Buck that I am purchasing (more then likely)

I really like him! His color would be "buckskin" right? He is a deep and wide boy and his "toes" look real good!

 

Nice boy!

 

Beautiful color and love his overall look. Hope he is yours in the Spring.

 

He's very handsome, but since you have 4 of his daughters now I would just find another buck. I like his sire (Megabuck) but I don't know anything about his dam's side. I would just look for an unrelated buck who's even better if you can. Your buck should always be better than your does so that he can improve your does.

Congratulations on the 4 new additions!!!

 

That is a good point Ashley brought up. . . . didn't even cross my mind. You'll only be able to breed him to some of your does. That would make things a little more difficult.

That's the main (and probably only reason) we're selling Royal Blue next year. We'll have several daughters by then and can't breed them to him - cannot handle more than two bucks (yes, I'm looking at getting two new bucklings! :hammer: )

His dam's line is pretty nice - you can see one of her daughters (by another sire, not MegaBuck) on Camanna's website. Her name is Mountain Quest JE Aplet Magic - real dairy doe and earned two CH titles this year, as a six-year old! Only time I saw her in person was in the winter and she didn't look so great (fluffy and all) but she must be nice.

 

there are some things i like about him and other things i dont. he is a very hairy little guy and i cant tell anything about his front end assembly. His back end could definatly be better he is steep and toes out quite a bit. he does apear hocky but would need a rear picture to fully evaluate it. for a small herd that you already have four daughters i dont think i would get him. How long will you really be able to use him?

beth

 

It takes a lot of time to prove a buck and its harder to keep a buck whom you already have daughters from when you are waiting to freshen those daughters and need a buck to breed them to as well as proving other bucks with your other does? Sound confusing? That's what I was dealing with this year. I had 3 bucks that I do have kids from and 2 juniors whom I wanted to prove next. So that meant I needed to thin the buck population down. That meant, those whom I had the daughters of had to go.

Also, another theory I've worked with here too is.... say you have a buck. You breed him to several does and keep daughters in order to prove him as well as hoping for the best udders by the crossing. Next season comes and you have to cross the daughters to a different buck in order to see the daughter's udders. He sits on the back burner eating and taking up space but not really doing much servicing. What if the daughters do freshen with less than ideal udders? Then he's been fed a whole year and has to go. Along with his daughters most likely. But.... what if they do freshen nicely? I mean if you already kept numerous daughters of his do you still intend to keep him for more breeding? I don't aim to have my herd that closely related. So he would still wind up going. So for me it was a better choice to let the buck go. I mean if I do sell him and his daughters freshen well beyond my expectations (which of course is what I want) then I still have his daughters. Crossing them with even nicer bucks could result in even nicer kids and udders.

Quite the chore deciding isn't it? LOL This year I did keep a buckling from Faith. He's being crossed with quite a few of my does who are not related to him. I already have aspirations of selling him due to who I'll likely retain if I'm blessed with what I want. I may retain a new buckling from Faith next year. With River and Rev if I do keep sons out of them they'll likely move on due to the close relation to them.

I have come to a crossroads though. I don't want to rush and sell Rev or River. Those two would sell too easily too. LOL I already have a lot of people wanting River so that just tells me to hang onto him. So he maybe one I do repeat breedings with for the next year too. Provided his kids sell easily.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Hope this does help in deciding. I have kept 4 of Rue's daughters this year, just sold one though. And even if they freshen absolutely stunning I still wouldn't have much use for him for another year with the direction my herd is going.

 

Another very good point Ashley brings out. . . .

Maybe if your new girls freshen with really nice udders in the spring you can get him but if they are only average then try to find something nicer? At least you won't be feeding him over the winter. He also looks like he needs more rear leg angulation. He is very hairy so it is difficult to tell for sure.

 

I'm full of pointless trains of thought. Haha :ROFL: Follow your gut. It tends to lead you in the right direction. If you do have other registered does and need him then that might be a good thing. Do you have a buck for his 4 daughters?

 

I have found the most successful herds have a prominant proven sire, or several of them. Bucks known for producing quality.

Then there are herds who do not have that one sire who they count on, but several not as proven sires, their herds tend to lack the consistancy that I like, even if they have award winning does.
I do not use the strategy of trading bucks around, I want to find the "one" who I base my herd on. That is my personal strategy.

That being said you DO have to see daughters mature and freshen to decide who is worth being your herd "king". LOL, I ramble don't I?!?

 

Well I've also seen farms who hang onto bucks and use them over and over every year and I see their daughters and they believe they're quality but they're not near as nice as they paint them up to be. Champion buck too but he's not worth the keep if he can't produce daughters better than he is.

I want to improve, improve and improve. If you use the same buck all the time you will never get any better unless you inbreed/line breed heavily. I am not against using some linebreeding, but I've seen some farms that are just inbred. Gorgeous animals though, but makes you wonder what the personalities are like in those animals. LOL

 

I like the looks of his daughters, of course you won't be using him on them, but with your other does, he is a fuzzy guy, but most don't clip their bucks at all, I never did til this past year. Once his daughters freshen, you will have a better idea of who to breed him with...to improve different qualities and of course, hopefully you'll have Dirt Daughters to breed and even out those qualities. You won't know how ANY of those kids will turn out unless they are concieved and if you choose not to get him because of one "fault" or another, you will never know. Besides, if you end up with pet quality kids, you can sell them as that and have the money to get a "better" buck if you want to or are able to.

 

Exactly! I say a buck ain't worth a penny unless he produces nice daughters. I guess I want the happy medium, a prominant buck and other bucks to cross out with.