As I write this I am in the throws of buck service and it can make me question why I keep two bucks to begin with! Any goat owner with bucks will know that during rut, my generally kind stinky boys turn into filthy, breeding crazed bucks that fight with each other over everything. Since I have bred all of the does I intend to my boys had begun to calm down until last week when I added two does to the mix that are here for breeding.
Making the decision to breed and offer your bucks for stud service is not an easy one, nor one that I take lightly. My goats are an integral part of my life and I try to maintain their health and well being in any way that I can. Part of this includes, annual disease testing for CAE, CL and Jones, only buying from clean, tested herds of goats, and treating my stalls at shows like they are operating rooms, by tarping them and cleaning them with disinfectant before bringing my goats into them. Obviously, there are disease concerns about breeding to outside goats, which is why I only offer service to does that come tested and are negative for CAE,CL and Jones. I also only offer driveway breeding to does, unless the goats are in a special situation.
The does I have on my property now are from good friends of ours who helped us out two years ago when we went on vacation. Zoey had recently freshened and I wanted someone who was extremely goat knowledgeable and capable to watch her and her new triplets for any signs of mastitis, or illness while we were away. They watched her and her kids and took care of them in the best possible way, so I offered them stud service because they would not take any compensation for their kindness and hard work!
That brings us to current day where I have two beautiful gray does being bred each to separate bucks, This
has added a little complexity to our routine, but I think it is worth it for several reasons. Not only, am I helping a friend get her doe bred, but I am also getting my own herd name out there by breeding to outside does and doing it in a manner that does not jeopardize the health and safety of my goats.
If you have bucks, and are planning to offer stud service, make sure you consider all of the avenues that can benefit you as well as cause challenges to your herd from health, to financial to simply housing logistics. And remember, those stinky challenging bucks are half of those beautiful bouncing babies we will be seeing here in a few months, don't forget to appreciate them! Happy Goating!
Comments