# Can the buck cause still birth?



## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

I am about to take one of my maiden does to mate to a buck on another property. One of the does mated to that buck on that property just kidded one strong healthy kid and two dead ones. Could the father have anything to do with the stillbirths? Thanks!


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Not likely, I would say it was from the other babies not getting enough nutrition and that big one got most of it. Which can be prevented if that is the case


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Your doe could have contracted chlamydia or another disease from the buck. She may also have been butted by another goat that could have caused the stillbirths. There's really no way to know for sure without a necropsy on the fetuses. 
I would ask the bucks owner is she's had or heard of any other kidding issues


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes chlamydia can cause stillborn/underdeveloped as well as a hard ramming from another goat.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with what the others said. Sorry for the losses.


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

Thank you. The loss is very sad but it wasn't my doe. I will be taking my doe to that Buck next week. In the meantime more does pregnant to that boy are due to kid at their place so we'll see.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Keep us posted, but I bet it wasn't the buck.

Following

onder:


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## Clarebear12345 (Dec 2, 2015)

Following


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

None of the other does mated to that Buck had issues. On Thursday we took our girl to meet him. At first she was a bit annoyed but she had just spent an hour in the car and arrived to a strange place with strange goats and some annoying little dogs. After about an hour of getting them acquainted she stood for him and he managed to do the deed, or at least so we think. This is a maiden doe and I am not sure if she wasn't cycling so my questions are:
1. Does that fact that the buck was interested and she eventually stood for him mean that she was cycling at the time?
2. Assuming that we caught her at the right time, what are the chances of a maiden doe getting pregnant in just one mating







?
3. How can I tell if she is pregnant given that I've never been able to work out when she cycles?
Thanks! Here's a picture of my partner playing Cupid holding my doe Lillypilly while Wrex the buck checks her out...


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

When breeding does I usually have them breed three times just to make sure. I deem it a successful breed when he throws his head back. About a week before breeding with my yearlings I "Flush" them, Giving them an increased amount of protein, that lasts a couple day after breeding also. Do you have a buck rag?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

3 times at one breeding is what I do, too. The first time cleans out the buck! Second is the actual mating and the third is a bonus! I do like to see both the doe and buck do a good "hunch". That means he actually made contact with the cervix and deposited the semen and she accepted it. (my interpretation of the events!) If he throws his head back and falls off the doe, even better!


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## tatumhills (Feb 8, 2014)

Not sure what a back rug is. I assume I don't have it. Can't remember if buck threw his head back but he got it in 3-4 times, 3 of these times he got to move back and forth a couple of times and the last time the does when baa and stepped forward at the end. Sorry TMI...


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Before I got bucks I would take a rag, dirty dish towel...really anything. Rub it all over the buck and to check if the does are going back into heat put the rag into their pen (it never loses its smell) or give it to them during their heat cycle and it gets them more "worked up"


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Ha! Good ideas here! One of our two bucks is very smelly, -very funny! I know goats smell everything! The little wethers we have smell everything I bring in by them, tho it doesn't matter,...treats, buckets, ..


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

She's a pretty goat.

Having the buck be interested in her isn't always a sign that she's in heat. Some does make a big deal out of being in heat, while others are very demure & subtle. Many will wave their tails around a lot more than usual, called "flagging." Sometimes their vulva will seem a little pinker. When you think she might be in heat, mark it on the calendar so that in 3 weeks you can watch her & see if you notice the same things you noticed before. If she isn't pregnant now, she will have a few more cycles.


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