Author Topic: Mating season dilemma... (Read 2059 times)

plumseverywhere · « **on:** October 06, 2010, 08:03:32 am »

Having lost my milking goat yesterday

I now find myself with something of a dilemma. I only have 2 goats now, 1 castrated billy and a 17 month old girl. I need milk to make soap for Its Baaa-th time.

so if I
a) take savannah to a billy that leaves Reggie alone while she is gone, that can't be good?

b) if I bring a billy here will he fight my castrated (and very gentle) Reggie? I have no way of separating them logistically.

c) should I buy in a new goat that has milk already to take my herd back to 3 and avoid this issue when I do mate savannah next year? what potential issues come with bringing in a new nanny?

I would really appreciate any wise words please, have had no sleep last night, family all still heartbroken about my beautiful toggenburg and have to wait today for her to be collected - the end always seems so undignified for such gorgeous animals

Anke · « **Reply #1 on:** October 06, 2010, 08:36:00 pm »

If you have a billy nearby that you want to use it should be no problem for the boy to be on his own for a few hours. My GG goatling (kid last year) was alone for about 5 hours while I took my then BT goatling to be mated, and the GG nanny was boarding already. The wee one did scream for a bit, but settled down (Radio 2 helped a bit too) and it couldn't be helped.

Bringing in a billy if you haven't handled one before would probably not be advisable, and if you have only one goat there not much work for him. easier for you to bring your goat to him. At 17 months your goatling should be old enough to mate. You could try and buy in another female kid, ready to be mated next year so you always have one in milk by mating them alternate years.

I am sure you would be able to get a nice kid now, for example I really should sell one of mine but haven't decided which one yet... surely lots of goatkeepers in that situation....

ballingall · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2010, 10:51:39 pm »

Sorry to hear your nanny Plums- this is the first of me hearing.

If you bring in another milking nanny, you would need to be able to put her somewhere seperate. Either a partition in the shed, or a another shed she can go in. Otherwise she might fight with your 17month old girl. It wouldn't do Reggie any harm to be on his own for a few hours- maybe a different matter if you sent away your female to board with the billy for 3 weeks.

Beth

plumseverywhere · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:18:09 am »

Thanks Beth. we had the bickering problem with avocet and savannah so I don't reallyl fancy that again, it was quite stressful $:-\$

hubby not very pleased with me at the moment as he now thinks I'll have no chance of coping when I need to make choices about billy kids that savannah might have. have been a bit upset for past couple of days (which I think is understandable as avocet was still with us till yesterday despite collection peeps being phoned within minutes of her dying)

much thinking to do I believe!