Starting a herd?

[airotciv]

I have been thinking of getting some goats, not sure what kind yet. Maybe dairy and or meat goats. My question is should I have a buck or go to using someone elses buck? I hear the bucks can be a problem and should be seperated from the herd unless breeding. Not really a problem keeping them seperate. The next Question is how to find a buck for my girls. Do you talk to the breeder you bought from and arrange for using his bucks? So many Questions Any thoughts on keeping bucks. I know you have to take in the expence of the buck for the year of up keep.

[susanne]

a good idea would be to buy a buck in early spring and keep him until he has bred all your does. than sell him.
susanne

[HunterTed]

Personally I like to keep a buck. To me it is too big of a pain to take them somewhere to get bred. I am having this problem right now. My new Boer buck isn't quite big enough yet to breed 2 of my does that kidded a month ago and are ready to be bred again. Fortunately I have an uncle that also raises Boers and lives about 10 minutes from me. I know that he takes good care of them but I still like having them at home. After I get some quality replacement nannies out of my buck it won't be hard to sell him. I can just show the buyer the babies he throws, and I get another one. I do the same for my Barbado rams. The only thing I will have to take to get bred after my Boer buck is old enough are my two Black Hawaiian ewes. My uncle has a Black Hawaiian ram, but when I get a couple more then I will be in the market for a Black Hawaiian ram too.

[TexCountryWoman]

I keep my own buck. Too much trouble not too. I have a meat buck (fullblood Boer) and a dairy buck (fullblood LaMancha). I got them young and they live together). I find them not that much trouble to keep as i also raise horses and cattle and a donkey herd...so a couple of bucks are not signifigant in the grand scheme of things. I like having a buck right when i need one. ....Diane

[Ellie5]

I keep two bucks, horned. I don't particularly like the horns (my does are all disbudded), and I worry about them & safety. My thinking was they would look too feminine without horns (no offense meant). I must admit they are awfully handsome with those racks though.

For those reasons, I'm thinking of selling my bucks & keeping one a year until the does are all bred, then selling him as was suggested above. For this small breeder, it's hard to justify the upkeep costs.

I read somewhere that a buck starts to earn his keep year round if you have 8 or more does. Has anyone heard this or done the math?

[airotciv]

Thanks everyone. New to goats. I have also heard that unless I have 8 or more not cost effective to have a buck. But then the hassel of taking them to the breeder. I like the idea of keeping the buck to breed and selling, but on the other hand, maybe it's less hassel to just keep him. . My husband said last night, So us males are just throw aways. Do our stuff and then get rid of us.

[Dee]

Snicker, that's a good one.

I would have suggested exactly what you just decided.

Also, alot of people have milk goats that they breed to meat goat bucks and sell the kids. Best of both goats.

[TexCountryWoman]

Yes, I breed only my finest dairy does back to a dairy buck. The "culls" are bred to my Boer and are integrated into the "meat herd". (True culls would not be kept at all, I am talking about culls in which the udder is not good enough to warrant the dairy goat staying in the dairy herd to procreate. A weak or unthrifty animal should be culled from the herd altogether).