# Influencing Gender of Kids



## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

I know this topic has been talked about numerous times, but I have been doing some research lately. Most, if not all, I have heard is based in old wive's tales and the like and very few things are likely to be scientifically related. However, I thought I'd share the things I have heard and ask about people's experiences with any of these factors, trying these things, etc.

I have heard from dog people, horse people, goat people, etc. that the male's sperm will decide the gender of the baby. In other words, each sperm is pre-programmed for a specific gender. However, the environment of the mother's reproductive system will help decide which sperm live or die, so she also has an effect on gender. I have heard male sperm is weaker and dies faster, and in that light people have attempted to do certain things to make it difficult for the male sperm to thrive, assuming they won't affect the stronger female sperm.

I have heard of people putting vinegar in the female's lady parts before introducing the buck, as they believe the acidity will kill male sperm and allow female sperm to live. I have never tried this and most likely never will. If a substance is acting as a spermacide and killing sperm, I would think it would have a good opportunity of killing all sperm and preventing pregnancy (or making it harder to get your doe bred in any case.)

I have also heard of people breeding their doe on the earliest day she will stand for the buck, and then not re-breeding her any of the following days of her standing heat. The theory is that the earliest day of standing heat is the furthest from ovulation, and the female sperm will live longer and thus reach the target in time, while the male sperm will die off before ovulation occurs. When you have a doe who is in standing heat for only one day, however, I don't see how this really works. My first doe of the season was bred only once. She wasn't acting as if she was in heat, the buck ran out the gate and I chased him, but he got to her first and she stood for him. Wham-bam I have kids. Triplet bucklings...and she was only covered one time at the very beginning of her heat cycle. So I don't put a lot of stock in this theory myself.

I have heard of putting Apple Cider Vinegar in your goat's drinking water (both doe and buck) and this will somehow raise the acidity in the goat's body and cause them to produce more females. I haven't found good evidence this works in any way based on people's buck/doe ratios who do this. However, I have heard very good things about kidding problems become next to non-existent after starting this practice and having shinier, healthier looking goats with less incidence of disease, etc. Apple cider vinegar is supposed to be a super food for humans as well, very healthy. I'm going to buy some and start using it on my goats just for health reasons.

I have also heard that feeding a goat blackberries and/or cranberries on a regular basis will produce more females. Have no clue on this one.

I have heard that breeding early in the season will net you more males. IE, there will be more buck kids born in February and March and then you will start seeing more female kids in April, May, June, etc. So far, from what I have seen of what people have been getting from their does, it seems that January and February was very buck heavy. It supposedly has something to do with the weather, length of sunlight hours, composition and nutritional aspects of grass and forage and different times of the year, etc. I feel this may hold some sort of truth, but it is beyond me.

The one theory that really does seem to have some scientific backing is body condition at time of conception. I have seen a couple of studies done on horses and cattle that show a female losing condition (weight) at the time of conception generally produces girls, while a female gaining weight at the time of conception will produce more males. The science held true on all studies. My doe who just gave me triplet bucklings was a little fat when she was bred. My next doe to kid was neither fat nor thin, but she had been gaining weight when I bred her because I thought she was too skinny and was feeding her more. So we shall see if she gives me a ton of bucklings due to gaining weight at time of breeding. My girl due in May was losing weight because she was FAT when I got her and she was on diet. The doe I just got seems to be in lean condition. Not thin, but very fit. So we will see if she gives me a bucketful of does! My first timer was gaining weight, but not much so no matter what she gives me I can't really judge the accuracy of this theory with her.

And lastly, I have heard that a fat buck will produce more females, because again, people believe the female sperm is stronger. In a fat buck, they believe his male sperm will die due to increased temperature in his body in general and his fatty condition. I'm not going to go and pork up my bucks to test this, however. Not good for them and in my experience, fat animals have a harder time being fertile in general.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

most of that was very interesting
thank you
um... my doe freshened in jan so she was bred in mid august
putting on winter weight
she gave me 3 doelings
i give acv more for health reasons
(lost a buck to UC once...)
do have more does when i give acv then when i dont
but not scientific proof
as far as putting vinegar IN the does...
um no not going there 
besides they sell vinegar douche for women to clean out those parts...
and about the fat buck...
dunno 
mine is healthy but not overly so...


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Very interesting! Some of those I had never heard before.
A few more I have heard:

The buckling/doeling ratio varies from buck to buck - some produce more doelings, some more bucklings.
Polled bucks tend to produce more bucklings than doelings - about a 60/40 ratio, while horned bucks tend to produce 50/50.
Breeding late in the day is reputed to produce more females.

Just saying what I've heard. :greengrin:


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## TinyHoovesRanch (Jan 16, 2010)

Ok NONE of this works for me lol.

At first I thought, younger bucks tended to produce more males, while the older ones had more females. My year old buck had ALL boys, but I had babies from february to june. 

Then my older buck had almost all boys at first, but later like august and later he had more girls.

my friend who has nigis, she has almost 100 goats, she owns a dairy. She said that she has tried everything she has ever heard of to try and influence the genders, and nothing works 100% so she just goes with it and doesnt try to do anything, that works better for her.
She has a polled buck(well used too) that actually produced more does than bucks although she has heard that they are known to be buck throwers.

This is like a present, suprise, we can never actually predict but it is fun to try


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

This is really interesting....I will have to try the apple cider vinegar. Thanks for the info.


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## Ksh376 (May 30, 2021)

The section where you talk about breeding early in the ovulation cycle will produce females. This works for people. There is a book about it. How to Determine the Sex of Your Baby.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

This was an old post. But, over time it roughly turns out to be 50/50. Unless you used sexed semen in artificial insemination!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

After reading over countless threads on the topic over the years, I've come to the conclusion that the only sure-fire, guaranteed way to get lots of girls is to desperately want lots of boys. Works every time.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)




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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

You know what I said earlier? Yep. It works for me all the time. I've had people waiting for a year to buy packgoat boys. We just finished up our kidding season: 8 kids total--2 boys, 6 girls. A couple of years ago it was 7 girls to 2 boys. Most years it's more evenly divided but still more girls than I would prefer. I need to start wanting does! Problem is, you can't trick the system. I would only get boys if I really and truly wanted girls!


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## Jubillee (Dec 22, 2017)

Damfino said:


> You know what I said earlier? Yep. It works for me all the time. I've had people waiting for a year to buy packgoat boys. We just finished up our kidding season: 8 kids total--2 boys, 6 girls. A couple of years ago it was 7 girls to 2 boys. Most years it's more evenly divided but still more girls than I would prefer. I need to start wanting does! Problem is, you can't trick the system. I would only get boys if I really and truly wanted girls!


This is truth. Nothing but truth. I have a doe with 3 buck reservations for this next year (note, she had 3 bucks this year)...I bet you anything she will have girls next year. It's just how it is. I try not to want a specific gender LOL...then maybe I get surprised haha


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

You know, this past year I honestly didn't care what I got and I got 50/50. A doeling and a buckling from each of my does. 🤔 You must be on to something, @Damfino.


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

Damfino said:


> After reading over countless threads on the topic over the years, I've come to the conclusion that the only sure-fire, guaranteed way to get lots of girls is to desperately want lots of boys. Works every time.


Sometimes it backfires though! I told my best doe this spring that while I wanted girls, I wouldn't mind if she had a nice buckling for me to keep also. She gave me FOUR boys, and one little doe as an afterthought, go figure!


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