4 to 5 month old boer buck

[susanne]

two weeks ago i got my first two nubian does. they spend two or three days with a boer buck and he breed them before i got them. but last week they came in heat again. tail flagging and a day later discharge.
now i have the opportunity to get a little FB boer buck. is he old enough to do the job? he was not handled very much could i still train him so that i can handle him?
my girls are dehorned the buck is not. will my girls get problems with that?
susanne

[mpillow]

If your doe is taller by more than 3 inches than the buck it might not work....we had this problem yesterday...had to breed mature 8 yo doe to a taller buck.....our little guys were trying and not having any luck So with help from 9yo and 10 yo children we got her to the bigger buck we have and BINGO! before I had even unleashed the doe.

Also my little guys were a little older 6-7 months before I was sure they were able to breed and interested they had been humping each other since 2 months old .....free riding as the children say.....

[trickham]

4 or 5 months old is probably a little too young to do the job. It is possible though. I would think that, especially if you have younger does, the billy should be able to get the job done in another couple of months.

FB Boers are generally gentle animals. If you work with him you should be able to tame him down quite a bit. Be careful of making him too familiar though, because even a gentle billy goat can hurt you. I recently purchased a 5 1/2 yr old buck who was obviously handled quite a bit as a youngster, and if I'm not careful he will shove me all around the pen just trying to love on me.

Horns or no horns will not make much of a difference, especially when it is girls vs. boys. When he is full grown he will be the dominate goat simply because he is male and will outweigh the nannies, so there will be little or no fighting between the sexes.

[susanne]

Originally Posted by trickham

4 or 5 months old is probably a little too young to do the job. It is possible though. I would think that, especially if you have younger does, the billy should be able to get the job done in another couple of months.

i was hoping that he can breed the girls this season. what do you mean with a coupple of month? i hoped he can do the job til end of dec or jan.
susanne

[trickham]

The youngest age I have heard recommended for using a billy is 6 months old. The youngest one I have ever used personally was 9 months old. If you have younger does (although you didn't mention their ages) I would think that he should be able to breed them by January.

[susanne]

Originally Posted by trickham

T If you have younger does (although you didn't mention their ages) I would think that he should be able to breed them by January.

they are about 9 to 10 month old. born in february.
susanne

[bumpus]

.
Let them have their chance. They know what they are doing.
Why try to out think them and make it so diffucult for them
to do what come as natural.

People think that they can improve on
what God gave them to do naturaly.

Stand still and they will show you how.
Don't try to make this some kind of great
complicated sicence peoject out of it.

This comes as natural as the birds and the bees
to them, and they don't need a teacher.

Turn them loose and give them time ! ! !

.

[trickham]

LOL Well, bumpus, you are pretty much correct.

Susanne, they should be well matched for size/age. As soon as you get his medical issues delt with that you mentioned in the other thread, I would just turn them in together and let nature take its course.

I'm not exactly sure what the scab problem is, unless it is soremouth. If so, it would have had to be a very bad case. If I were you, next time I buy a Boer, I would not get it from that breeder. A reputable breeder would not have knowingly sold you an animal with those medical problems.

[bumpus]

Soure mouth is easy to cure. Just smear an large amount of medicated salve all overe their mouth, and it will be gone in a couple of days.

If not do it again ! ! !

[susanne]

i dont't think he has sore mouth. his mouth looks ok. the scabs are on his skin, neck ear and back area. i think more about parasitees or ringworm?
susanne

[TexCountryWoman]

I have two bucks, both 7 months old or thereabouts. One is a Reg. LaMancha, the other is a Reg. Fullblood Boer. The LaMancha is taller than the Boer and seems to have greater sexual interest than the Boer. With great difficulty, the LaMancha knocked-up his 3 dairy does (adult) at age 6 months. I left him with the gals and watched and calendared their heat periods. The Boer had a smaller yearling Boer doe and I am still not sure she is bred, but she did not go back into heat, so I assume she is pregnant although I did not visualize a breeding as I did with the LaMancha buck. I have since put the 2 bucks back in the buck pen and the gals back in the doe pen. I check daily for signs of heat (and my calendar). At this time, it appears all are bred. There was a great difference in size between the LaMancha buckling and his does, but apparently he got the job done despite the fact that the month or two he spent in the doe pen he was the low dog on the totem pole. I feel it may have inhibited his growth at that time as he was bashed and battered and had to compete for food. But the does seem bred.

Question: I have raised only dairy goats before. This is my first Boer buck. Are they slower to mature sexually? Or is this probably just an individual thing? He is healthy and tame with no problems otherwise. He does bucky things, like spray and curl his lips etc. The LaMancha just seems older but they are only a few days apart in age.

[Freeholder]

The lady I got my Kinder goats from has had a prolonged serious illness, during which her husband was doing most of the goat care (three years or so). She told me that one of her does had twin buck kids, which were left on the mother as the owner wasn't able to bottle feed at that time. They were both sold right at three months old, and five months later, with no other exposure to a buck, the doe kidded again. So, quite young bucks *can* breed a grown doe! My six-month-old Kinder buck has been chasing my five-y-o doe around her pen today, much to her disgust. I hadn't been able to catch her in heat, so he's been in with her for a little over two weeks now. Figured he'd do a better job of figuring out when she was in heat than I possibly could do!

Kathleen

[susanne]

today i saw that he was mounting one of the girls whe she was eating. he is a little bit short but i belive till january he will be able to do his job
susanne

[trickham]

Originally Posted by TexCountryWoman

Question: I have raised only dairy goats before. This is my first Boer buck. Are they slower to mature sexually? Or is this probably just an individual thing? He is healthy and tame with no problems otherwise. He does bucky things, like spray and curl his lips etc. The LaMancha just seems older but they are only a few days apart in age.

Boers are a little slower than some breeds to mature. The first Boer buck I owned, I'm not sure I ever saw work. However, for the two years I used him, he turned out some beautiful kids, and plenty of them. So I guess he was just a little on the shy side in front of humans. His half-brother was never bashful at all, though. Maybe its just an individual thing.


Susanne,

I'm glad to hear that it looks like he will be able to work for you.

[bumpus]

Be patient and when she wants it bad enough she will squat down and they will figure it out by themselves.

Goats know what they are doing.

People do not have all of the answer ! ! !

If you are in a big hurry, keep him and her on a side of a hill and he will figure that he need to be up hill, and her down hill, and then they will make the kid goats in their own time.

Rome was not built in one day.
But they can do what is needed in just about one minute
or less, if left alone in the right setting and time ! ! !

I say to the two goats happy breading in your own time and place alone.

.

[susanne]

thank you all for the replies. that gave me a lot of hope. can't wait to see spring and if i will have some kids running around. and a lot more questions i guess
susanne

[TexCountryWoman]

TRICKHAM........Thanks, that's kinda what i was thinking, that Boers were perhaps slower to mature than Dairy. I do believe he sucessfully bred what he needed to breed. Thanks for the post.

[trickham]

Originally Posted by TexCountryWoman

TRICKHAM........Thanks, that's kinda what i was thinking, that Boers were perhaps slower to mature than Dairy. I do believe he sucessfully bred what he needed to breed. Thanks for the post.

No problem. BTW, where in Central Texas are you located?

[TexCountryWoman]

In the woods, off of Hwy.77 between Austin and Bryan-College Station. Where are you located, Trickham?

[trickham]

Up in the Brownwood area.