Too late to breed?

[Coopsmom]

Hey guys!

So I recently posted about my young dappled Boer buck and his (possibly) underdeveloped man-bits! He is doing great and growing well; I’m guessing I was given the wrong information about how old he actually is.

Anyhoo...I have several does that I was hoping he’d breed this fall and I’m almost 100% sure he has no idea what a doe is yet. So last week I brought in a 1+ year old Boer buck who is a confirmed daddy.

Just wondering if you think it’s too late for him to breed/for the girls to come into heat? We’re in Ontario, Canada. It’s been dreadfully cold the last 2 days (-25 C), but it’s supposed to return to normal (0 to -5 C) starting tomorrow.

They have about an acre paddock so they aren’t confined to a small pen; the buck has lots of room to be away from the does if he chooses.

Let me know what you think! He’s a nice little buck. I’ll keep my girls regardless but it would be nice if they were bred too

 

[cassie]

It isn't too late if they cycle. If you want to breed them put them in with the buck. Either they will get bred or they won't. You might invest in a marking harness. It fits on the ram and there is some special chalk in the brisket area. When the buck mounts he will leave a crayon mark on the rump of the doe. You can find these harnesses in any online livestock supply that has sheep supplies. With the harness you will know at least when the doe was bred. The chalk comes in types for cold weather and warm weather so be sure you get the right one.

 

[Coopsmom]

Thanks Cassie! I just had a quick look at the breeding harnesses and they start at around $70 here. Not awful but I think I’ll wait until fall. A friend of mine also suggested using the livestock chalk/marker on the does’ backs and see if it gets all messed up (ie because they were mounted). Obviously not as fool-proof because they could be mounted by anyone, but a cheap solution for this late in the season that I’ll give a try.

The buck has been in with the does for a little over a week now. It’s been so cold out here, otherwise I’d take an hour a day just to sit and observe their behaviour. Fingers crossed there’s some action before it’s too late!

 

[cassie]

Observing their behavior doesn't always work, as a friend of mine found out. She borrowed a buck from me and was complaining that all she ever saw him do was fill his face at the hay feeder or lie down under a tree and chew his cud. Turned out she never saw him do anything because he had already done it.

 

[Coopsmom]

Well I marked the 2 bucks last night. They were pretty sure I was trying to eat them but we got it done. Will see if I have any colourful does in the near future!!

 

[Coopsmom]

So exactly 2 weeks after the big bucks went in with the herd I saw them breeding one of my girls yesterday! I guess I’ll keep an eye on things, but I’m guessing if they helped bring one girl into heat most of any other open girls should come into heat shortly as well.

We also had our first kids yesterday! Twins born healthy and happy to a proud mamma