I'm offering stud service but haven't gotten much interest. Right now my policy is only tested does and only driveway-style breedings. I get the feeling (from the little interest that has been shown) that people don't want to breed their does to my bucks because they don't want to go through the hassle of testing. My question is, how much risk is there breeding to non-tested does with the driveway method? I'm thinking there's little to no risk, but that's just my guess.
I am probably not much help. I had my does bred driveway style to other bucks and the buck owners didn't ask for testing or even ask to see a pic of them. They brought their buck over for just $40. This may concern some people as they don't want there herd infected my whatever the doe may have. So they either say tested only or they raise their price to $75 a breeding to cover it. Our neighbour raises over 200 ewe sheep (not much to do with goats) and several rams. We have a lamb we were wanting to breed and he said because he has so many sheep they can drop flies if anything is brought in. (he already looses some every month) and I have had similar responses to people that raise over 20 Boer goats... because they cant afford to loose any (with the price of over $200 a head) So they stopped offering their purebred boer buck as a stud because they couldn't do without there buck that is worth $400. I dont every disease they are prone to, but I know other farmers are very cautious about this around here. It is up to you what you decide of course.
Thank you. That does help - it probably depends on how much your herd is worth and how many you have.
The biggest thing is that the diseases I would worry about can't be tested for or usually aren't. Cronic pnuemonia, contagious mastitis, Clamydia, mycoplasma...These can be immediate and deadly. CL can be seen and you can tell the people to pack their diseased goat back up. Mycoplasma can't always be seen and can wipe out your entire farm.
The only possible transmittable disease through breeding is CAE and that's all I'm doing on my bucks now Who are studded out.
If CL abscesses aren't evident, can CL be transmitted indirectly during breeding? I'm concerned about bacteria being on the doe's coat or hooves and contaminating the buck or the ground. Not directly through breeding you understand, but by contact.
you also have to consider that even a clean test does not mean there are no issues. If the goat has ben exposed and contracted any of those diseases after the testing or if the antibody level wasn't high enough at testing to show the issue. There can be a false sense of safety. I would just judge the animal by appearance and keep them only in a area your others don't go for driveway style breeding.
The normal mode of CL transfer is pus to a weak skinned area. Without abcesses the disease is trapped in the lymph nodes. In other words it's highly unlikely that it would pass. Clamydia is sexually transmitted though, I would ask about a history of pink eye or abortions. I always clean my buck with clorahexadine anyway. First jump doe, second jump doe, third jump I clean his penis and sheath and we're done.
What are you asking for your bucks breeding fee? That could be an issue for some people on top of the testing unless test annually anyways. We actually just leased out a unregistered Nubian buck for $30 a doe. In our area that is reasonable for a Nubian. They are a wanted breed where I am. I decided since they are not registered, I will only be using them to breed my does as back up, so I figured I might as well make some money off of letting people use them for breeding. The does were tested, and were negative.
I've used a CAE Neg buck to CAE pos does for a few years now - I also know someone who has done this for ten years with a buck and the animal always remained negative. Unless the buck is too large and causes bleeding, there usually isn't a problem regarding CAE. Obviously CL can be determined if the there are abscesses, and although there are internal anscesses; vaginal would be extremely unlikely. For a simple driveway breeding, I wouldn't be too concerned about those two diseases.
$50 and $60, for nice triple-registered bucks with good dairy and show lines behind them! That's what I want to hear.
I have to say, if you were in my area and I was keeping my Nigerian doe I would jump on the buck for $50, Around here its outrageous for servicing. But, a Nigerian is not very popular and does not sell for very much in my area of Maine. That is another plus to my Nubians, they are a wanted breed.
What I do for stud service requirments with my Nigerians is to have a Vet Health Certificate be done 30 days before they come. Also I look over their Does for sores, cleanliness, and overall health apperance before my Bucks come out of the pen. I hope will help with some other ideas.
The Vet Health Certificate sounds interesting. How is it done and how much does it cost? (I would call my vet but he's not very friendly when I ask him questions. )
The Vet Health Certificate cost here $15-$20 plus a farm call charge of $45. My vet puts everyone that is going to shows. I have had up to 10 goats on one Certificate for the same price. My Vet will look at each goat for body condition, Verify tatoos, and take temperatures on each one. She also will do a visual at the rest of the herd for the condition that they are in. I know a lot can happen within the 30 days that I ask for, that is why I do a visual of the Doe before my Buck comes near them. I also keep a copy of the Health Certificate of the Doe on record just in case.
