# Strange question - do wethers look like bucks or does



## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Maybe a daft question but does the castration process make the goat grow up looking more like a doe? Or does it grow up to look the same as a buck ?

Cheers


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Neither, he looks like a wether. I know, that's not helpful. 

They are the size of a buck (or bigger) and have a masculine body style and face but lack the secondary characteristics. They don't have the long haired capes, large beards, huge horns, or stank.
I could take some pictures tomorrow.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

They have less muscles than a fertile buck also. The horns will be bigger than a doe's. but far from as big as a buck's. If the buck is adult when being castrated, there will be a distinct spot where you can see that the horns started to grow less.


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## NigerianNewbie (Jun 6, 2018)

This is an example of the horn indentation post castration Trollmor was referring to. No, Patch, goat in the photo, doesn't wear those small tennis balls everyday. They are only protective human coverings for when he had to be handled at the vet office. This photo was taken 6 weeks after castration, the indentation is less noticeable now and there is a smooth appearance other than a slight ring in the horn.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

OT: How is his copper, zink, etcetera, doing? Does he still have those "glasses"?


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

For the sake of the OP's question, I will answer simply (while I want to say "a wether looks like a wether and nothing else") they do lean more to the look of does. You could probably confuse a doe with a wether/wether with a doe, but neither with a buck.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Defiantly as a mature animal they look like a wether. If they are still fairly young they can very much look more like a doe. 
Funny story. A friend and I trade kids often lol so she wanted one of my doe kids and I went over to look to see about trading. Every single kid I picked out that I wanted to trade with her was a stinking wether lol


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

I dont have an older wether to show you, but buck, doe, 1 year old wether son...


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Here's a photo of a three-year-old Alpine buck I sold a few years ago. The amount of horn growth in such a short time is incredible, and you can also see he has a very full beard, thick cape, and a lot of long body hair. He's a typical young buck. He'll be even bigger, hairier, and more muscular as he continues to mature. In these photos he's just coming off winter following a very active rut, so he's not carrying as much weight here as we'll expect going into fall. Spidy's buck photo does a better job of showing the incredible muscle and thick neck typical of a mature buck. 


















By contrast, here are a couple of mature, four-year-old wethers. They are much bigger than my does, being around 6-10 inches taller at the withers and as much as 50-100 lbs. heavier. But when you compare these guys to the bucks, you can see they lack the incredible muscling, thick necks, full beards, capes, and long body hair. They have smoother, sleeker bodies like does, but are much bigger. I would guess that these wethers are about the same height or possibly a little taller than the bucks, but they lack the impressive body mass. Finn, the wether in the first photo, had horns very similar to the Alpine buck pictured above when they were the same age. But Finn was wethered at nine months and his horn growth came to a grinding snail pace. They still grow every year and are impressive for a wether, but as you can see, they can't be compared to the horns on a buck.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

And on the buck's horns you can easily see the "heat rings", which they develop each autumn. Easy to see the age of a buck with horns!

Beautiful photos, @Damfino!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

I meed finn to come live at our farm! He is so beautifully handsome! I adore his face! :gottago::hide:


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

1 and a half year old Nigerian Dwarf wethers (disbudded).


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## healthyishappy (Mar 6, 2019)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> 1 and a half year old Nigerian Dwarf wethers (disbudded).
> 
> View attachment 158675
> 
> ...


I just love Eddie and Freddie they are SO cute!!!!


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

healthyishappy said:


> I just love Eddie and Freddie they are SO cute!!!!


Aw lol thank you! I love them too!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Jupp, Eddie and Freddie are _photogenic_!!!


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Trollmor said:


> Jupp, Eddie and Freddie are _photogenic_!!!


Yes they really are haha


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Friends, I got a question from a visiting friend, and I had to start a new thread:

https://www.thegoatspot.net/threads/how-old-do-they-get.206675/


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## Drmike (Jun 23, 2019)

Damfino said:


> Here's a photo of a three-year-old Alpine buck I sold a few years ago. The amount of horn growth in such a short time is incredible, and you can also see he has a very full beard, thick cape, and a lot of long body hair. He's a typical young buck. He'll be even bigger, hairier, and more muscular as he continues to mature. In these photos he's just coming off winter following a very active rut, so he's not carrying as much weight here as we'll expect going into fall. Spidy's buck photo does a better job of showing the incredible muscle and thick neck typical of a mature buck.
> View attachment 158671
> 
> 
> ...


Gorgeous buck thanks for sharing


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Sfgwife said:


> I meed finn to come live at our farm! He is so beautifully handsome! I adore his face! :gottago::hide:


Me first!!! can we fight over Finn???


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

spidy1 said:


> Me first!!! can we fight over Finn???


I would happily take either finn or sputnik!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Sfgwife said:


> I would happily take either finn or sputnik!


May we hear Finn's and Sputnik's opinions? Maybe they will prefer meeee!! :hide::hide:


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

lets see, what claimant does he like best...


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I asked Finn and Sputnik and they told me they're pretty happy where they are. But if they ever tell me different I'll let you guys know so you can have a bidding war!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Okay, I bid my HEART!!! :inlove:


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