breeding questions

chewie · #1 07/23/13, 09:44 AM

with thoughts of keepng one or two doelings next spring, i wonder what I can breed them to? can they be bred back to their own sire? that seems wrong.

or, another question, can I keep 2 bucks together rather than one buck and one wether? i figure if i'm keeping the extra critter it may as well be of more use! but i'll only have a few does to breed so keeping a buck at all is a lot--wondering if trying AI wouldn't be a better idea? ;hubs is very good doing that with cattle and we have the tank. there is a gal near that does it, too, so at least get a lesson or two, or maybe hire her to do it.

Alice In TX/MO · #2 07/23/13, 09:50 AM

Yes, I keep my two bucks together.

If you breed back to the sire and it WORKS, it's line breeding. If you breed back to the sire and get icky kids, it's inbreeding.

chewie · #3 07/23/13, 11:05 AM

just like horses then! thanks.

Goat Servant · #4 07/23/13, 02:14 PM

I know nothing about tanks but is semen all stored at the same temp regardless of species or not?

Ford Zoo · #5 07/23/13, 03:51 PM

I have 3 bucks now to keep the breeding options open. But if I had access to a tank and a person that know how to do it, I would probably go all AI if I could find semen for a reasonable price. Seems that would be cheaper than feeding a buck(s) and his companion all year.

Suzyq2u · #6 07/23/13, 05:02 PM

You can't taste inbred

We just recently sent our buck packing for some new bloodlines.

**mygoat** · #7 07/23/13, 06:04 PM

Rather agree with Alice...

bred 2 does back to their sires this year.

One is a FF alpine doe - had twin bucklings, everything normal and they were nice... had she been more than a FF or if they were doelings I"d have sold them for breeding. But, all FF bucklings here get castrated, so it wasn't much of an issue.

The other is a FF boer doe, 94%. Bred her to her father, a fullblood boer buck. Got a solid red buckling and a traditional buckling. The solid red buckling has a REALLY weirdly folded ear. Sometimes on boers, the tip of the ear is often folded up and attached with extra skin. You can 'pop' that, and it'll scab over and the ear will point down as normal. But, his is folded wierd at the BASE of the ear - no skin attachment, but the ear must have a crease in it at the rounded base. It folds and flops backwards instead of forwards and open... almost like it's folded 'hotdog' style. So weird. In addition, The traditional kid is a chryptorchid. Unfortunately due to my dad not listening to instructions and me not being home, we lost the adult doe to hypocalcemia at 6wks post freshening, so I don't have to worry about her linebreeding back to her sire again this year (was going to try to AI but it's nowhere near guaranteed). BUT, I do have a different solid red percentage daughter of his born this year that will need to be bred. Hoping to AI her and if that doesn't work, she will be bred back to him for lack of options...

Next year I'm getting new bucks.

Pony · #8 07/23/13, 07:29 PM

We bred our FF back to her sire, figuring we had just as good a chance for decent offspring as if we'd bred her to anyone else.

Got a doeling and a buckling. Castrated the buck, of course, and the doeling is okay, but nothing to write home about. She's always been a little ADR (Ain't Doin' Right), so unless I see some fabulous growth in the next few months, she'll be making the trip to freezer camp with her brother. Not going to sell any animal I wouldn't breed here.

Alice In TX/MO · #9 07/23/13, 09:04 PM

You could do another pit bbq.

Saves room in the freezer.

Pony · #10 07/23/13, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

You could do another pit bbq.

Saves room in the freezer.

Great idea! Don't know how hep Nick will be about digging another pit... Maybe I can buy him a backhoe for his birthday?

We'll be doing another gathering in September.

KSALguy · #11 07/24/13, 12:34 PM

if you start with good genetics inbreeding is just like any other breeding, it does not really create issues unless you get stuck in a bottle neck, if you start with crap genetics then your going to get extra crappy outcome from inbreeding, all it does is concentrate the available genetic material in the next generation, you can cull out the bad stock and improve the good stock this way, its a tool not the devil. you can do lots of damage with a hammer and saw if you don't know what your doing, or you can build a house, same with inbreeding,

all goat meat tasts like goat meat regardless of who their daddy is lol

Pony · #12 07/24/13, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSALguy

if you start with good genetics inbreeding is just like any other breeding, it does not really create issues unless you get stuck in a bottle neck, if you start with crap genetics then your going to get extra crappy outcome from inbreeding, all it does is concentrate the available genetic material in the next generation, you can cull out the bad stock and improve the good stock this way, its a tool not the devil. you can do lots of damage with a hammer and saw if you don't know what your doing, or you can build a house, same with inbreeding,

all goat meat tasts like goat meat regardless of who their daddy is lol

You can start with good genetics and still get so-so results.

But as you noted, it all tastes like goat.

KSALguy · #13 07/24/13, 06:54 PM

two awesome individuals can still have hidden issues if that is unknown until inbreeding is done to find them and cull out of the gene pool, you can cross two random unrelated individuals and get amazing one time results and then inbreed and find what else tagged along for the ride. it takes work and planning and knowing that anything can show up until you really know whats in the wood pile.