# Is this buck good enough to use for improving my stud or not?



## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

what do you think of this buck i want to use him in my herd perhaps can you help me by having a look and say yes or no or his weak point stronger points giving him 40 does i know it is allot of does but im in need of more breeding buck.my does still have a long way to go in the breeding buisiness





















my type of does.and this is the buck to be considered?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I would separated the does under 1 year or ones who are not of good weight, before allowing the buck out with the doe's. You do not want to breed too young or to any who are not at weight, they will have issues at kidding time if he has big birth weight babies.

The does are not big boned.
Do you have a worming and cocci prevention program? They seem small.
What is the weight of the smallest year old or older doe's? 

Do you feed roughage hay on occasion as well. 
I see they live on brush?
Do they get anything else?

Do you have loose salt and minerals out free choice, with selenium and copper?

They appear to have lice with the itching going on.

The buck has bigger boned. Has more meat, so he should help your girls make better kids. 
In one of the pics, he appears to be copper deficient. If he still is, and has a fishtail, make sure he gets a copper bolus, as copper deficiency can cause him not to produce good sperm count and may make his libido low.

40 doe's is max, but, he must get proper nutrients to keep him going.


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

There is only 120 ewes ready for the buck. The yunger ones is not going to breed yet.i start breeding them at 18 months old.yes its in the veld its the worst drought here in south africa at the moment.and youre right they are not in the best condition.no extra feeding only rotating camps but the size of the land is 2400 hectares.allot of our farmers dont have anything left in the field our yearly rainfall averages about 200-280 mm.the lightest one year old doe is about 35kg and the heaviest about 45.the heaviest doe is about 70 kg.the breeding buck is kept seperate on feeding pellets.ill send some other pictures of my does


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

We do parasites and thicks and worms every 3 weeks but it doesnt work well.


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)




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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

You mean does as in goats, not ewes as in sheep right?

Yeah, 77 lbs is quite light, for a year old boer, but OK.

I am sorry you are going through a drought, that makes since on their condition, understandable, there isn't much you can do. 
I hope that changes for you soon.

I really like that last doe you just pictured there, She is nice.

Worming every 3 weeks can make power worms, and the worms to get immuned to the wormer, that is too often. 
Worming once or 2 x a year if you have big issues with worms. Or as needed when one has signs.
Be sure to always follow up 10 days later to get hatching worm eggs. 3 x 10 days apart, if they are super bad. But do know, if you have Ivomec cattle injectable or something like that and have a really anemic goat, do not give it orally, give it SQ. 
Not sure what wormers you have there?

Periodically getting a fecal for worms and cocci on your skinniest or bad condition goats helps to monitor them, as well as checking the inner lower eyelid coloring. They should be dark pink. I don't know if you are familiar with famancha score chart. That is another way you can visually monitor worm loads and when to treat them. 
https://www.thuenen.de/en/ol/projec...ac-color-chart-in-the-sheep-and-goat-farming/

Giving copper boluses helps them fight off worm loads if they are deficient. They need copper and selenium as well as other minerals.

If the wormer doesn't work anymore, go to another one. Over worming causes resistance. Which may of happened with your goats.

Cocci can show up and not show scouring at all, just weight loss and kids have stunted growth. 
If the goats have a high load and not treated quickly, it destroys the stomach lining so they cannot absorb nutrients. The damage is permanent.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Heinrich, I just love seeing your goats & hearing about how you manage them over there. It's really bad about the drought, & it's affecting many countries--my friends in Malawi are losing the corn crop they rely on. They are struggling to get irrigation going before it's too late. I hope it rains soon, for all of you!


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

We are in a bad situation.and our poor rand is not helping.for instance if i want to make my bakkie full of diesel it cost about 2 goats.lol


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

But everyday without the rain is one day closer to rain


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

toth boer goats said:


> Worming every 3 weeks can make power worms, and the worms to get immuned to the wormer, that is too often.
> Worming once or 2 x a year if you have big issues with worms. Or as needed when one has signs.
> Be sure to always follow up 10 days later to get hatching worm eggs. 3 x 10 days apart, if they are super bad.


This is what I was thinking. Thank you for the confirmation. Very empowering to the parasites.

I was speaking to someone else in an African country, and he explained, when I was confused, they call sheep rams and goat bucks, all rams. Perhaps it is the same with the ewes/does?


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

Hi Heinrich. What is "rand, and bakkie"?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I have to ask the same.


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

Sorry bakkie is called a truck and rand is our currency which is pathetic like R1 for R13 dollars


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## Heinrich (Dec 28, 2017)

I think they are imune already.what type of worm medicine must i buy or use? Something strong and a 10 day follow up and leave them.?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I knew the rand, but not the bakkie.

Ask your vet what is not obsolete yet for the type of worms you have. No sense worming for something you don't have, that'll just make things worse. Then yes, follow up in 10 days. 10 days after that, do another fecal and see what improvement you have. You might have to follow up one more time. So, Fecal, Worm. 10 days later, Worm. 10 days later, Fecal, and maybe worm again. That should enable you to go awhile, especially since you are rotating over such a large area.

@Heinrich You may not wish to think about this, but your drought and forage troubles right now can help you to make breeding and culling decisions, by being aware and taking notes on who is managing this stress better than others who are not. I'm not thinking this should be the only standard you use, but we all have to make these decisions anyway... putting this into the mix can only help move you toward your goals, I would think. Not that I wish stress or harm to any goat.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

What kinds of wormers do you have access to?
We may have different wormer types here, than you have there.

Do you have a vet, that you can take in a fecal too?
And tell you what wormers can be used over the counter types?


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