Meat Goat Blog

Breeding Safely: Size Matters

As we always do this time of year, we have been preparing our breeding plan so we can strategize what does we want to breed to what buck. While we try to think about a lot of things as we decide what combinations will produce the best result, by the time we've culled all the does we don't want to raise kids from most of our strategies don't get much further than breed, color preferences, and avoiding incest. However, the one factor that we always try to take into account is the size of the buck as opposed to the age of the doe. For example, we never breed our big 300+ lbs bucks to the kids that were just born earlier this year. These big size differences will either hurt the doe or prevent breeding.

For this reason, we often keep a buckling or two from our kid crop just to use on the doelings. This way, the goats will be the same size and, since the bucklings cannot handle as many does as a full grown buck, they only have to cover as relatively small herd.

How to Build A Better Buck Pen

Summer is quickly wearing away, and if you've been in the goat business very long, you know what that means: Love is in the air! This time of year, when the bucks are in rut, they can be very hard on fences if you are trying to keep the goats separated until a later breeding date. So what are some things you can do to decrease the likelihood that you'll need to redo your fences next year? Well it all depends on your budget.

To really make sure the job gets done, we'd suggest you try to find a maximum security prison that is no longer in use. While we make no guarantees, we've heard that they will keep MOST bucks in MOST of the time. But since MOST people cannot afford an entire prison just to house a few goats, lets get to some more viable options.

If you want, you can go all out using welded fencing or even guard rails. Along the highway, you will often see guard rails of some sort. (they are usually big strips of metal or cables stretched about 3 feet off the ground) These are designed to keep thousands of pounds of speeding metal from flying into oncoming traffic. So why couldn't they keep a couple hundred pounds of irritable billy-goat in a pen? If you set some guard rails up along the bottom of your existing pen, the bucks can butt against it all day long and probably won't make too much head way. And the good news is you only need it on the  sides that are in contact with the 'doe pen'.

Another slightly cheaper option is electric fence.You can use it in much the same way as the guard rails by keeping it on only one side. The only issue is dependability. If a branch falls from a tree or your grass is too high, the fence will short out.

But option number three - the most economical - is our favorite. When the bucks are on just the other side of the fence, they have contact with the does and are consequently not too detered by your puny wire fence. But what if they can't get near them? Our pen consists of basic panel fencing on all sides. Then we made an "alley way" between the bucks and does of about 20 feet so they aren't able to get close enough to touch the goats on the other side. Because of the big gap, the bucks are not as confident that they can get through (and they also can't breed through the fence). (for a diagram View this photo)

 

See also: How to Build a Goat Pen, How to Build a Goat Barn

Selecting a Herd Sire

Whether you get your buck by buying, leasing, or just picking one to keep from last year's kid crop, you've got to have some criteria and standards to use in your decision. People often ask "what qualities are important in a buck." Here are a few things we've come up with when shopping for herd sires.

Eventhough parasite resistance is important with all goats, it is absolutely essential when picking the animal that will contribute fifty percent of the genetics to your next kid crop. While checking their eyes with Famancha Scores can elliminate a large portion of the potential candidates, you should also ask the owners how the buck and its parents have done historically and how often they were wormed.

Next on the list is kidding. While you will have to take the owner completely at their word on this one, you should ask whether the buck was a single, twin, or even triplet. You cannot expect to raise very many twin producing does if you are starting from a long line of singles on the father's side.

With those things out of the way, you can start to look at appearance. If the goat is not aesthetically pleasing, you may end up with an entire kid crop of ugly goats. You should also, if they are available, look at the parents (and even grandparents) to make sure they don't have any hugely intolerable flaws since genetics can sometimes skip generations. Look at the general wellness of both parents and check the mother's udders to make sure they have held up well.

But the most important thing when choosing a buck is being careful not to rush out and buy the first one you see. This is an important decision since this one goat will determine the fate, good or bad, of your herd for many generations to come. So take it slowly and seriously while at the same time enjoying the prospect of adding some GREAT new genetics to your herd.