The Joy of Breeding

[Wolf Flower]

I'm new to all this, as Petunia is my first doe and currently my only goat. This whole goat-breeding thing isn't very convenient no matter how you slice it! If I could have milk forever & ever without breeding, it would be preferable (though I do admit I am quite fond of baby goats!).

So anyway... since this is all new to me, the buck's breeder kindly let me borrow a young teaser wether so that I would know when the time was nigh. I was seeing some discharge from Petunia so I knew she was close, and I had the day off yesterday. All day long I waited and watched. She and the wether were playing, but she was assuming the "top" role and the wether was showing no interest in role reversal.

Finally, at around 7:00 PM it was getting dark and I made one last pass around the property before going in to take a shower and settle down for the night... and what do I see? Mr. Wether is following Petunia around like his nose is attached to her rear and he's climbing on her like a jungle gym... and she is looking very coquettish standing there wagging her tail.

So I call the breeder, who lives 2 hours from me, and she says "She's in standing heat--bring her down NOW." Of course, this is not the kind of thing that can be done at MY convenience, so I pack her up and make the 2-hour drive, arriving around 9:30 PM.

We bring out Petunia's intended and, well... first of all, he's a Nigerian and she's a Saanen, so there was a slight logistical problem. And, of all things... this buck wanted to court and woo and cuddle and spoon and sweet-talk and make kissyface for freakin' EVER. Petunia was clearly smitten with him and was standing for him nicely, so I don't know why he thought he had to go to extreme measures to impress her. I thought that bucks pretty much get down to business right away?

The breeder said he isn't normally so romantic, he's a 7-year old buck and has sired many kids. We thought maybe he was simply enjoying himself a little too much. Since he's usually taken away from his doe after three pokes, maybe he wanted to make it last as long as possible? Which is all well and good, except that it's now 10:30 at night and I still have a two hour drive and have to work at 8 AM.

Hopefully we successfully completed our mission, but in the dark and with the size differential it was difficult to tell whether we got a good solid breeding. We'll know in a few weeks. If not, we'll have to rinse and repeat... sheesh, don't these critters have any consideration for MY schedule? :baby04:

In the meantime, how do I get this STANK off of my doe?? Phew!

[Alice In TX/MO]

I so understand! We finally gave up and got our own buck. It's just too frustrating to do the matchmaking.

[Wolf Flower]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I so understand! We finally gave up and got our own buck. It's just too frustrating to do the matchmaking.

But... but... bucks SMELL!

I only have one acre, so I don't know if there's anywhere a buck could be far enough away. We've definitely thought about it though.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes, they do. We had them in a pen between the house and the road, but that changed when the rut started. They are now down the hill as far away as possible.

The vet was here yesterday for tattooing and the health certificate, and he even commented on how stinky our MiniMancha buck is. That's bad.

[Wolf Flower]

Is there any way to get the buck smell off my doe? I tried spraying her with some enzyme cleaner for pet odors, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I'd give her a bath, but I'm afraid someone might get hurt. Namely me.

[southerngurl]

You can get you a buckling each spring and sell or butcher him after breeding season. They dont' stink much until they get older.

[Cannon_Farms]

I have heard goat milk will do it. I have yet to find on odor that vinager wont get out, now what smells worse you deside, at least the odor of vinager fades quickly. dish soap may be good for it, gets the goaty smell off my hands and strips the coat.
Goats are not that hard to give a bath too, I just make sure they are tied securely to something and stand back and squirt, they dont mind the soap part normally if they like to be petted, then stand back and squirt again.

[Tallabred]

fabreeze

[Illini]

Summer's Eve douche, 2 packets to one gallon of water, should do the trick. Work it into her coat, but don't rinse.

Good luck!

[Wolf Flower]

Okay, I just gave her a bath with Dawn dishsoap and a vinegar rinse. Her fragrance is definitely improved and she is so white it's blinding. She was actually quite a good sport about it... I used warm water for the bath and if I didn't know better, I'd say she actually enjoyed it.

[AuntKitty]

A warm bath is always nice after a big date.....

Kitty

[southerngurl]

It goes away on it's own in just a few days. My goats would so hate if I bathed them lol. Especially this time of year!

[DairyGoatSlave]

southerngul, my does were bred a few weeks ago, they still stink lol!

[LadyJane]

When we picked up two of our first goats, they had been in a pen with young bucks and had enough of that smell that I just couldn't stand it and didn't want the milk to pick up that odor. The weather was still cold so I used lots and lots of baking soda on them and kept brushing it out. It did the trick but this might not work with more odor.

[Pony]

I think I may try the baking soda, or maybe some corn starch or baking powder. But that buckling! UGH! He could peel paint on the inside of the house while standing outside!

I wonder if that spray on dog waterless bath stuff would improve him, or make the situation worse?

[garyh141]

Our does don't stink, but I sure do! Twice daily trips to feed the bucks, plus I continue to give them extra attention to keep them happy as well as tame, leads to very stinky "me". Actually, when I do my laundry, I don't put anything special in it, just laundry soap and fabric softener. Maybe I need to need to put that on my bucks???? Lots of hand washing and sometimes I think my nostrils need cleaned out. (Sandra)

[Bricheze]

Toothpaste works to get rid of any smell. Not sure if you can put it on does though

[RiverPines]

Size doesn't matter!
The buck can be very short and still be very successful.
Their penis is located on their bellies and when its extended, its long, very, long!!!!!
So a short mini buck can without much ado get a Boer doe pg.
Heck, a small buckling can get his full grown mom pg.

[garyh141]

RiverPines, [small buckling w/mama] that is unless you want him too! (Sandra)