Breeding Season


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Sep 30 2020 45 mins   12
Rather than waiting for spring and wondering why your goats didn't get pregnant, now is the time to get your ducks in a row -- er, um, goats! In this solo episode I'm talking about all of the things you need to consider during breeding season. If you breed your goats now, will they give birth at a time when you are not traveling or overly busy with work? Will it be freezing outside? How old or how big should your does be before the first breeding? How old do bucks need to be to successfully service does? Should you "flush" your does before breeding? (What does that even mean?) What are the pros and cons of pen breeding vs hand breeding? What are the sign that a doe is in heat? What does normal buck behavior look like (and sound like) during breeding season? What does a successful breeding look like? Should you try artificial insemination? For more information on breeding your goats: My free course on Goat Breeding includes videos to help you recognize signs of heat, as well as successful and unsuccessful breeding attempts -- and more! Goats need proper nutrition for successful breeding, pregnancies, and birthing. That means they need a good, loose goat mineral, NOT a "sheep and goat" mineral and not a block or poured tub. To learn more about copper deficiency, check out my free course on that topic here. Today's episode was sponsored by Standlee Premium Western Forage, which makes my favorite alfalfa pellets and timothy hay pellets!