Bucks: By 5 months of age, bucks, on average, are fully mature. However, since some individuals mature early, bucks should be separated from does at 3 to 4 months. At 6 months, one buck can breed 10 does; at 1 year, 30 does.
If your herd is larger than five does, service fees would exceed the price of keeping a buck. However, there are more factors than a simple calculation reveals. At plus pounds and very strong, a Boer buck could overpower you. Like does, a buck requires constant maintenance, and during breeding season, bucks smell. To attract does, bucks urinate on themselves, and the closer they are to breeding season, the smellier they are.
Because they smell, bucks are relegated to a pen out back where their maintenance needs tend to be forgotten. They tend not to get regular hoof care, shots, parasite and teeth checks, worming, etc. In addition, bucks are generally off their feed during breeding season, which can result in a weakened immune system. Even if you have only a few does, it is to your advantage to keep a buck, says Perkins, but not with the does.
Buck kids rapidly become much larger than does, and then they bully them. They chase does even after breeding season and even after does have been bred. Bucks constantly pester the does. Even though you have to keep another herd animal such as a wether castrated goat with a solo buck, it is to your advantage to keep a buck.
If your herd does not have an available buck, heats are missed. There is also the issue of disease. A borrowed buck will have been exposed to every disease every other farm he serves has to offer. Maintaining your own closed system, or perhaps sharing with one other farm and having two closed systems, is to your advantage. How long do you keep a buck? Then you buy a new 6 to week-old buck who will be available the following January and February so that you have new kids in April.
Embryo development requires no extra nutrition, so does should be kept on a maintenance diet until four weeks before they kid at between and days five months. However, the mixture of hay and grain should change before then. The genetic makeup of the animal also determines when puberty occurs in the female. Puberty is reached when the female exhibits her first heat estrus and ovulation. Estrus, or heat, is the period in which the doe will stand and allow the buck to breed her.
This phase of the reproductive cycle may last between 12 to 36 hours. The period from one heat cycle to the next is referred to as the estrous cycle. Most goats are fall breeders and will come into heat during the months of September thru February.
Does experience estrus or come into heat about every days during that period. Does in heat will usually display several signs to let you and the buck know that they are ready to breed.
The doe will bleat as if hungry or in pain, driving your close neighbors crazy. She will usually wag her tail from side to side constantly.
In most does the vulva will swell slightly and appear reddened. Some does will have a discharge from the vulva that can make the tail look wet or dirty. Does will often refuse feed or will decrease their consumption of feed.
You may notice your does urinating more frequently as they try to let the buck know they are interested. Boer does can be bred at 6 months. However, breeding the does before they reach the proper weight generally around 80 pounds can stunt their growth and lead to reproductive problems.
A common age for breeding is between 10 and 12 months. Having does reproduce too early can lead to pregnancy or birth difficulties. The most common complication of a young doe giving birth is that of an abnormally positioned kid. This can lead to the death of both the kid and the doe.
The average pregnancy lasts five months. While it is possible to breed Boer does twice a year , not all does will take to a pregnancy again so soon after kidding. This is completely dependent on the individual does. Some will be ready to breed and some will not. The most accurate way to determine pregnancy is to request a blood test or ultrasound. Goat breeding for Boers typically starts by buying the buck and does.
Experts recommend that first-time breeders start with a ratio of 1 buck for about 20 to 30 does. The quality of kids depends on a large part on the buck. This is the reason why champion bucks can cost several hundreds of dollars.
Make sure that the buck is not overweight.
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