How bad is the smell?

I would spend what you would have paid for your buck, on a trailer. It doesn't need to be fancy, a truck bed trailer with a canopy is light enough to be towed by a car, and can be picked up for $200-$500 on Craigslist. I think you would be happier without the buck. Then if you want to keep your first doe kid, you can.
Stud service. My kids 4H leader charges the kids in the club $25 for buck service and $60 to anyone not in the club. That is way cheaper than keeping a buck with only 2 does. Talk to the breeder you get your does from, see if they offer services.

I went to a restaurant with some friends. We were discussing the taste of goat cheese and how some have a stronger taste than others. My friend gave me a taste of her cheese and I said (while the waitress was standing there) it tastes like the smell of my buck. The waitress walked off laughing so hard. The other friends told me it sounded like I said, "it tastes like the smell of my butt". I wonder what the waitress told the people in the kitchen.

The woman I'm getting my does from is getting out of goats and selling off all her stock (except for a few old does, who she told me have earned their retirement), so that's not an option. She also lives 4 hours one way from me, so it would be a heck of a haul!

I've told both my close neighbors that I have rabbits and I'm getting chickens and goats, neither of them said anything about that - of course I made sure they knew that I had contacted the county and that I knew the zoning regs . And heck, they knew when they moved here that the county allows goats, so they really can't tell me not to get them.

When I called the zoning people for the county they didn't say anything about no bucks/roosters allowed. In fact, one of my neighbors has laying hens, and he has a couple of roosters out with his. He's planning on eating at least one of them, from what he told me, but hadn't decided if he was going to keep one or not.

I guess I'll play it by ear and see how things go....

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Miniature Bull Terriers
www.PatronusMiniBulls.com
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Maybe when you buy a buck you should find a two year old one that the owners know smell enough to breed, but don't smell so much that your neighbors would smell it too.

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It is pretty bad at my place right now. I have 9 does all going into heat and the boys want them to know they are there for them. Now my boy that is a year barely smells, it is the older ones. I think it gets worse as they get older.

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Raising Beautiful Cashmere goats, to produce the best quality cashmere.
www.freewebs.com/sweetgoats
Lori

We have hosted two different ND bucks at our place for breeding. The second wasn't TOO bad but the first was awful. In either case, the smell is definitely airborne and your neighbors will simply hate you for it.

If you're not going to be in large production, why keep one? I would think that you could just AI or bring your does out on a date when needed.

AI, from what I've been told, is expensive and complicated, and the conception rates aren't that great. And I don't have a trailer or any way of transporting my does to a buck.

I was hoping I could keep a buck on my property without things getting too stinky. I don't mind it if you can smell him from 50 feet, but if you can smell him from 500 feet, my neighbors will be in the "fall out zone" for sure.

When I started out, I didn't think any of this would be a problem... I was looking for the best fencing to keep a buck contained, then ran into all this information about them being stinky from long distances (I had known about buck smell, but I thought it was more like Pigpen - the air immediately around them was rank, but that was it).

I'm still hoping to figure out a way to neutralize the smell to make it do-able. Even if I have to spray the buck down twice a day with something during rut, I'm willing to do it. If there is nothing at all that will counteract the stench, then I'm out of ideas

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Miniature Bull Terriers
www.PatronusMiniBulls.com
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In my experience, it varies from animal-to-animal and farm-to-farm. I have smelled some bucks that were AWFULLY ripe and some that were barely noticeable. Surprisingly, the buck smell itself did not depend on the cleanliness of their pen (but there was a distinct odor attributable to the dirty pen of course).

My boys are pretty ripe right now, even though they are not in full rut. They are all living together and the junior girls are next door so I can better watch heat cycles in preparation for fall breedings. Understandably so, they get pretty riled up.

It's certainly true that once you get the mature buck smell on you, it's hard (impossible?) to get off!

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Heather Fair
Fair Skies Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats
All I Saw Farm
Wasilla, Alaska
http://HoofinItNorth.com
http://FairSkiesAlaska.com

People say they can smell my bucks when they drive past our property but their pen runs right along the road. My nearest neighbors are (thankfully) 1/4 mile away on either side so no one is actually complaining.
Sometimes it is so strong in their side of the barn that I can almost feel the vapors hit my eyeballs! whewwieee!

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Cloven Trail Farm
Lord help me be the person my dog thinks I am!

Ja-Lyn's Radio Flyer, aka "Rad" on his 17th birthday.
9/14/93 -12/3/10.
Rest peacefully my soulmate, I'll love you forever.

I have Alpines, and I have noticed a tremendous variation between individual bucks. I leased one many years ago that had an atrocious level of "stink." Last fall I had 2 bucks here and the smell was only noticeable when I was right next to their pens (and these were mature boys!) But I was doing "pen breeding" so the boys were right in with their ladies. My experience has been that the bucks are less "crazy" when they are with their ladies.....as opposed to being by themselves.......and smelling those ladies coming into heat.....and being obsessed with getting to them. I don't know if others have had a similar experience.

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

It is quite easy to transport goats in large dog kennels if you have a van or larger suv, I use the wire crates with double doors, i lay a tarp over the carpet and put just a little bedding down, hay I find to be hard to get out of the carpet but shavings fly around if you have to roll with the windows down.
Personally I dont see where it wouldnt be a better investment to buy a goat trailer and have three good does, use the goat trailer to haul them to a buck/vet when needed. Its always a good idea to have a method of transporting your livestock in case of a evac. A goat trailer can be made pretty cheaply and easly or a pre made goes for a few hundred dollars around here. I prefer them over stock trailers because I can pick mine up and move it, however unless Im hauling several goats they just go in the back of the suburban.
If you must have a buck, then go and visit the buck during rutt season, as every buck is going to stink differently so buy one less insulting to your nose. My buck only stinks for a few weeks and hes not that bad, my friends buck, you can smell him clear across a 40 acer field.

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I'm a goat person, not a people person,
De @ Udderly Southern Dairy Goats
we will be adding a new breed in the spring

We live on a dirt road, our house is one one side and the animals are on the other. The driveway is acrossed the road from my buck pen and when I get out of the truck I can smell him when he's rutting. I can't smell him at the house though, that's about another 60 feet away.

Bluemoon now this is just how we have done it. The first couple of years we hauled our 4 does 3hrs away for conjugal visits cause we had no room or desire for a buck.
Another yr she offered a lease. Last yr we had another offer.
It has been 4yrs now & this is the first time we have our own buck for this coming season.
So I cant offer much about the wonderful aromatic aroma. Our 5mo old is spraying hiself so far the scent is not too bad but Im sure will get stronger as he grows.
By the time late Sept & Oct rolls around most neighbors will have their windows shut.
I've heard that goat soap will take it out?

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Bob and Nancy Dickey
Laughing Stock Boer Goats
"Seriously Great Bloodlines"
and the meat goes on....
Near Seattle

I have a minivan with "stow and go" seating, and I normally leave the back row of seats down so I can fit dog crates in the back for my dogs. What size crate would I need for LaManchas?

I don't even know where to start when it comes to getting my minivan outfitted to haul something behind it I'm not all that handy, and while I can jury-rig some things half way decently, I don't know that I would trust my limited skills to doing something that would HAVE to hold up while driving down the highway (with little goatie lives at stake too)!!

In a few years, when the minivan gives out and I need a new vehicle, I'm planning on getting an SUV of some variety, with a tow package. My van is paid for, and no way am I taking on a car payment until I absolutely have to, so this isn't going to happen anytime soon!

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Miniature Bull Terriers
www.PatronusMiniBulls.com
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Why not put off this buy and buy them bred, confirmed via biotracking.com so you don't have to even think about bucks right now? Then purchase a buckling each spring, use him in the fall, confirm pregnancy 30 days later with biotracking.com and sell or eat the buckling? This way you never have stink on your property, bucks rarely smell until their 2nd rut.

Also make sure what you are getting is clean. CAE tested. We have Tracy in Idaho on our forum and also Wizard (Daniel) who is in Utah....since Daniel just purchased Lamanchas he would be the perfect person to talk to... dairygoatinfo.com vicki

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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
North of Houston TX
www.etsy.com/shop/nubiansoaps

A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.

my big boer girls fit comfortably in a 48 inch crate for the ride, I would recomend that size even if you had little ones because its always nice to fit more than one. Take heed to my lesson learned, you have to unfold the crate inside the van, it doesnt work any other way, this is where also the double door thing is important as i like to have them long ways but you can get an xl and a l crate inside a typical van if you place them side by side.
As far as the mini van tow package, its not cheap, nor very expensive to have a hitch installed, its just a matter of bolts and lighting as even if it doesnt have the tow package they are made to have it added. Definatly dont pull anything heavy with it though, mini vans dont have the best trannys in them.
I think the dog crate thing would work quite well for you, I personally wouldnt put up with a buck just to keep two does serviced, you do have to house them seperate when you milk as its easy to get that buckyness flavor in the milk, and thats not a good thing. Read on fiasco farms about having bucks and see if you still want one then. I love mick my buck to dealth but i will never have another buck, he doesnt smell bad, or has bad manors its just not feasable for me when there is such a large collection of AI semen at my finger tips, no worries about allot of things that way.

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I'm a goat person, not a people person,
De @ Udderly Southern Dairy Goats
we will be adding a new breed in the spring

CF (and how nice it would be if we talked to real people on here)

So all your does are 100% bred each year with AI? I would never tell a new person that she doesn't need a buck when you know if she took on AI her first several years would be dismal efforts considering most new folks can't even tell when their does are in heat. Would she have does in mlk in the spring? Likely not. How many on here, including our own moderator had goats open last year, most after trying to outside breed their does.

What we as breeders do is one thing, a whole nother thing when helping out new folks, they need bucks, they don't need to be at the mercy of transportation and breeders schedules and whims if they want does on their place to breed.

You can't be self sufficient without a buck on your place, it's the only way to guarantee a new person has does who are pregnant, a buck, pen breeding their does until they figure out heat on their own, pregnancy tests to know their does are bred, then sell the buck if you don't want to keep him over winter (the stinkiest time). Vicki

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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
North of Houston TX
www.etsy.com/shop/nubiansoaps

A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.

I'm new at this too, and opted to get a buckling to breed my one and only doe. I figure he'll do for the first breeding this year, and maybe for next year too. Frankly, he's such a sweetie, I'm probably just going to get him a wether for a buddy and set up separate housekeeping for them.

Re: Smell: He isn't whiffy at all, but he is still young. He may get a bit more of a gamey smell as he matures, but I don't think it's as rank as all that.

When I visit my friend's herd up the road, I can detect a goaty smell from her pygmy and Nigey bucks, but it's not unpleasant. Certainly no more so than horse or cow manure -- at least not to me.

I am one of those people who can smell a ferret from a mile away, and I don't care for ferret scent.

But goats, well, they're GOATS, so of course, they're all right by me.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

I will use a professional to do my AI, I wouldnt suggest it any other way for anyone.
I know the risk of having a buck and the trouble they can be, anything I state is nothing more than my own opinion on what i would do, just as with your advise unless noted with this is a fact and up to the op to deside what is best for her, Im meerly giving her another point of view. I said AI was what I had inteneded on doing, didnt say she should or it would be easier.
I can say I would about guarantee that cbj gained allot of knowledge during this past season and the season before about his does and breeding. I know with dogs it took me several breedings before I could tell when a female was prime to take to the dog.
There is downfalls in either case of having a buck and not, and many of the people I talk with that where new goat people that quit goats was because of the buck, after all they can be as charming as they are nasty.
I dont reccomend any uncastrated male animal for anyone new to that species, i wouldnt reccomend a new horse owner to buy a stallion because he is buying two brood mares.

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I'm a goat person, not a people person,
De @ Udderly Southern Dairy Goats
we will be adding a new breed in the spring

I don't think it's fair to suggest that someone new to goats is unable to handle a buck, especially if they have plenty of mentoring support and good stock to begin with. And while there are similarities, I think comparing a stallion and a buck is a little like comparing apples and oranges -- or maybe apples and pears?

Still, one does one's research, and then goes ahead with the best decision possible for one's particular situation.

I know enough about bucks to know that you can't be as sweet and lovey-dovey with them as you can be with does. I am aware that, when in full standing rut, it's not a good idea to hang out with them.

But I also know that, when my doe is in season, she's pretty likely to get pregnant, because she's running with the buck.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/