# what to look for in FF and how to decide to keep it a buckling or wether?



## proudpk89 (Dec 4, 2013)

hi guys, This year I have 3 FF. Two are nigerian dwarfs and one is a 1st gen. mini nubian. They have not freshened yet, but I would like to know what to look for in their udders and how much milk should they should produce this first time. Is it possible to tell on a FF if they are going to be nice milk producers? Also how do you know when a young buckling needs to be a wether? What things do you look for in possible breeding quality young bucklings? thanks


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Most people wether all bucklings from a FF. You can go off the does animals in her pedigree, but sometimes the doe doesn't freshen like she's supposed to. Now if she has an outstanding udder on her FF, then keep them intact. I would just wait and see until they freshen.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I don't have any advise on the milk part but buckling part  my plan this year on buckling is place for sale at 2 months old. If no interest by 3 months he gets banded. On ones that I think are pure awesome I might put more effort to selling or maybe sell as a buckling but no more paper go with him if I don't get my asking price. There are some people out there that would rather butcher a buckling over a whether.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

It's really hard to tell if the will milk or not. You can try to go by the size of her udder, but that can fool you too if she has a more meaty udder. Personally I don't like to sell bucklings from first fresheners. She doesn't have any records, you don't know if she will milk, how long she will milk for or if those attachments will hold up. I've seen does have good udders their first time then their second freshening their attachments will weaken with the increased capacity. Unless you have a first freshener whose dam, granddam, great granddam, etc. on BOTH sides (obviously the sires dam lol) have excellent udders, excellent milk records, and excellent show records I wouldn't sell a buckling from a first freshener.

If you are wanting to know about keeping a buckling from an older doe, you want to sell the ones whose dams are does you would want replicated in your herd. Does she have excellent attachments all the way around? How is her teat placement, size, delineation? How is her overall conformation? How much milk does she give? Will she milk for a full 305 day lactation? If she has all that then you can look at the kids conformation. Is he already showing width in the chest, a level topline, straight legs, width between the hocks? If he has very good conformation then I would consider selling him as a buck. With bucks it is more difficult than doe kids because there are SO many bucks out there that are decent, what you want to be selling is the bucks that will be outstanding. And honestly, if you are wanting to sell a buck kid to be a future herdsire in more of a show herd if your does don't have records and if you aren't very well known it can be very hard to sell a buckling since in the spring everyone has buck kids for sale and most people want to try to buy theirs from the "who's who" in that breed.

I usually just sell them all as wethers unless I have someone wanting one before they are born and then it is only one from one of my best does. Since I bottle feed, it is better for my workload to just sell them quickly as wethers than to try to sell them as registered bucklings. If I have one born that is just outstanding then I would try to sell him as a buck, but I wouldn't keep him around too long.

Basically if you think that kid with his genetics, his conformation and his sire and dams credentials will help improve the breed, then try to sell him as a buck. If you have any doubts, then wether him. If the doe really improves and shows a lot of strengths there is always the next freshening to sell buck kids from her when she is more proven.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I was glad to read this thread, not something I had thought about before.


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## proudpk89 (Dec 4, 2013)

Thank you all for the responses! PTgoats45, thank you so much for your detailed response, we have always wethered all of our bucklings, becuase I have never felt that any of our goats are that outstanding, but this year we decided to change up our whole herd and add Little Tots estate, Oldesouth and maybe another bloodline to make our herd better, so I wanted to know what to look for in bucklings for myself to purchase as a herdsire and when I have buckling of my own. Thank you!


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