a breeder that will provide services. So I am curious. my yard...1.5 acres is divided into 4 sections, and could be divided into 5 if necessary. The long front side of my house faces south towards the neighbors across the road. I have no neighbors on the short east side of the house, but it is fenced off to keep animals out of the septic tank area. To the west I have no neighbors either, but the detached "garage" that I have been considering converting partly to a barn is fenced off. The back yard is completely open but could be divided easily between the garage and the house down the middle all the way back to the fence that separates me from my neighbors to the north. With does only I had intended to keep them in the front yard and the dogs in the back. This would give the goats the option of their shelter or the covered front porch. My chickens sometimes use it if it starts raining suddenly. However, If I were to have a buck and a weather,would it be advisable to fence off the area keep them in the back yard near the garage since I tend to let the dogs out the back? While I am pretty sure this would be more than enough space, how much space do they really need? And would the fact that they could see each other through the fence be an issue?
At first I had not considered a buck, but in my area it may prove difficult to find a breeder that will provide services. So I am curious. my yard...1.5 acres is divided into 4 sections, and could be divided into 5 if necessary. The long front side of my house faces south towards the neighbors across the road. I have no neighbors on the short east side of the house, but it is fenced off to keep animals out of the septic tank area. To the west I have no neighbors either, but the detached "garage" that I have been considering converting partly to a barn is fenced off. The back yard is completely open but could be divided easily between the garage and the house down the middle all the way back to the fence that separates me from my neighbors to the north. With does only I had intended to keep them in the front yard and the dogs in the back. This would give the goats the option of their shelter or the covered front porch. My chickens sometimes use it if it starts raining suddenly. However, If I were to have a buck and a weather,would it be advisable to fence off the area keep them in the back yard near the garage since I tend to let the dogs out the back? While I am pretty sure this would be more than enough space, how much space do they really need? And would the fact that they could see each other through the fence be an issue?
Just a word on bucks I've had. In the 13 years I've had bucks I have had only had one that was really smelly none of the other bucks even during the fall had a whole lot of smell.
I also had Lightning out with the does in milk with his Olor/apron on(you can see a picture of one here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7648860.stm ) and never had a problem with tainted milk.
Seeing as how I live on 2 city lots so I can't totally have the bucks separate from the does they are in a stock panel pen but that is all so if I had any really stinky bucks they could rub on the does through the fence and taint the milk but I have never had a problem with tainted milk in all that time and the bucks I have had do like to rub on the does through the fence.
A very few bucks will harass the does not in heat but most don't bother them unless they are in heat.
Just a word on bucks I've had. In the 13 years I've had bucks I have had only had one that was really smelly none of the other bucks even during the fall had a whole lot of smell.
I also had Lightning out with the does in milk with his Olor/apron on(you can see a picture of one here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7648860.stm ) and never had a problem with tainted milk.
Seeing as how I live on 2 city lots so I can't totally have the bucks separate from the does they are in a stock panel pen but that is all so if I had any really stinky bucks they could rub on the does through the fence and taint the milk but I have never had a problem with tainted milk in all that time and the bucks I have had do like to rub on the does through the fence.
A very few bucks will harass the does not in heat but most don't bother them unless they are in heat.
Oh that's good that should solve your breeding issues nicely for you.
Melissa Johnson said:
thank you so much for the offer, however, I emailed the breeder I bought my goats from and she offered to let me borrow one of her bucks for a few weeks - provided that my housing area is approved. So that may be an option for me.
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Melissa,
I also live about 45 min. away from you and the buck I have is very sweet and mellow and I am looking for a new home for him. I have an apron for him so you could leave him with your does with no problem.
If you would like to come meet him let me know I will be gone the week of the 27th of June to 4th of July but any time after that. He is a very sweet boy and he doesn't smell he would make a perfect first buck. Mac's Rainbow SM
Lighting is an '04 model, so he isn't a youngster. He is just a rare fellow that doesn't have a strong oder about him. And I'm guessing if he were shaved there would be even less.
Bucks can really vary on how odoriferous they are. Some you can smell them before you see them, and some you only smell when you are really close. And a very few like Lightening have only a very faint buck smell to them.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Just a word about the smell of bucks -- I would not tell anyone that a buck won't stink. The younger they are, the less they smell, and even if they don't stink most of the year, they will stink during the fall. If your buck is outside, you might not notice the smell, but if someone were to put him in a barn, the scent would be stronger. If you put him in a mini-van in the fall, you'll be gasping for air in about 10 minutes. :) There are lots of variables.
If you want a less stinky buck, I've HEARD (but never done it) that if you burn their musk glands when you disbud them, they will stink less. I've never known anyone to do this or met a buck that had this done, so I can't say for sure that it works or how much it works.
If you're going to be milking your goats and using their milk, you should never leave a buck with them, as he will be rubbing against them and getting his scent on them, which will make the milk taste goatie. I'm not saying that he will try to breed them, just rub against them like does rub against each other.
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Melissa,
I also live about 45 min. away from you and the buck I have is very sweet and mellow and I am looking for a new home for him. I have an apron for him so you could leave him with your does with no problem.
If you would like to come meet him let me know I will be gone the week of the 27th of June to 4th of July but any time after that. He is a very sweet boy and he doesn't smell he would make a perfect first buck.
Mac's Rainbow SM
Just a word about the smell of bucks -- I would not tell anyone that a buck won't stink. The younger they are, the less they smell, and even if they don't stink most of the year, they will stink during the fall. If your buck is outside, you might not notice the smell, but if someone were to put him in a barn, the scent would be stronger. If you put him in a mini-van in the fall, you'll be gasping for air in about 10 minutes. :) There are lots of variables.
If you want a less stinky buck, I've HEARD (but never done it) that if you burn their musk glands when you disbud them, they will stink less. I've never known anyone to do this or met a buck that had this done, so I can't say for sure that it works or how much it works.
If you're going to be milking your goats and using their milk, you should never leave a buck with them, as he will be rubbing against them and getting his scent on them, which will make the milk taste goatie. I'm not saying that he will try to breed them, just rub against them like does rub against each other.
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Melissa,
I also live about 45 min. away from you and the buck I have is very sweet and mellow and I am looking for a new home for him. I have an apron for him so you could leave him with your does with no problem.
If you would like to come meet him let me know I will be gone the week of the 27th of June to 4th of July but any time after that. He is a very sweet boy and he doesn't smell he would make a perfect first buck.
Mac's Rainbow SM
what is an apron?? I have never heard of that. If the does are not in heat do the bucks still try to breed them?? 2 questions ;)
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Melissa,
I also live about 45 min. away from you and the buck I have is very sweet and mellow and I am looking for a new home for him. I have an apron for him so you could leave him with your does with no problem.
If you would like to come meet him let me know I will be gone the week of the 27th of June to 4th of July but any time after that. He is a very sweet boy and he doesn't smell he would make a perfect first buck. Mac's Rainbow SM
thank you so much for the offer, however, I emailed the breeder I bought my goats from and she offered to let me borrow one of her bucks for a few weeks - provided that my housing area is approved. So that may be an option for me.
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Melissa,
I also live about 45 min. away from you and the buck I have is very sweet and mellow and I am looking for a new home for him. I have an apron for him so you could leave him with your does with no problem.
If you would like to come meet him let me know I will be gone the week of the 27th of June to 4th of July but any time after that. He is a very sweet boy and he doesn't smell he would make a perfect first buck. Mac's Rainbow SM
Oh yeah, Sarah's buck would be a good one for you. He is a sweet mellow boy, and I can vouch for the little to no smell. I've been next to him when he was breeding one of my does and didn't smell him, and that was back when I was new to goats and hypersensitive to their smell.
I have a doe out of him and her udder is definitely an improvement on her dam's. Very soft texture, with nice long teats and she is peaked at 4.2lbs (1/2 gallon) a day on her second freshening.
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The other option would be to use 16-foot livestock panels to make a pen and move them regularly. WG4 does this with her goats and has posted pictures of her pen in other threads on this forum. Bucks and does really should not share a fenceline, because of the risk of accidental breeding, but if they have to, then livestock panels are the most challenging option for them to jump over.
Adrienne said:
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
I also had Lightning out with the does in milk with his Olor/apron on(you can see a picture of one here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7648860.stm ) and never had a problem with tainted milk.
Seeing as how I live on 2 city lots so I can't totally have the bucks separate from the does they are in a stock panel pen but that is all so if I had any really stinky bucks they could rub on the does through the fence and taint the milk but I have never had a problem with tainted milk in all that time and the bucks I have had do like to rub on the does through the fence.
A very few bucks will harass the does not in heat but most don't bother them unless they are in heat.
Mac's Rainbow SM
Melissa Johnson said:
Bucks can really vary on how odoriferous they are. Some you can smell them before you see them, and some you only smell when you are really close. And a very few like Lightening have only a very faint buck smell to them.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
If you want a less stinky buck, I've HEARD (but never done it) that if you burn their musk glands when you disbud them, they will stink less. I've never known anyone to do this or met a buck that had this done, so I can't say for sure that it works or how much it works.
If you're going to be milking your goats and using their milk, you should never leave a buck with them, as he will be rubbing against them and getting his scent on them, which will make the milk taste goatie. I'm not saying that he will try to breed them, just rub against them like does rub against each other.
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
Mac's Rainbow (SarMcC) said:
I have a doe out of him and her udder is definitely an improvement on her dam's. Very soft texture, with nice long teats and she is peaked at 4.2lbs (1/2 gallon) a day on her second freshening.
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