
Notice: This guide is in no way a complete reference to all the care that your buck could need. There are several great resources available that can also guide you in the care of your buck. Above all else, remember to follow the advice of your trusted and experienced ruminant veterinarian.
General Rules of Buck Ownership:
General Rules of Buck Ownership:
- Do not house your buck with your does!
- Bucks can seriously injure does by excessively breeding them, either when they are in heat or when they have a hormone surge toward the end of pregnancy.
- You won’t have any control over breeding if housed together, and therefore would have no idea when to expect kids, and this could lead to serious complications for the doe or kids if you’re ill prepared.
- Aggressive bucks can injure or kill kids.
- A goat kid of either gender can be fertile at 7 weeks of age (as early as 4 weeks of age for Nigerian Dwarf goats). Intact bucks can and will breed anything, which could impregnate their mother or two month old sister.
- A really rogue buck can spray urine, not only on himself, but on anyone housed with him leading to urine scald (a serious skin condition).
- Milk quality of your does will be affected by the stench of the buck.
- Fencing which will contain does is not adequate for a buck.
- Bucks need company!
- Goats are herd animals and need companionship.
- A wether (neutered male) goat is often a really great companion for a buck.
- However, if you are getting one intact buck (and you have an adequate number of does for them to breed), getting a second buck to keep the first company is a more money conscious decision.
- Your buck is half your herd!
- A mature buck can service upwards of 50 – 100 does per day. We usually do not recommend getting a buck until you have at least 6 does who will need servicing.
- Bucks can improve your herd quality quickly, and ruin it just as quickly.
- Seriously consider the above when thinking about offering breeding services to outside does just because you “could make a few dollars”. The health of the does the buck services are as important as the health of your doe herd. Disease tested negative for CAE, CL, and Johne’s is a must, as is checking for internal and external parasites.
- A buck is not a pet!
- They are driven by testosterone and are not to be trusted.
- Do not ever turn your back on a buck in rut, ever!
- This is not to say that you shouldn’t work with your buck. Daily handling and socialization go a long way towards having a cooperative member of your herd and breeding program.
- Should you feel threatened and need to control your buck to get yourself to safety, grab hold of your buck’s beard hard and DO NOT LET GO. Back yourself out of the buck enclosure and do not release the beard until you have a solid door ready to close between you and your buck.
- Bucks have sex! Lots and lots of sex! Bucks have sex indiscriminately. Bucks have sex with does. Bucks have sex with other bucks. Bucks have sex with wethers (neutered males). Bucks have sex with themselves. Yes, they suck themselves off. Bucks have sex with tree stumps, fences, water buckets, and more. Bucks in rut would like to have sex with humans. This could be dangerous! A buck is not a pet! Got it? Good!
- Strong fences make good neighbors!
- In this case, your buck is your neighbor. And, if you have human neighbors nearby, an even stronger fence is a good idea.
- A wise veterinarian once told me to throw a bucket of water at a fence. He chuckled and said, “If water can go through a fence, so can a goat.” This old sentiment was not far from the truth.
- If they can’t go through it, they will climb over it.
- Bucks require fencing of adequate height and strength, sometimes backed up with electricity for insurance.
- Be ready to deal with piss! Lots and lots of piss!
- Urine is a plenty.
- Bucks urinate on themselves. They soak their belly, chest, front legs, beards, and faces with urine. This often leads to urine scald.
- Urine stinks. It’s imperative to have a separate change of clothes designated to buck handling.
- There is no smell like it and it’s nearly impossible to eliminate, though we have found some really good goat milk soap that works on our hands and clothes.
- P.S. Handling is a must. Remember, hooves need to be trimmed monthly.
- Bucks drink their own urine.
- It’s important to provide lots of fresh water often because all of the urinating requires lots of hydration. Without enough hydration, buck can get urinary calculi (a urinary stone which will block the urethra preventing the buck from being able to urinate properly, usually resulting in death.
- Additionally, urine soaked beards foul the water and then the bucks won’t drink it.
- Note: Some folks prefer to cut off the beards for this reason. We do not. We like their “handle” should we need it in an emergency situation. It’s easier to provide lots of fresh water.
- Be ready for disgusting habits!
- These are intended to get the attention of the lady goats.
- Blubbering
- Tongue flapping
- Leg throwing
- Lip curling (Flehmen Response)
- It’s all quite a show, but no matter what don’t ever laugh at, ridicule or make fun of your buck for any of his behaviors. Some really expensive and wonderful genetics have been greatly ruined by bucks becoming depressed from being picked on by their human handlers or bystanders, and refusing to breed ever again. Yes, it’s happened!
- Do not kill them with kindness!
- Bucks rarely need grain!
- This is important! Do we have your attention? Good!
- Imbalanced nutrition causes metabolic changes resulting in kidney and bladder stones. These are called uroliths. Uroliths can block the urethra. If the urethra gets blocked, the buck cannot urinate. If the buck cannot urinate they can become septic and/or their bladder can rupture. If this happens, the buck will die. Most often, uroliths are not treatable. Prevention is your best medicine.
- So… what do you feed your buck?
- HAY! Lots of good quality hay!
- If you choose to feed grain, here are some good points:
- It is important that the calcium:phosphorus ratio is 2:1.
- Bucks should never eat alfalfa.
- Bucks should never eat sweet feed.
- Bucks can be feed a pellet feed that is designed for sheep and goat, provided the calcium:phosphorus ratio is correct. But, they really don’t need it.
- Bucks can have “extras” as their “grain” to help make handling easier. Here are some good examples:
- 1 cup of black oil sunflower seeds.
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds.
- 6 Brazil nuts.
- a clove of garlic
- chopped apples
- chopped carrots
- 1 tbsp. flax seeds
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
- NOTE: We feed all the above to our bucks daily and never have to worry about urinary calculi.
- Provide some boredom busters if you’re worried they “need something”. Here are some ideas:
- A smashed pumpkin
- An evergreen tree or multiple boughs.
- A stump to jump on.
- Bucks need good minerals!
- We offer Golden Blend minerals free choice. I never put out more than 1 cup at a time though, as it degrades with moisture.
- We offer ¼ c. of Sea Life kelp per buck per day.
- Himalayan salt blocks offer a pure salt source in addition to the above.
- Bucks rarely need grain!
- Be ready to train your buck!
- Teaching a buck kid to lead will be your most valuable tool. This is important for all handling that will happen in his life, as especially useful when he’s matured to 200 lbs.
- Do not let a goat kid do what you would not want an adult goat to do!
- “No” and “Yes” with appropriate tones and body language work wonders.
- Goats can be clicker trained!
- Bucks are not for everyone!
- They are all cute and cuddly when born, but that changes as they mature and are driven by testosterone.
- Consider having your does serviced by a disease free (tested negative) buck to avoid the potential problems of owning one.
- Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats by Jerry Belanger & Sara Thomson Bredesen
- www.fiascofarm.com
- Your vet!!!!!