Breeding question

[eam]

I think this may be a dumb question but since I'm not sure of the answer I thought I'd ask.

I have a Toggenburg buck who is a little over 7 months old, so he's not full grown. Also, I have a pygora and an angora doe. Even though the buck is not full grown, I assume if he impregnated the does, they may carry kids who are too big for them to deliver safely. Is that correct?

I don't plan to have him breed them (he's for breeding my Togg and Saanen does) but at some point I want them all in the same barn for the winter so need to understand what's what, and how much trouble I need to go to to prevent any accidental breeding.

Thanks.
Elizabeth

[Alice In TX/MO]

If you want to prevent accidental breeding, don't allow him to be in the same area with them, starting last August.

[eam]

They're separate and have been since early summer so that's not a problem. The problem is that I only have one barn. They boys have had a small shed that's plenty big enough for the two of them, but no water, etc. We've been lugging water to them. That's gets really old when it's 2 degrees out....so they need to come into the barn within the next few weeks.

My real question is IF he gets to the angora/pygora does, would their pregnancy be unsafe for them? We can separate them into their respective stalls but I'm just trying to figure for the 'what if' scenario...

Elizabeth

[HappyFarmer]

Is there anyway you could run a long piece of PVC pipe from the spicot or hose to the shed area? If it's a short distance you could run the water through the pvc & flow into their bucket, provided you got a decent angle from end to end. Beats hauling water if you can get it set up right. Granted you'd still have to feed them. An insulated bucket and/or electric bucket would help the frequency.

If your girls aren't pregnant I'd be concerned about the boy breaking out of his section when the girls come in heat. We had a neat set-up once, exterior pasture let-out that led into a "doggie door" into the barn. The inside area was just a corner of the barn, not much larger than a dog house, solid walls inside so no chance of a break out to the inside. Worked well for a small shelter without taking the whole barn.

HF

[Backfourty,MI.]

Are you planning on breeding the angora & pygora does' to another buck this fall or before winter? If they were already bred when you moved the boys into the barn then there wouldn't be any worry.

We have a set up like happy farmers talking about kinda, the boys have a big fenced in area outside of the barn with a door to their inside barn section. There inside section is 12 foot by 12 foot but the inside space can be anything you think is big enough for their water, sleeping area's, hay, etc.

[KSALguy]

no it shouldnt be a problem, unless your does are TINY, i have seen Angora does cary Boer cross kids with no problem, angora are not supposed to be a small breed, and PYgora are just a medium size, a Togg buck shouldnt be a problem but go ahead and breed them to the buck you want them bred too, better get what you want,

[Cannon_Farms]

there is risk in any breeding. I have seen things I wish i hadnt and would never had the nerve to do but the does where fine being bred to a big buck and kidded well. However it really depends on how big the does are

[eam]

Thanks for the replies.

The option of running PVC for water doesn't work for us; the boys' area is about 100 yards away and the water wouldn't 'run' for very long in the winter time. Also, going through several feet of snow to bring hay to them isn't appealing. The shed has no electricity so heated waterers are out, too. They really need to be in the barn.

Yes, the ideal would be to breed the does to the buck that we want. Unfortunately, the buck we had lined up didn't work out. We're looking around for another buck but haven't had any luck yet. So, I'm working on Plan B.

The angora doe isn't especially small; I'd call her a medium sized goat, the pygora is stocky but short.

Thanks again - all ideas welcome!
Elizabeth

[goatkid]

I'd be more concerned about the Pygora than the Angora doe since Pygmys tend to have more dificult deliveries. My friend breeds her ND doe to full sized bucks and she's never had any problems delivering her kids.