Good gravy, bucks are a PAIN IN THE ARSE!

[homebirtha]

We picked up two fainter bucks last night. Our plan had been NO BUCKS. But we got cocky and though we could handle it. An acquaintence of ours has too many bucks and was willing to give us these. And they're very nice looking. And we needed to get our does bred and this would make it easy, not having to load them up and take them to a buck somewhere else. Bwahahahaha. How wrong we were.

So as soon as we get the first one in the pasture, he immediately heads for the electric fence and the does. Tears up the fence with his big------ horns and goes through. Got him back through, fixed the fence. He seemed calm and afraid of the fence (good, he's learning), so we let him go. No problems. Got the other one in the pasture. He also learned quickly to avoid the fence. Aaaaahhh, all good.

Until this morning. Little buggers both went through the 4-wire fence in their pasture and the 5-wire around the doe's pasture. We spent the better part of the morning catching them and penning them back up. (They are on the wild side, not bottle-raised.) They were beating the crap out of each other in the pen, so we hastily put together a second pen to separate them. Whew.

FOR NOW, they seem contained, but I'm not holding my breath. So tonite, Big Horns goes back. We're still debating about the other guy. He's so great looking and it's nice to have him right here, but geesh, I think our initial instincts were right in not keeping a buck. I'm exhausted.

[ozark_jewels]

I have yet to see an electric fence that will hold a buck in rut when there are does in sight or smell. Bucks are a lot of fun IF properly contained. Or if you let one buck run with the does for the season. I have all 8 of my bucks in a cattle panel paddock that is well reinforced. I wouldn't be without my boys, but they must be properly contained! If you decide to just keep one buck, he will need a wether as a companion. They do not do well alone and he will not be happy alone. An unhappy buck, is a hard to contain buck........

Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Dairy and Meat Goats
Boers, Nubians, Lamanchas and Alpines

[homebirtha]

A few questions:
How big is your buck paddock? Do you keep them in there year-round, or just during breeding season?

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

I have all 8 of my bucks in a cattle panel paddock that is well reinforced.

[mary,tx]

I have a dam raised buck with great manners. He is much, much less likely to disrespect a fence than my naughty does. Well, unless, of course, a doe in heat is just on the other side. He was, however, shown as a kid, so was well trained.
I would not try to keep a buck with horns, and would be very hard pressed to keep one that was not well trained.
mary

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by homebirtha

A few questions:
How big is your buck paddock? Do you keep them in there year-round, or just during breeding season?

I imagine the buck paddock is about an acre. They have a little brush to nibble on and they always have a bale of hay. I want to eventually have at least a three acre paddock for the bucks, so they can browse like the girls do.

They are living together in the buck paddock year-round. They must live and be used to each other all the time to tolorate each other during breeding season. I think if I put them together just during breeding season, they would kill each other. I NEVER introduce a new buck when the boys are in rut. They would simply kill him. They must know each other well, to tolorate living together when does are in heat. My experience anyway.

Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Dairy and Meat Goats
Boers, Nubians, Lamanchas and Alpines

[dosthouhavemilk]

We had *six* bucks this breeding season. We had never kept more than two breeding bucks at a time, though we did learn after not castrating the bucks one year. *Ick*
Anyways, we've been perfecting our methods each year. When we started having more than one buck, I started to have to keep them contaiend so I would know who the fatehr was. Both William and charlie came from the same farm at one month old and was raised by me. Both were/are well mannered and fairly easy to contain. We sold Charlie last December and kept William. We had used them for two seasons and wanted some new blood. William stayed because he is better mannered and the breeding I wanted. Charlie was getting pushy at only a year and a half old.
This year I was only using four of the six bucks we had. One of those bucks was related to all but 5 of our 21 does! He was intact becuase someone was going to buy him for breeding. The other was a third Nubian buckling that we decided to hold over. Our Boer and his harem were kept away from any other bucks and I know who they are bred to. The two older Nubians and William were all penned with their ladies in pens alongside one another. We penbreed. When we were running one buck he actually ran with the does year round for two years. We leave our bucks with the does except between June and October, or whenever we start breeding. however, with the Boer blood increasing this will probably change.
Anyways, we have a pen that the bucks go into when they are not breeding and not allowed with the does. This is made out of cattle panels and for the most part we haven't had any issues. We do have one pen that nobody can escape *techincally.* If they work hard enough they can but that is when does in heat stroll by.....
If you do keep the one buck is there any reason not to just let him run with the herd? We used marking harnesses for the first time this year and overall I am very pleased with how it worked.
At one point during breeding season 2004 our two bucks Charlie and William were in a very small barn since they would get out otherwise and we didn't want Jan/Feb kids (had six does kid with 12 kids anyways). I've seen bucks kept in small stalls on some farms. If you do keep just the one a wether is definitely a plus.
My concern this year has been how all the bucks will get along when they are seperated back out. The youngest Nubian has never been penned with two year old William til a week ago, but the entire herd is running togetehr again (breeding is over except for Bo and his harem).

[GrannyG]

My beautiful pgymy wether decided he was mad at my greenhouse yesterday and I got a call from my neighbor, "Hoho is tearing up your greenhouse with his horns out there".....sure enough, bang, bang, knock the fiberglass apart if I can, was going on. A good shot of cold water from the water hose stopped him and I had to put a big cart in front of the damage till I can fix it later on. Yes, he is a BIG PAIN, and then I sit down and he tries to crawl up in my lap like he did when he was a baby, and I just gotta hug him.

[Starsmom]

I have 2 bucks, one is 8 months old and weighs about 70 lbs and the other is 5 months old and weighs about 120 lbs. He is a big, big, baby. The 70 lb was bottle fed and raised by my son. The big one was born here and dam raised. He loves his hugs and "yuck" kisses. I love him except one thing...there hasn't been a fence made to contain him. We have him in a 54" cattle panel pen and he jumps it with the greatest of ease. I put him in the barn, he jumps right out the window. He is a jumper. He jumps on my car, of course he caught my wrath and doesn't do that anymore. I don't think it has anything to do with rut since he jumped out after we put the does in with him. Bucks are a handful, but if you only have a couple, they can be worth it.