# Buckling Not Interested in Females



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I was just wondering how early most bucks become interested in females. I have a buck who is a little over 4 months old and is not even remotely "bucky." The only thing he does is pee in his mouth on occasion. I have had him out with a couple of pregnant does so he learns some social skills. They were both very nice to him and never attempted to beat him up. I have had him out with an open doe for several weeks now. The new owner wants him to breed her. I told her there were no promises because of his young age, but felt it was good to leave him with her for social skills..considering the new owner wouldn't mind if he managed to get the job done. They tend to exist peacefully, although she does want to headbutt him at feeding time.

The thing is, he has zero interest in her. I haven't seen her come into heat, but he doesn't even tease her or do bucky things. I've let him play with my two 3 1/2 month old doe kids (under supervision), just to see if he would act bucky with something less intimidatingly big compared to him. Nada. He can have his nose right in their girl parts and he doesn't react at all. 

The buck I used to have was ridiculous. He continued to sexually harass all the females even when they were preggo. He did the tongue wagging, pawing, snorting..everything. He was 10 months though... This new buck hasn't done a single one of those things.

I have a buckling who is only a WEEK old and is already tongue wagging, pawing, snorting and mounting his twin sister. 

I guess my question is, when should I be worried about him being a dud? How old have some of your bucklings gotten before finally starting to act the part?


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## mrs. lam (Apr 20, 2010)

Let's see.....Romeo was 3 months old and "ready" to go when we bought him...Ash was less than a month when he started the courtship thing....Ben was 2 weeks old when we got him and he started to stomp, lip curl and hump when he was 3 weeks old.

Romeo is a Nubian cross. Ash is a pygmy cross and Ben is a Nubian. Seems like at the sale barn, the pygmy bucks are the most obnoxious. They scream, paw, tongue and mount the larger bucks. They tend to stink more too.

Romeo and Ash have since been nuetered (sp?) so Ben will be my only buck. Now to find him another girlfriend.  He is in love with my mini nubian Fancy. She's a couple weeks older then him but he follows her EVERYWHERE! He won't even look at Wednesday. (Ash's sister) Guess he doesn't like airplane ears. :laugh: 

Gina


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## Realfoodmama (Apr 13, 2010)

I'm a newbie to goats, but my FF kidded with twin bucklings this year and they were going after my other girl pretty much as soon as I introduced them - at about a week old.

They would both sniff her, curl lips, try to mount her (unsuccessfully I might add - she was having nothing of it and wasn't shy about telling them off). And they would frequently mount each other, me, logs....

This has been my only experience with bucks, however.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Is he a nigi? My Chief "acted" bucky from 3 months old on but wasn't interested in the girls until my pygmy buck Hank started to "court" them( Hank was 4 months old when he sired his first 6 kids) Chief wasn't actually interested in breeding til he was 7 months old and nailed my 4 month old through the fence.

Also, Chief didn't start to get that bucky aroma very strong until he was almost 2 years old...my pygmy Hank was VERY strong by the time he was 6 months old.


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## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

He's a buck he will catch on ..... watch out for the slow ones ...one day POW he is on everything!!


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Yup, he is a Nigi. Tomahawk curls his lip on occasion and pees in his mouth...the only bucky things I've seen him do. He also paws, but its more of that random, twitchy pawing accompanied with a twitchy head jerk, that all my goats will do on occasion (both girl and guy)...although they only do it once in awhile. He does it all the dang time. He has zero smell. He really just acts like a kid. I think he is just late maturing....Or maybe its Nigis? My last buck was purchased by me at 10 months, and the owner said he had just started trying to breed her girls in the last month, but that'd he'd been out with them for several....But then again there is Dutch, my week old little guy who is acting like a perverted little lech already...I've heard Pygmies are real horn dogs and get really aggressive as far as wanting to breed early on......

Dunno. I'm going to try and give him opportunities to socialize with the girls though, until he starts being interested. I'm not going to leave him out with anyone I don't want bred, but I'm going to give him frequent and supervised playdates. I have a feeling that if I segregate him completely his social skills might be all messed up and he won't ever want to breed. I had two 7 month bucklings for awhile that were absolutely, 100% gay. They tried to breed each other ALL DAY long but turned their noses up at does in full blown heat. I sold them. They were also brothers, and had been raised on bottles, together, away from all females their entire lives.

Mully: Yup, I'm sure he'll figure it out. I guess I'm just paranoid about him being in the 10% or something like that of sheep/goat males that won't breed females. I know there are those out there that just won't for one reason or another, even if it's rare.


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

I think it's rams, not bucks that are 10% gay.

Jan


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

The studies were done on rams, yes...but sheep and goats are very closely related. I'm not sure if the same thing can occur in goats, but I'm nervous about it nonetheless. And I have heard stories about bucks (rarely) who weren't necessarily gay but just didn't like sex. I guess just extremely poor libido.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Our buck is around 4- 4 1/2 months old, and he's just starting to show some interest. I've never seen him try to mount our preggo girls, or the two new does, but I've seen him try to mount our other doe/his buddy a few times now. He's still a bit short to reach her yet, and she just casually pushes him aside...LOL
Otherwise I've not seen any behaviors out of him that seem 'buckish.'


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

Our buckling is slow to mature also (boer). He's not even peeing in his mouth or stomping his foot. He did try to mount the doelings before we segregated them, but it was more like them all playing kid games with nothing extending. I haven't seen him wag his tongue or anything. He's about 3 months old, but I also don't think anybody has come into heat since he's been here. I'm okay with prolonging the nastiness of buckhood for as long as he's ready to wait. :wink:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I wouldn't worry about it. He will eventually figure it out. Three months isn't very old. I have had to wait for some nigi bucks to actually start wanting to breed clear up to 10 months. Some are ready at a couple months, some are ready at a year, it just depends.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

at 4 months i wouldnt even be thinking about using him for breeding, thats IMO far too young to even remotely expect him to perform.. He's still a baby.. most of my nigerian bucks weren't super bucky until they were yearlingsand even right nowmy lamancha yearling doesn't act bucky at all


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## 4kids (Jul 21, 2009)

Well if it makes you feel better I have three bucks (2 born in Feb and 1 born in January) and noone is acting bucky at all. Hower, I also have 2 little 1 month olds that are all over the place with bucky behavior- go figure!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I'd give him time... he is quite young yet..... some are later bloomers.... :wink: :greengrin:


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I'm not "expecting" him to perform, as if I am trying to put pressure on him and force him to breed anything. I was just curious as to how long some people's bucks took to get bucky. The only reason I have had him out with that open doe, is because the new owner wants her bred. I told her not to expect anything because he is still a baby, but didn't see any harm in leaving them out together so he could learn social skills with the ladies. What is funny is that the new owner picked the doe up today, and she is finally just coming into heat. I told her to take her home, observe her so she can learn to recognize heat signs, and I would call her when he was ready and we could go from there. I'm not concerned, per say, but I always get paranoid about anything I can be paranoid about. In this case, the fact that males who simply don't like does or are outright gay is possible in goats/sheep.

Right now I'm concerned its ME that he is in love with. He doesn't act bucky towards me, but follows me like crazy and just about ignores all of the other goats on the property in favor of me. He screams bloody murder when I go out of sight. I have to make sure the night-time feeding is plenty early so he isn't wailing his brains out when the neighbors are in bed. I guess he does paw at me now that I think about it...Oh well, I'm not wanting to breed anything again until late fall or winter so I can have babies no earlier than April. I just can't believe how non-buck-like he is..and then my little week old buckling is already acting like a such a horny freak. But then my last buck didn't start trying to breed anything until 9-10 months. The mental maturity differences are fascinating to me.


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

No worries. I was wondering the same thing about my buckling for a while. He is a 4 month old alpine. Has no interest in the girls, no bucky smell. I'm relishing it as long as I can though, actually. Because I know the day will come soon when he won't be the same sweet little boy he is now.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Most bucks aren't acting real bucky right now because it's not rut season. My nigerian bucks don't even stink to bad right now, they're actually staying really clean. They get really nasty in October through February.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

A short while ago, I looked out the window to check on everyone, and saw the buckling standing up on a pallet that they knocked down. I stood and watched, and he was trying to mount one of the does....except he looked clueless and was trying to mount her shoulders and head....OMG LOL It was the funniest thing! I noticed tonight she was doing a lot of lip curling with her nose in the air, and she didn't ward him off either.
He's around 4 months old <think he was born in Feb>, and I am glad he's showing more interest....but I have to admit, I hope he does eventually figure out she's supposed to breed her from behind, and not at the shoulders...LOL


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

It was always my impression that there is no real rut reason for Nigierians, since they will breed all year round. But, I did notice that my last buck didn't smell much at all certain times of the year. And he only got a crusty face from peeing on himself a couple of months out of the entire year. But then he was always tongue wagging, pawing and trying to mount his girls all year through the fence (even though he couldn't)..even when they were pregnant (I put him out with them their last couple of months of pregnancy, when it was obvious they were preggo.) And he got his share of girlies knocked up in Dec-Jan. I guess it all boils down to individual personality. Its amazing how animals are so much like people. I don't see how some people don't see how individual animals are. My dogs, my goats, my horses...They all have their little quirks and behaviors.

Hoosier - Thats funny, I had a young stallion at my place for a few months. We were trying to get my mare pregnant and trying to teach him how to do his business at the same time for the owner. That idiot mounted bushes next to the mare because he would get so frustrated. He tried mounting her head numerous times. He couldn't figure out the whole teasing process and would get so mad that she wouldn't simply allow him to jump on without all the courtship. I ended up having to go out and teach him the proper format. When I came out to get him for his "sex sessions", he would run to me, pretty much stick his head in the halter and then wait for my instructions. It was hilarious. He seemed to think that he would fail without me, and without following my instructions. He wouldn't get on until I pointed and told him to get up, after I made sure he'd teased the mare enough to be fully ready. He was the most gentle, easiest hand breeding stallion I've ever worked with.


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Firelight, I'm almost afraid to ask. And how did we teach the stud the proper "format?"


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

Dreamchaser said:


> Firelight, I'm almost afraid to ask. And how did we teach the stud the proper "format?"


 :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :slapfloor: :slapfloor: :slapfloor: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL:

OMG i need to know


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Lol. Its not as gross as it sounds. A mare will generally require teasing beginning at the head. The stallion will touch noses or nip at the side of her head and she'll squeal. Well, he would get too excited and try and rush things before the mare was ready and would get denied and then discouraged and frustrated. Then he would try to hump her head, then when she got mad he'd go hump bushes and then go sulk. I had to teach him to nibble at her head, then her neck, then her belly before nipping carefully at the haunches to make sure she would accept him and allow him to mount without kicking, etc. That and I had to point him to the back end instead of the front when he finally tried to get up there.

...... Dear Lord my baby buckling is a perv. He will be only 2 weeks in a couple of days and he is like a bunny rabbit. I caught him going at his sister like that dog and his stuffed duck in "Click" with Adam Sandler. Weaning will come as early as possible for this little dude.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Funny how you explained that firelight - years ago I used to work on a thoroughbred breeding farm. We had 17 mares and foals in our barn, and around 30 barren <empty> mares divided into two fields behind the barn. We had two small pens behind the barn we herded the mares into every morning/afternoon, tied them with bungee ties, and fed them with fence feeders.
During breeding season, a handful of people would come help us, - they'd bring a teaser stallion up between the pens to the gate, and one at a time we'd lead a mare over to him. It is a DANGEROUS job when there is nothing between you and the mare, you just stand back and have the end of your shank/lead rope handy in case you have to swat her away from you. Thankfully we had a wonderful teaser who was gentle with the girls. If the mare didn't try to bite his head off/beat the hell out of him LOL then you'd turn her around and let him sniff her rump. If she still took to him and showed she was ready, then she was usually sent the breeding shed on or off the farm within hours. 
Thankfully.... I only had to go to the breeding shed one time.....haha...


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