Bucks and Breeding

Everyone has their preferred season for goat breeding. While many of our breeders may already find kids on the ground, new breeders and ones starting this spring might have a couple questions. Breeding, while it could simply look like just pairing your bucks and does together, can be a bit more complicated than that.

Focusing more on our bucks over our does in this reading, performance and age is key. Bucks are typically fertile and able to get a female pregnant around 4 months of age, but allowing them to grow for some time can only provide benefits for your ranch. The older the goat, the more does he can service, and the better idea you have on confirmation, personality, and body type.

With an endangered breed, confirmation is key, and it's important to pair strong structures and accurate standards when choosing who to pair together. Sometimes what a doe lacks, a buck can make up for and vice versa. Careful selections to avoid high inbreeding coefficients within a smaller population can also be important in adding to our genetic diversity and expansion in the breed.

There are a couple of options when it comes to actually breeding. Some bucks are used simply to collect semen from for AI, some breeders prefer to do 'date night' pairings when they notice their doe in "standing heat" (when she is most receptive), or the more popular option is putting together breeding groups where your buck can spend a few heat cycles to give multiple chances for success. Whatever you choose, and for whatever reason, can all depend on your farm function as well as your buck.

So, how do you know if your buck is in rut and ready for a breeding season?

First off, the smell can give them away. The stinkier they are, typically the more attractive they are. They're known to pee on their beards and the backs of their legs to spread as much of their scent around as they can. Not a lot of us are huge fans of the musky scent, or at least, us humans. Does seem to love it. Secondarily, they'll display some more unique characteristics you might not see with other boys or human interactions. They like to babble, flap their lips, stick their tongues out at the girls in their best attempt to woo them. They might also paw at them to get more attention. While most of these interactions and attempts at flirting go fairly well, keep an eye on your herd. Some does and bucks simply do not get along despite the advances, and it can lead to fights. While some can be small spats of a doe saying she isn't ready, it can escalate if there's a bit too much tension. Lastly, you might not fully know if your buck is getting the job done. They make harnesses with chalk that can mark the does when they're mounted, but sometimes you never see the job get done. It's quick, and some goats are just a little more shy about it than others. This is is where each method of breeding has it's pro/con list! For most of our folks who do breeding groups, you just mark 150 days out from the first estimated breeding to the day you separate your buck for kidding season.

Do bucks need any extra care during breeding season?

Not typically, but it can depend. The extra energy can burn off calories, and large breeding groups may need boosted feed to not only keep that up, but aid in the possible weight loss. Healthy body conditions mean healthy breeding and less complications. Keep an eye on FAMACHAs as well as body conditions throughout your breeding season. While bucks don't typically need alfalfa or any sort of grain, it might be a good boost to keep them in shape. Just assure there's ammonium chloride in the feed to avoid urinary issues with the boys.

Anything else to know? Well, it's simple and it isn't. Goats are good at following instinct, and we can work with them to continue to grow our populations. With that instinct comes the benefits of, often, easy breeding. It can also mean some struggles if you plan to pair with multiple bucks - competition runs fierce - or your sire is a bit younger. Inexperience and denial can be a bummer, so setting them up for success the first go make every year going forward even easier.

Overall, just remember the 'why' for all of this, and let it aid in driving you on choosing a sire (or multiple) for your herd! Diversity, confirmation, and great personalities help us continue to expand and grow. Good luck in your season, and may your boys do a good job!