How to find a buck for stud service

mrs oz · #1 01/01/12, 10:31 AM

We're starting to plan on breeding our largest girl. Goodness knows she wants to be bred........if only this had audio you could hear her calling!! LOL! Anyway, we don't own any bucks (and prefer not to) so need to find a boy for our girl. How do you all that are in the same situation find bucks for stud? Thanks!!

prairiedog · #2 01/01/12, 11:33 AM

Well if you do not know anyone in the area then you can place and ad. Make sure he is healthy( check for CL and such). It may be hard if you want a certain breed. You will need to be prepared for him to stay for a few weeks to make sure you catch her heat cycle.

Oat Bucket Farm · #3 01/01/12, 11:39 AM

We thought we would try going without a buck here and just borrow a friend's buck. That hasn't gone over as well as we would have liked. One doe did get bred, but if we had been a few hours later in calling them, we would have missed her heat because they were headed out for the week later that day.

Only one of our does ended up pregnant after that visit. But since we didn't have a buck, we didn't know the other doe went back into heat (she has really quiet heats) and was open until we pulled blood to send it in. Which put us trying to catch the heat in December.

Then we had to juggle getting him a ride over here and I'm still not positive she is settled. I am done with the this buckless thing.

LoneStrChic23 · #4 01/01/12, 11:52 AM

I'm with you Audra! Buckless is too much of a hassle and I'm happy I bought mine. I almost missed Bleuberry's heat even with a buck!

If you don't know anyone with a buck, I guess you'd have to post an ad & perhaps lease a buck. Be sure the goat is disease free & get your whole deal in writing. How long you'll keep the buck, who will pay for care/vet bills if he gets hurt, escapes or dies ect. ect. If you send your does to a buck get it all in writing.

To me, the risk of sending my does into someone else's care makes me ill, & the thought of having to replace someones animal if I bring it here for breeding & something happens is too much.

My friend used my buck this year & what we did was use PG600 & CIDRs (search the forum, this was discussed in detail not long ago) to induce heat. She brought her doe over when it was time, we bred them a few times in my front yard & she loaded up her doe & took her home. Win, win. Her doe got bred, & I didn't have to board her doe or send my buck away.

mrs oz · #5 01/01/12, 11:56 AM

I should also mention we have Boers..........if that makes a difference in the opinions/advice. Thanks for the responses so far!!

Cannon_Farms · #6 01/01/12, 12:02 PM

find an older buckling that can get the job done, buy him then turn around and resell him just as soon as the job is done.. Since you are in SC Georgia Boer goats had some older very nice bucklings and bucks for sale, dont know if you want that nice. Im not saying her herd is CL or CAE free but nothing I bought out of there ever tested positive.
They are located in Dewy Rose.

http://www.georgiaboer.com/forsaledramatic.html

wintrrwolf · #7 01/01/12, 01:40 PM

Renting out or leasing a buck I think would be a pain. Just curious but what would you feel would be a decent stud fee?

mrs oz · #8 01/01/12, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

Renting out or leasing a buck I think would be a pain. Just curious but what would you feel would be a decent stud fee?

You all may be right, it may be more trouble than it's worth. As far as what a decent stud fee is........I don't have any real point of reference. From the looking I've done I've seen it as low as $50/doe up to $500/doe. Kind of all over the map. I certainly would not be looking for a $500/doe buck! I would be buying a buck for sure! And those prices would be + boarding fees if my doe went there. These are not prices I found for our area, this was just googling and getting some idea of what's being charged in general.

mrs oz · #9 01/01/12, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon_Farms

find an older buckling that can get the job done, buy him then turn around and resell him just as soon as the job is done.. Since you are in SC Georgia Boer goats had some older very nice bucklings and bucks for sale, dont know if you want that nice. Im not saying her herd is CL or CAE free but nothing I bought out of there ever tested positive.
They are located in Dewy Rose.

http://www.georgiaboer.com/forsaledramatic.html

You just made me realize I had not changed my location. We are no longer in SC, we're in Western NC. Good idea, though.

Cannon_Farms · #10 01/01/12, 02:05 PM

AI might be something for you to educate yourself with, though I do not know of anyone that does that in your area but that doesnt mean anything. Its not as for sure as a buck a great deal of that has to do with the collector and your timing but you can get the best of the best for less. I dont know if Patricia does outside cover or not but probably too far away.
If you want to drool over the best bucks go to www.thegoatfactory.com also check out goat rancher magazine as they may have a breeder near you

Olivia67 · #11 01/01/12, 09:22 PM

I do rent out one of my bucks to a family that bought two does from me and have not bought any other goats from any other source. Maybe contact the breeder and see if she could rent you one of her bucks? Oh, and you can use a buck in a jar to help you time her cycle so you aren't wasting time having the buck around stinking up the place and peeing on his head grossing everyone out. To make a buck in a jar, have someone who has a buck in rut rub a rag over his stinky pee head and then put the rag in a jar with a tight fitting lid. When you suspect she is in season, let her smell the rag in the jar and see how she reacts. I have my own bucks but I'm told that the smell will make her go wild if she is in season, then you know how to best time when to bring in the buck. I always tell my customer to hold him over for at least three weeks to make sure the girls are pregnant and I do not guarentee a pregnancy. My fee is $50 for three or four weeks and no guarentee but my buck seems to get the job done for them, this line goes into season all times of the year and they always me to rent him to them in May or June when the girls aren't supposed to be in season but this line will usually get pregnant twice a year if you leave a buck in with them all the time so as soon as my buck goes in with them, they go into season pretty quick but in May/June I cannot guarentee anything since they aren't supposed to be in season at that time. Just so that everyone knows I'm not being greedy or anything, it's just a timing thing. If they rented him at the proper time of the year I could pretty much offer a money back guarentee but they don't seem to care, just as long as they don't have to put up with a stinky buck year round. Or you could place an ad on Craigslist and then visit the farm and make sure that he is healthy and sound.

Pony · #12 01/02/12, 12:51 AM

Unless you're going for show lines, why not buy a decent buck and, once your girls are settled, send him to camp?

wintrrwolf · #13 01/02/12, 09:53 AM

I posted an ad for Shaq to stud out had a few email nibbles and one actual text and then nothing. Since Shaq is registered with ADGA, CAE neg, his dame won twice on udder, I thought 45 a doe was fair with a multi doe discount possible. ?? go figure

copperpennykids · #14 01/02/12, 10:35 AM

You could contact the USBGA and ask them if they know of any breeders in your area (ADGA has a marvelous member directory that you can look folks yourself) and get contact info.

It will be your responsibility to check for CAE and CL status. Same for pedigree etc.
$100/doe is not uncommon, plus board.

"SPIKE" · #15 01/02/12, 01:01 PM

Are Boer bucks just as "goatie" as say Nubian bucks?

If you have goats, why deprive yourself of the pleasures of having your own buck?!

But seriously, if you have the space, good pasture, and good browsing area having your own buck has its advantages.
I'm sure you have been weighing the pros and cons.
Once you are set up, they require less than does to feed and maintain. I figured that if having a buck saved me from only one "uh oh" or bigger problem during his life, then it was worth it.
And they are really "entertaining " sometimes.

SPIKE

HappyFarmer · #16 01/02/12, 01:55 PM

"Disease Free" can mean an awful lot of things, besides a goat is only "Disease Free" at the time the blood was drawn.

When you interview your perspective rent-a-buck, ask about specific disease, such as CAE, CLA, and Johne's. For all you know disease free to them means pinkeye.

If they claim to have a clean herd, ask for the proof, preferably 2-3 successive negative results, at least 1 vet-draw if not all vet-drawn.

If you can't find a clean herd, request to pull blood (and pay for it) on the buck prior to breeding, that single draw will not be 100% reliable, however it is better to screen him than blindly choose a buck of unknown status.

HF

oz in SC V2.0 · #17 01/03/12, 09:48 AM

I think we are going to go ahead and buy a buck,in the end it will be easier and he will serve a purpose.

Does a buck require company when not with the does?

We have three does but would only be breeding one as the other two are still a little small in our opinion.

We are reassessing what we are going to do when we 'grow up' and might try and get into raising Boers to sell.

I am leaning towards only for meat not for show/breeding.

Thoughts on this?

Cannon_Farms · #18 01/03/12, 09:56 AM

A buck does need a friend, we all need friends so get a wether for him or keep one of the bred does in there.

Show boer goats are judged on how much meat they have as that is the overall purpose of the breed, just as dairy animals are judged on how well they can hold up to milking and production so they kinda go hand in hand.

One thing that is hard to get in your breed is a good rump, the ones you see online typically have been worked out quite a bit and its not typical of the genes.

HappyFarmer · #19 01/03/12, 11:46 AM

My thoughts are a goat will cost the same to maintain no matter if it is disease free, an excellent representative of the breed, or a diseased mutt. Initial costs are higher for higher quality, but in the end it is worth it.

If you start out with decent stock, you will probably have the opportunity to sell some of those kids or stock as breeders if they are decent, at a higher price, and in my neck of the woods that is where the money is and where I can re-coup my costs.

Selling for meat is good, but unless you practice strict economics you won't be making any money, though you're table will have the best meat on it.

Buy the best buck you can afford, he is half your herd.

HF

oz in SC V2.0 · #20 01/03/12, 01:08 PM

A couple of bucks we have found within a few hours of us.

http://hickory.craigslist.org/grd/2766472548.html

http://columbia.craigslist.org/grd/2775802296.html