# How young are bucks fertile?



## bessmiller

So my little guy Dave (who is about 6 weeks old) has started copying his father and acting...well, like a buck. He keeps trying to mount his mother and the doeling that is living in the pen with them (I have two mommas and two babies together right now, and the bucks in a different pen). It also looks like he is trying to pee on himself. Oh joy!

My question is, can a 6 week old buckling successfully breed a doe? I was planning on leaving him with his momma a little while longer, but if there is a chance he could father kids at this age, I should probably put him with the boys. I think he would be fine--he is a big guy, and gets along well with my bucks.

Anyway, your opinions are appreciated!

Thanks!
Bess M.


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## milk and honey

I've heard that 6 weeks is the "magic age" for little boys... So he can possibly breed mom or sisters... although I have a friend that keeps hers together till 12 weeks... Kinda risky though...


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## thegoatgirl

They can breed at one month. :wink:


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## PznIvyFarm

I was told 8 weeks is the magic age..........so mine are fixed at 7 weeks

But my 3 week old is already mounting his sister


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## bessmiller

Ooo. So perhaps I need to separate him. Hopefully he hasn't already done any harm! 

Thanks!


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## packhillboers

I really hope nothing can happen with a buck before 8 weeks old. What would that say about nature? If that is true then are we humans messing up the system by managing them in a way to make them this way? I doubt that they are fertile any younger than 8 weeks but perhaps in a larger herd system of natural management the mammas move their babies away from each other and have a way of keeping this from happening.. .. little bucks shouldnt be able to be fertile until they could at least come close to being weaned. We like to band at 7-8 weeks old. After this age.. bucks need to be seperated as a possible problem I suppose and that would also mean that they would need to be weaned sooner too. It would be interesting to know what range goats would do.. would they just wean the bucklings early and bump them away? I do wonder.


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## packhillboers

I also am not sure about a mamma Doe that would allow her baby to breed her that young. I can tell you.. it wouldnt happen with the does we have.. they get disciplined in a snappy way from the mamma. Any Doe that would encourage her nursing baby to breed her.. she better have some sort of saving quallities to keep her on the farm because I don't think I would want that kind of Doe on our farm at all.


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## minibarn

I allow the baby bucks to stay with moms & sisters till 8-10 wks old even tho' they may start acting very bucky much younger. I've heard that if you see them extending pink then they can breed. But I think the chances of them actually being able to reach an adult doe and be coordinated enough to do the deed are slim, and with the baby sisters they also need to be in heat that young which I don't think happens normally in my experience. Personally I would leave him with mom till at least 8 wks rather than erring on the side of weaning him too young.


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## bessmiller

Well his mother is not "letting" him breed her--he is just trying to. She butts him away as soon as he attempts anything. He has been hopping on top of the 2 month old doeling we have, but she doesn't let him stay there for long. 

I just don't want any of my girls to be bred so soon after they have given birth. That is my concern. But if you guys think he will not be able to do any harm, I'll leave him in there for a couple more weeks. He is pretty much weaned anyway.

Thanks again!


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## KW Farms

They can generally be fertile at about 7 weeks...though not all are...i'm sure many are not fertile yet. Some will however start "breeding" does around that time, fertile or not. I like to have mine banded at 7-8 weeks and weaned at 8 weeks.


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## packhillboers

Well just this morning one of the little bucklings was chasing another doe Mamma around.(Not his mamma) and she was yellling her head off trying to get away. She doesnt have horns or the confidence I suppose to knock him a good head butt. We have seperated him along with his brother & sister into a separate pen with his mamma and sister. He doesnt seem to bother his sister so I think he was only trying to steal a drink from the other Doe but he was so persistent and bratty about it. I still think they can not breed younger than 8 and even 10 weeks. I would hope not. If that one mamma doe would have just head butted him a good hard bump.. he would not have been harassing her but she is a whimp. This same little guy gets thumped hard by the yearlings and other mammas for his bratty behavior. Such an aggressive buckling and our best in form .. I don't think he will make a good buck temperament - so he is getting banded soon.


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## shibby7

I have a 5 week old (almost 6) nubian/boer cross kid that is very much fertile!!! He is the most bucky kid I have ever had. He fully extends, mounts, makes buck noises, shows the Flehmen response and I even saw him spray his face yesterday :shocked: . I do not think this is the norm though. I have other bucklings that mount and such, but if you look closely - they aren't actually extending.

I'm considering wethering him early, he's not ready to be weaned and I'm worried he will breed his mother. He was a single, so at least no sister to bother.


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## packhillboers

I just looked back at our last year time that we banded the bucklings and they were about 8 - 10 weeks along. This year it will be 8 weeks I think.


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## KW Farms

shibby7 said:


> I have a 5 week old (almost 6) nubian/boer cross kid that is very much fertile!!! He is the most bucky kid I have ever had. He fully extends, mounts, makes buck noises, shows the Flehmen response and I even saw him spray his face yesterday :shocked: . I do not think this is the norm though. I have other bucklings that mount and such, but if you look closely - they aren't actually extending.


Some bucklings are like this...actually acting like a buck, breeding (actually penetrating) does. I had a few last year that I had to wether early just to be safe and bring their hormones down. That doesn't mean they're *fertile* though.


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## toth boer goats

If you see his "you know what.. coming out" he can start doing the deed and should be pulled ...when you see this..... it is usually around 2.5 months old or so ... I will pull them at 2.5 months old earliest..... Bucklings will ride others but ...if he isn't ready..look closely ...cause you won't see it come out.... as he is mount playing... :wink:


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## LadyhunterDe

I had my buckling banded at 7 weeks and got my doe at 6 weeks (3 weeks) after I had him banded. he didnt start mounting her till about two to three weeks afterwards. Do you think he could of breed her


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## ksalvagno

It takes about 6 weeks for everything to be out of his system. But if the doe was only 6 weeks old, it is unlikely she would get pregnant.


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