Finding the right buck for my dairy goat

[freemotion]

I wanted the Oberhasli last year, but the breeder wouldn't sell it to me since I would be selling it after, and they had put a lot into their breeding program, trying to improve the milk output of their lines for use as commercial dairy animals, I think. They sold me the La Mancha.

I do buy a new buckling from an outside source. Last year'd La Mancha was for $100 from the really good breeder (above.) I got $100 for him, someone else who wanted to use him the following fall for their La Mancha doe. Good deal for me! But if I'd given him away, I'd still be WAY ahead. He got two of my three does that I bred to him preggers and I got two nice doelings (see kidding thread!) I PM'd you earlier in the week as to why I think the third doe didn't get pregnant. (Mineral deficiency. Since switched brands and she is blacker than black now.)

You could go with either buck and do ok. It looks like $100 vs $75, and it'd likely cost you $25 to feed the purchased one...do you have to spend anything to keep him or are you set up for that? Or would you just toss him in with the does? I couldn't, as I don't have space to efficiently separate my doe herd. I have a buck/broody pen and the does are brought to him.

It seems like either could work. I personally wouldn't spend more than that with a four-teated doe, as that could reduce the selling price of the offspring. My Ginger's mom had one extra teat (Boer cross), more like one good teat and one double. Ginger has two nice teats. Her daughter is perfect, too. So it seems like it bred out here, but I will watch for it and not breed them to a Boer cross.

 

[savingdogs]

Now I see a very pretty black and white nigy stud, supposed to be purebred but without papers, looks dehorned like mine, for 100 dollars for sale near me. He has blue eyes and they say in the ad his babies have blue eyes.
What keeps me from using him for a month and then reselling him? Shouldn't I get at least a part of my stud fee back? I do have an unused shed far from my house and could temporarily fence it. I would not be out anything but his feed and if I could even sell him for 50, I would only be paying 25 each for the stud fee. He is an adult, would I be better off looking for a buckling?

When do they start to stink? Are bucks hard to sell in October?

 

[Blackbird]

I'm not sure what you are asking?
If you are out right buying him, I'm not sure what you mean by stud fee. Yes you could have him breed your does, then sell him for $100 having nothing to loose, except a bit of $$$ on food, if that is what you are asking..

Since he is just a little guy (well, mini breed), you should be fine with an adult.
In our area you can see goats for sale throughout the year, but spring and fall are more ideal for sales. My buck smells all year long, it just gets worse during Sept-December.

 

[savingdogs]

Yes, I should have said "investment" not stud fee.......

Does anyone know where I can see like a standard of what a nigy dwarf nice stud should look like....quick? I think I should be fine in judging health having worked in veterinary but does anyone have a good link for me or a nice photo? This one I'm looking at has blue eyes and is black and white.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I was thinking to myself -- if you are buying a buck, at least he's a relatively SMALL buck and dehorned, so not as hard to handle as some might be.

Downside is that you might be less likely to be able to resell him for either pet or meat. So he will be more saleable as a breeder (so you have to question how desirable he'd be as a breeder to someone else) or as a scrub goat. You might decide you like him though and keep him for future breeding.

No one here that I can find offers stud service. And I wasn't ready to try AI, which left me getting a buckling even though that wasn't my original plan. He's been a good bit of TROUBLE but no a big expense, and the troublesomeness has turned out to be educational. He's even showing SOME manners now.

It's hard to know how it will turn out. But yes, you can save yourself stud fees by buying one. For that matter, you could breed your does then offer him standing at stud, if you're comfortable with that. Especially if you keep him away from your girls.

 

[freemotion]

I'd consider him. But of course, that is how I handle it. For me, even if I gave him away after, I'd be ahead of the game financially.

Plan on keeping him at least 45 days so you can see if your girls come back into heat. In my inexperience (and the bucklings!) it took three heats to get my does to settle. First Mya scared the poor guy by bonking him when he fumbled, and Ginger's heats were just a few short hours and I missed the first one...saw her flagging at night, waited until morning, and she was done. Second time, he was already a bit gunshy because of Mya's horns, and he was quite a bit shorter than Ginger. Third time's a charm!

 

[Blackbird]

I agree, you would be ahead of the game. In the end, if all does well, you will get at least two babies from him, if not more.
I think since he is purebred, and pretty, if you gave it a while, you could get him resold for $100.

 

[savingdogs]

I got him! My family does not like him because of his beard and smell but he is a BUCK and supposed to have beard and stink and I love him! He has a very sweet face and I would love if he would pass it on to his babies. He is brown and white, kinda splotches of white, don't know what that color is called, and he has ice blue eyes. I'm looking for my camera..............it is somewhere around here.
He is exactly the same height as my does, so I was very happy when I saw that and he makes me giggle because he is so stocky and hairy compared to their elegant smoothness. So far we just set him up in his pen and didn't do much introductions, but they can see each other from way acrost the yard. His legs look straight and his hooves look much nicer since I trimmed them and he let me do it very easily, he is very tame and sweet. Not mean at all. Coupled with being small, we won't have any trouble at all handling him. I could pick him up myself, he only weighs maybe 75 pounds? Hard to tell under the hair and I'm not good at guessing goat weight yet. But he has been used to eating a lot, they said he is a big eater and his gut is very large compared to our goats. So he has been well fed!

He has those re-growing almost-horns, what are they called again, scurs? I need to research on here what to do about them. They are small and soft don't seem to be a problem but he did not like them being touched. Can I trim them off? Leave them alone?

If someone has ideas for me on how to know when the girls are ready or how to negotiate this, please feel free and speak up. I'm trying to decide whether to put the one in heat (Molly) in with him...she wants to be! I was thinking of putting my wether with him to start so he isn't alone but Molly thinks she ought to be the one I put in there. I'll be checking back this evening for advice!

Thanks guys!

 

[freemotion]

Pictures!!!

If you are comfortable that he doesn't need quarantining, and want kids five months from now (brrr!) then go ahead, toss her in! Why wait? Just remember, they'll have some stuff to "work out" at first, like who is boss! Molly is a youngster, isn't she? She might be a bit scared of him, don't worry about it. Nature takes over.

When the girls are ready, they will gaze longingly at him and wave their tails a lot. Sometimes this heat lasts only a few hours, so don't delay once you see the signs. Write the date down on your calendar so you can be watching for it again in 18-21 days.

 

[savingdogs]

Oh, they are both waving their tails madly, gazing lovingly, and prancing back and forth as close as they can get to him, I told my husband, like teenage girls trying to look cute primping for the boys. I swear they are showing off their tushies. He does not have papers but is supposed to be pure nigerian, they think he is something special.

He already snapped his collar off and went running to their pen and touched their noses so I don't know if quarantine has any point anymore, he came from a big nigy farm, the goats there looked quite healthy and it appears to be their business. They also looked to be part of a local religious group from around here that tend to be very honest and forthright type folks, so that gave us confidence too.

Should I just put one in, the one we thought was already in heat?

I am madly hunting for my camera batteries........found the camera now and took a couple. I wanted to get a few of my others too so you could compare them. They are different types but their mother looked a lot more like my buck, named Sebastian, does.

I was so glad to see you responded so quickly!