Breeding Goats - 7 Truths You Ought to Know When Breeding Goats

Many people believe that breeding goats is not an
overly complicated process. You basically let
them have their way and you will see a litter in
a few months time. Although this could be an
option in the wild, domesticated goats would
need a bit more help in this department...
especially if you are breeding animals either as
a way to maintain your stock of productive goats,
or for other purposes. So if you think you are
willing to face the challenges of breeding
goats, here are some truths that you really
ought to know first.

Fact #1:
Among many things, the practice of learning how
to raise goats has one very important effect.
Aside from the possibility of producing litters,
the does or the female goats give off more milk
than usual. In fact, there are some goat breeds
that do not produce milk until after they have
been mated. This is a good thing to remember
especially if you are establishing a goat farm
that leans heavily on milk production.

Fact #2:
Does can usually breed at 10 to 12 months of
age, depending on the breed and the physical
attributes of the animal. (Some animals do
mature faster than its other herd mates.)
However, male breeding goats or bucks reach
sexual maturation only after their 12th month.

Fact #3:
Does become sexually receptive only after a
short bleeding period (release of menstrual
blood.)

Fact #4:
Does show very obvious signs of sexual
receptiveness, which may include: frequent
urination, bleating often, inflammation of the
genital regions, secretions of copious mucous
like substances in the genital area, wagging
their tails energetically, and females also tend
to ride other goats as well.

Fact #5:
Breeding goats should be carefully monitored, to
ensure that fertilization happens. Many goat
farmers recommend that the receptive does should
be mated at twice a day (once in the morning and
one more 12 hours later) by a carefully chosen
breeding buck. This practice should continue for
the entire length of the female goats' receptive
period which lasts 2 to 3 days.

Fact #6:
Mated females must be separated from the rest of
the herd, to ensure that the pregnancies will
commence. Farmers usually check if the does are
pregnant after 3 to 4 weeks. If the females
remain relatively docile, this usually means
that mating was successful. On the other hand,
if the goats remain frisky as ever and exhibit
the sexually receptive signs (from Fact #4) then
these animals are usually re-introduced to the
breeding male.

Fact #7:
Aggressive and older bucks are usually
considered as desirable by the receptive does.
However, you can also make the less aggressive
and younger male goats desirable (especially if
these carry the breeding traits you want in your
herd) by simply keeping the other males away.

If you are just starting to raise goats, it is
necessary that you make sure you have proper
goat fencing.

----------------------------------------------------
Breeding goats is simple and easy with
predictable results if you know how. If you
would like to learn more tips about breeding
goats and avoid the costly mistakes, please
visit: http://www.raising-goats.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=192172

>