The breeding plan has been updated! I'm so excited to throw both Bean and Iris at this fancy boy :3

Bean and Iris got tested for CL, CAE, and Johne's disease today ^^

We'll have results by next week if all goes well, and I'll post some pictures of very upset at being in the trailer goats. XD

To update, Iris and Bean (hopefully, fingers crossed) bred last month and are due sometime in March! I'm excited, and I reeeeally hope they're pregnant because breeding season is a stressful time and I want it to be over 😭

GUYS today is 145 for Beannn!! I don't think she'll be popping for a while because she seems pretty put together 😂 but we'll be getting babies in the next week!!

I do not know why, but uhhh, I have a feeling I can recognize a male cause their necks are thick XD is that even a thing?

---

Also of course Iris scored well on competitions, she is such a stunning gem <3 was as a baby and still is

Is breeding season stressful cause of scheduling (dunno from how far studs have to travel or vice versa)?

Also, since I was here last, I heard a weird rumour that mated/mating goats have strong stench/scent that can stick to clothing and skin so-is it maybe that if rumour is true? I kind of doubt it is true since human sense of smell is really weak compared to most animals X)

Sorry I've not gotten to these! I meant to respond after uploading kid pictures, but I haven't gotten to that, so... :') (Half the kids are sold, I just want to show off all my girls' progeny lol)

.

The boys definitely have more "masculine" looks going on, they tend to have more arched noses, fuzzier bodies, and thicker all around, so the necks are noticeably thicker :)

.

Breeding season can be super stressful because I need to pick up on the girls' heat without the help of any bucks. Usually I can get them bred pretty easily when I notice the heats, because the local bucks probably each only have about 20 does to service a year, which means they've got plenty of scheduling room to get them all in. Noticing the heat is the tricky part :') In the wild, the does would pretty much throw themselves at any male when in heat, and they'd go insane to make their mood obvious, but, without a boy around, they tend to be pretty quiet and polite about it lol. Inconvenient for me :')
.

Don't get me started on bucks in rut >.<
They urinate on themselves because it smells good to the girls. The stinkier the better in the goat world. Whenever I take a doe to get bred, I can smell buck for at least a couple days afterwards (If I'm careful not to touch him and it just gets on me from the air). If I touch him, or he rubbed up a ton on my doe, whom I have to touch in order to handle her, it gets all over my skin and clothes and smells horrid. I've noticed does in heat and late on in pregnancy get a bit of the "goaty" smell, but it's super mild compared to bucks in rut. Bucks are just always super smelly, the smell never really goes away, but it's unbearable in rut ^^" The only way I can really explain the smell is that it's "goaty" or "gamey," but it takes smelling it and having it around the house during all of breeding season to truly appreciate it XD

All good :3

Thank you on information though the smell rumour being true sounds unfortunate XD

P.S. I'll wait on pictures patiently ^^ take care of your goats and yourself first

----

Oh, and did you already mention why you don't have a buck? Would it be more helpful or troublesome to have one?

Or save some buck stench around and like, throw the cloth in their enclosure and see who takes interest? I never breed any animal specie so this is a random idea XD

I've been really busy recently with school and livestock projects, so I'm really sorry I'm just getting to these :'(

..

Having a buck around would be a good idea for someone with maybe 10-20 does they need to breed, but it's a LOT more logical for me to just take them to a buck every year since I only have 2 breeding does at a time :)

Bucks help people detect heats, and they don't need to worry about carefully monitoring the girls to get them to a buck on time. Plus, it's a lot cheaper for people with a large herd of girls because the breeding fee is $80ish dollars per doe, or it can even be around $200 for fancier bucks, which would quickly turn to thousands of dollars for those with large herds to cover every breeding season. A buck only costs maybe $600ish dollars or less to own every year, though, which is much cheaper and more convenient for those with large herds.

For people like me, though, it only costs about $150 dollars to breed my two girls every year, and having a buck around would be very inconvenient because he'd be stinky, I'd have to make a separate pasture for him, and he'd likely be temperamental because the girls would be so close to him since the only place we have for another pasture is right next to our current one ^^"

..

When I want to detect heats in my does, I do bring them a buck rag :)

Basically, I go over to my neighbor's, rub a towel all over her buck in the stinkiest parts (head, belly, front legs, shoulders), and I bring the towel to my girls to sniff. If they're in heat, they'll get very excited, and, if they're not in heat, I leave it out for a bit and they usually come into a heat in a couple days.

..

Below this post, there's going to be one of just pictures in a minute ^^