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Buck management

2K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  sealawyer 
#1 ·
I been researching trying to figure out the best way to keep Cody, my registered Boer Buck who is 11 months old. I purchased him from a breeder in Northern Florida about a month ago. He has since been in the general population to service 4 Does. I am almost positive all have been serviced and would like to make sure I am getting ready to segregate him properly. I built him a very sturdy pen that is adjacent to the general herd. It is plenty large enough at about .5 acre. He has his own stall in which he can get into whenever he pleases. There are 5 - 2.5 month old Doelings in the herd that Cody could possibly try to breed, so I want to keep him away until the time is better, like when they are a year old. Anyhow, I do not have a pen mate for Cody. He will be alone but able to see others. I think this is alright, is a pen mate needed???
As for his food. I have either alfalfa, plenty of that, or coastal hay. The breeder I bought Cody from was feeding him Noble goat feed and coastal only. He didn't get out to forage or browse to my understanding. His pen is such that there really isn't much for him to eat on other then the occasional acorn, leaf and twigs. Grass is gone till summer and so are the leaves that can be reached by him. So his browse is very low.
The grain mixture that I have been giving all of the herd is this:

16 cups - Noble Goat chow
16 cups - AllStock (10% protein)
24 cups - Purina sweet goat feed
4 cups - BOSS


That is the general mix. I have been feeding him 2 cups of the mix per feeding. I feed twice daily so that would be a total of 4 cups per day. I have tried putting the mineral free choice and he just won't touch it. Since he won't touch his mineral, which has AC in it, I tried just dumping some in his feed but it all feel out the bottom and was left in the food trough. Since then I use just a dab of Karo light corn syrup and put about 2 tablespoons of mineral per feeding in the mix and stir it well. What other nutrional requirements does he need??? And what I have planned is that good enough?? If I do keep feeding him alfalfa since he loves it so, how much?? Is the amount of mineral that I am giving him enough to keep UC from forming??

Of course he has water that is fresh enough for me to drink 24/7.


Tom
 
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#2 ·
I kept my pygmy buck by himself for 3 years and he did fine, he did share a fenceline with my does though so he could look but not touch. He also had his own shed and because he was by himself through the cold winter, I built him a box inside the shed for him to sleep in to keep warm...you're in Florida right? I doubt it would ever get cold enough to need to worry about him staying warm in winter.
Even though your boy is bnot touching the mineral, still leave it for him freechoice, you'd be surprised at how they just know when they need it. Mine go thru spurts of not eating it and then bam...next day the feeders empty.
The feed choice is good, and he can have the alfalfa hay as long as he's getting grain...it balances the calcium/phosphorus ratio in their system. Mix it with the coastal to help stretch it out.
 
#3 ·
We moved our buck out away from our does fairly recently. They still share some fenceline. He was very vocal for about four or five days but has been fine ever since.
 
#4 ·
I built him a very sturdy pen that is adjacent to the general herd. It is plenty large enough at about .5 acre. He has his own stall in which he can get into whenever he pleases.
sounds like a good area..... but sharing a fence line there is a chance that he can fence breed your young doelings..... or destroy the fence to get to the Does or visa versa....

I do not have a pen mate for Cody. He will be alone but able to see others. I think this is alright, is a pen mate needed???
As long as he can see the Does then he won't need a pen mate..... and they do fine... :wink:

His feed schedule sounds good.... Sounds like.. alot better ..than where he was....

Glad you figured out a way to get him his minerals.... What kind are you using?
Is it for cattle or Goats? I find ...they love the Purina goat mineral..... :wink:
 
#11 ·
Wow thanks for the info Liz.... I may change over to that...I am getting Purina goat minerals....I believe ...I paid a little more for it ...than the one you are mentioning.... thanks for the tips.... it is greatly appreciated... :hi5: :wink:
 
#13 ·
Jeffers carries it too...but their price is around $13 plus freight shipping. It's an 8 pound bag. Wish it was available in a bigger size, it averages out to be $1.13 per pound......Sweetlix is at $1.16 per pound, not much of a price difference.
 
#14 ·
Tom, We have gone to the Cargill Right Now Onyx cow mineral. the goats have taken to it better. Ger some and see if your buck won't eat it. When we want to add some AC to the feed mix we put it in a small bucket and drizzle a 20cc drencher full of pure corn oil over the feed and then sprinkle the AC over the top. The corn oil helps the AC stick to the feed and even provides them with some extra energy without all of the stuff like sulfer that a high corn diet has.
The Noble goat, if fed alone, would have enough AC in it alone to prevent Urinary Calculi.
I would find a wether or old doe to keep your billy company.
 
#15 ·
that's expensive? I'm paying $29 for 25lbs of sweetlix
How interesting.... hmm..... may have to check on prices around here.. on what is more reasonable for my herd..... :hi5: :wink:

Tom, We have gone to the Cargill Right Now Onyx cow mineral.
Cow minerals though ....have less copper and everything in it..... I was getting that for my goats for many years... until this year...when my goats showed fishtail signs of deficiency...something changed and I cannot figure out what changed.... :scratch: ....so.. I went to goat mineral from Purina..... it had more of each.. mineral percentage and much higher copper in it.... that the goats needed ..... They ate the heck out of it ...for a while... and now... are looking better and slowed way down on it.... I am going to have to figure out.... which brand and price is best for my herd.... :wink: :greengrin: :thumb:
 
#16 ·
Pam, If you check out the Onyx mineral I think you will be very pleased with it. I was a believer in Sweetlix meat maker until I tried this stuff. They CONSUME it!!! All of the does line up for it and many of them prefer it to the crystalyx tubs. It also has plenty of copper in it and all of them are chelated so they are processed better by their digestive system. And a #50 sack is the same or even less than a #25 sack of Sweetlyx mineral. Try it and see! I'm sure you will switch!
 
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