Well of all the goat babies born this spring we are left with only one:
T. Donald.
We originally called him The Donald because of his white spot on the top of his head,
that looked like a major "comb over".
He has become T. Donald, or just Donald.
Donald is O'Malley's buckling, the first of our goat babies
to be born polled (without horns).
I am guessing this is why he did not sell.
Most people prefer that their bucks look more like this...
This is Donald's older brother Fred.
Now the question about Donald is this....
to castrate or not?
Since polled goats don't seem to sell as well,
there is no need to breed Donald.
We are very particular about our herd management,
and breeding is done very purposeful.
Our bucks are housed separately from our does,
so no "oops" babies are created.
Dr. Becky had the idea that instead of castrating Donald,
she might do a vasectomy on him instead.
This would allow him to retain his male hormones
without being able to actually breed.
This way, we could use him to get our does ready for breeding.
So many times it is difficult to tell if the does are in heat.
If they are placed with a buck, and they are not in heat,
the buck gets a little rough with them.
So, instead, we would first place them into a yard with Donald.
Since he has no horns, he would not be so rough with the does.
Then once the doe is in heat, her chosen buck will be placed in with her
to complete the breeding process.
These lovely gentlemen are quite willing to oblige....
Skip
Chip
Smoochie
I will let you know how this procedure works when it is time.
As far as we know, a vasectomy has never been done on goats before...
at least there is no literature.
It should be so much easier on Donald than a castration would be.
And, he will continue to get big and handsome like the rest of the bucks...
minus the horns.
Comments
T. Donald is very handsome! Even without horns! Who needs them when you're that handsome!
Well this was very interesting...I'll be watching to see how things go. You've got some very handsome fellows there but I think my favorite is Smoochie...how could you not love a goat with a name like that ;) I hope your day is a good one.
Maura :)