[Night Owl]

I have two bucklings that I am raising up.
1st is a 5 month old Oberhasli buckling. He is about 50 lbs and only just taller than my pygmy buck (who is full grown). Do you think he will be big enough to service a couple of girls in late fall or early winter? I've always understood that young bucks would be able to do the job, but he seems so short compared with my full grown does. When I read about 200 lb. bucks, I wonder if he will ever get there.

Second question...
My other buckling is a Nubian. He is about the same age and size as my other boy. But his manly package (testicles) is so much smaller than the Ober boy.
Has anyone had a cryptorchid or anything like that? Can he be wethered if he has a problem? Is that going to be a job for the vet?

Thanks in advance.

 

[oberhaslikid]

Oh he'll get there it will take 3 years but he will grow more.I breed mine in October so by then he would be 8 months old he should sevice a couple of does he may not get it on the first try.I would make sure he has a another male buddy in his pen with him untill then to practice on.My buck is 160 lb at 2 years old.

 

[nappy]

lI have two French Alpines, a doe and a buck who are nearly 1 1/2 years old. Their small size has me concerned also so I did not breed the doe last year to give her a chance to mature. She has grown to about 105# and he to about 115#. Both are chamoisee with black legs and trim like the Oberhasli. The Oberhaslis I've seen are slightly smaller than the Alpines. Now my theory is that these French Alpine chamoisees are very closely related to the Oberhasli (I mean coming out of the Alpine mountain area) and maybe therefore are also smaller. What do you think? Also we are breeding larger livestock in the U.S. than their European counterparts. Could it be that some of our animals are genetic throwbacks to the original breeds in Europe?

Nappy

 

[marytx]

I brought home a little buckling one summer, kidded in March, I believe, and ended up with all my does bred and kidding December and early January because I thought I had a few more weeks to get them separated. He was four or five months old when he bred all my mature does. I doubt that your guys will have any trouble doing the job this fall.