The Goat Spot Forum banner

Size of buckling ??

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  MsScamp 
#1 ·
At what size can a buckling start servicing adult does? Boer.

I do not have a herd sire yet and am not sure if I want to go buy one or not. Pennies are tight as this is our first year raising goats. Boer goats. I am debating whether or not I can sneak by and use of of the bucklings I had bought as a pair when he was a week old, to service my does this summer. The breeder I had bought him from said go for it. The buckling is a nice little dude. My only concern is that he is too small to breed the bigger does. He is currently still on momma. We did not push him at all and he is is smaller because of it. He is on full creep now, but he wasn't on creep up until a week ago. He is 3 months old and about 45 lbs. (estimate).

Is he too small? I will wean him asap and wait a while to turn him back in with the girls. This kid should turn out to be a dandy, however he is not registered although he is a fullblood boer.

Or should I just spend even more money and get a buck bought? That can service does now.

Keep in mind this is a business project not a hobby. The goal on this first breeding season is to produce quality doelings to keep back and build up the herd. I want quality first. I am not 100% concerned about papers.

??

Thanks in advance
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Looking at it from a business standpoint:

A buckling that young is just not proven. More than likely, he is not going to service all of your does, if he gets any of them. Minimum age I will attempt to use a buck is 6 months, even then, he is put with 1-2 younger does.

I would take into consideration the amount of money you will loose by the possibility of having several does not get bred and what you are going for with your herd. If you are wanting to breed commercial stock for slaughter, you want a proven buck that throws fast growing kids. His growth rate, although it isn't bad, it's not impressive either. Even not on creep, I would want my breeding prospects at a minimum of 60 lbs at weaning so that i can get optimal price with as little input as Possible. if he isn't growing out quickly, more than likely, neither will his offspring.
 
#4 ·
I appreciate the advice. It looks like I will be purchasing a buck. When we started this we had plan, but even with the plan we are still workign out the kinks. There are lots of little things that we didn't consider or missed. Those little things add up and hit the budget hard enough to effect some of the bigger budgeted items. I just keep telling myself and my wife that the first two years will be the toughest.

So, who has bucks that are near Southwest Missouri for sale. I have found one or two to look at but would like to see more.

Thanks
 
#6 ·
I had a 4 month old, yes 4 mo, service "19" Mature Does and "all", were preggo and delivered healthy kids. I was shocked and had my hands full.
So, if there is a will, there is a way. That is when I started in boers and had no other buck choices at the time.

7 months is a OK age, if you want to breed to a few Does. But make sure they eat, so they continue to grow. ;)
 
#7 ·
At what size can a buckling start servicing adult does? Boer.
While I don't make a habit of leaving my bucklings in with my does, **** happens, and the youngest buck I've ever had settle a doe was 5 months of age. She was a standard sized doe. I've also had cause to turn 9 month old bucks in with 26 does, and they got the job done. As far as the young buck goes, if you are talking about 10 does or so, it could very well be a viable plan. If you are talking about 25 does, you could have a big problem. I'm sure you know he will need some extra feed at that age, but it could work.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top