The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: mariegold on October 06, 2015, 04:36:28 pm

Title: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: mariegold on October 06, 2015, 04:36:28 pm

Hello, I am patiently waiting for my two lovely goats to come into season, one was doing a bit of tail wagging this morning....

I have a billy lined up but its almost a 50 mile round trip, I wonder if anyone has a willing Billy nearer to where I live in Stroud, I also imagine its good to have a back up billy in case billy number 1 isn't available when we need him?

I have a toggenburg and a sannen but am happy to use any breed of billy (exept a boer).

Many thanks for any suggestions in advance ; )

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: clydesdaleclopper on October 06, 2015, 08:39:56 pm

Good luck with your search. That's why I kept one of my boys intact this year as I had to do a 250 mile round trip last year.

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: mariegold on October 07, 2015, 11:51:06 am

250 miles!!!!! OK that makes me feel a bit silly.

I've managed to find a willing chap a few miles away, he is a boer which isn't ideal but, i'd rather that than no billy and no kids next year.

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: Anke on October 07, 2015, 02:15:57 pm

Depends if you want to rear kids for meat (and then Boer billy is ideal) or if you want to keep female kids for expanding your own milking herd or sell them as dairy kids (in which case you want a dairy billy that has a proven record of producing milky daughters and/or milk in his pedigree).

If you only want to make one trip to the boy (and he is an adult and with agreement of the stud owner will be allowed to mate two girls in one day) then sponging the girls will synchronise them.

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: ScotsGirl on October 10, 2015, 10:14:08 pm

I have a Boer billy which may hire out if you are CAE and CLA clear? Must be 5* home while he is with you as had a bad experience before and he came back in a terrible state. I'm in Wiltshire SN9 so about 40 mins away.

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: mariegold on October 11, 2015, 12:06:14 pm

Thanks so much for the offer but we have found a anglo Nubian 15 minutes away!

 We took one of our girls there the other evening and they appeared to do the business but two days later she has some thick discharge! I hope this is normal? There has been a little bit of tail wagging too.....

Title: Re: Services of Billy required Gloucestershire
Post by: ScotsGirl on October 11, 2015, 08:49:15 pm

I think it is normal but you may need to take her back. My billy got excited when the girls went in and mArked them all then went back again to them a week later.