[nchen7]

so, I have a buckling. he's just over 8 weeks old. he's fairly large being a single. anyway, I've read conflicting reports on weaning, whether or not I should wean and how to go about doing it.

I would love for him to stay on mom until she naturally weans him...I mean she's already a little sick of him pestering her for milk and head butting him away from the milk bar.

the issue I have is the mounting. he mounts his mother consistently!! she hates it...head butts him every time. I haven't noticed her coming into heat, but I do see his penis extending however I don't think it can reach yet. I did notice that he was sniffing his pee...and maybe tasting it a little.

i'm just afraid that he'll get her pregnant over the summer, but I've also read that alpines don't come into heat until the fall, which means we have more time.

we live on about an acre, so keeping them far away is not possible. yesterday I walked her over to the fence while he was still in his sleeping quarters and the YELLING!

what do you all think?


btw - picture is from 2 weeks ago, but you can already see how hard it is for him to get under mom for a milk break. he has to be on his knees now.

 

[mjs500doo]

It's kind of up to you. I mean, if you want to keep him on momma for milk, you can do supervised milk breaks, 2-4 times a day. Or go ahead and wean him. When I see "red rocket" I separate and do the supervised meetings. Drink only, then separate into the buck weanling pen.

 

[nchen7]

ooh! that's a good idea! I was thinking of doing something like that, and keep them close enough they can see each other during the day, but not so close that he can mount when i'm not there supervising.

btw - "red rocket" is hilarious! my bf calls it the lipstick (for dogs especially). lol

 

[Scottyhorse]

Why don't you castrate him, and let mom wean him by herself?

 

[nchen7]

yes, I was thinking that too, but I wanted to use him to breed our other goat.

you see...on this island, diary goats are bred for meat. there is an agricultural fair every year, and every year bucks are taken to be judged, not the girls. so in that regard, it's not like i could find a buck from amazing milk likes to breed my girl to (unlike the ones many of you have here...which i drool over all the time).

i still don't know! i don't know about finding stud services here and all of that. it's rare that i hear of anyone testing for diseases. i asked the vet about testing the other day and it doesn't seem like they do a lot of testing for CAE/CL/Johne's, etc, and they can only test when the test strips/solutions are available on island. i don't want to bring a buck to my house with diseases or bring my doe to a farm that has diseased animals.

so tough being down here, trying to do the right thing, but having no local authority/person be able to help.....

 

[Curious]

I like mjs500doo's idea of having supervised milk times. I feel for you over there. Here in South Georgia, we have a similar problem...dairy goats are practically non-existent, and the goats here are just left out all the time to survive on their own...I mean, our own vet basically told us to let our goat die when it bloated because "that's what people do around here" so I feel your pain! You're doing a great job with your goaties though Don't give up!

 

[nchen7]

I like mjs500doo's idea of having supervised milk times. I feel for you over there. Here in South Georgia, we have a similar problem...dairy goats are practically non-existent, and the goats here are just left out all the time to survive on their own...I mean, our own vet basically told us to let our goat die when it bloated because "that's what people do around here" so I feel your pain! You're doing a great job with your goaties though Don't give up!

Thanks curious! i can't believe a vet said that to you. bad vet!!! i'm glad i'm not alone in this boat! ok...supervised visits it is...unless i find an amazing buck from good milk lines. guess i'm going to start looking and weighing my options....

 

[FarmerJen]

I'd be reluctant to keep an intact buck in a small area, if it's related to any of your does. Folks on here are ALWAYS talking about "oops" breedings. Bucks WILL get out. Does WILL get to bucks. I personally dont keep a buck (I have only about 1/3 of an acre, in a residential neighborhood). Though you are in a different situation, with a lack of dairy bucks. Still... breeding son to mother (by accident or not) is probably not going to improve your dairy herd any more than any average buck you might find on the island. In fact, given that linebreeding can exacerbate various characteristics (good or bad), you might be WORSE off than going with a run of the mill buck. I'm by NO MEANS a pro - but this is the general idea I've gathered from numerous posts within this forum.

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

As for a buck, have you looked into AI? I normally wean at 12 weeks, if they are bucks or are being sold to another farm/ranch/family, but I keep the does on for about 6 months. Unless I'm bottle feeding, then they all get weaned at 12 weeks.

 

[nchen7]

very true FarmerJen.

AI would be cost prohibitive for me. i'd have to pay fees for the export, import, then shipping (plus whatever duties on top of that), then pay to have someone AI my does. they're really only starting AI-ing goats down here just over a year ago, so it wouldn't be guaranteed that it would be done correctly. I think they've been doing horses for a while....

maybe I should just have him castrated and let mom naturally wean...

and my buckling is freezer camp bound...not too many people wanting pet goats here.

 

[mjs500doo]

If you're happy with your line and don't have any worries I would breed buck to mom anyway. You can always decide later on if you want to castrate or not.

 

[nchen7]

oh, I don't want to breed buck to mom...buck is for my other doe.

 

[mjs500doo]

oh, I don't want to breed buck to mom...buck is for my other doe.

Oh!! Hey, much better!

 

[Scottyhorse]

If you are wanting to keep for breeding, I agree, supervised milk times will be your best bet

 

[nchen7]

great! i'm glad i'm not home during the day to hear the cries. I can hear them before I leave for work, but if I have to hear them all day, i'd be sad.

 

[Scottyhorse]

They'll get over it after a while.

 

[nchen7]

how long is "a while"??

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

About a week, or longer.