Animals

What To Do With T. Donald?

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.

- A Hostage Situation
Me: Hey, Andy... come on out and say "hi". Me: I have a Ritz for you.Donald: I'll take that. Me: Come on, Andy... you know you love Ritz! Andy: Nom, nom, nom. Andy: Nom, nom, nom....Love Ritz! Andy: Hey!...

- The Big "t"
It might be the heat...(after all, it's been in the 90's with around 90% humidity).It might be hormones (the big "T").I can't say.But.... Our young Milford is acting rather strange these days.I found him hanging out here several times in the...

- Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Dot, singing in her very best á cappella goaty voice: "Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match;find me a find;catch me a catch." Yes, Dot has come of age.It's time to find a suitable fellow for future mating seasons.Dr. Becky (our matchmaker) has...

- Two Bucks And Change
Our snow is almost gone, thanks to a warm front that passed through here. Except, of course, for our little Siberia... I have to admit that I don't miss the snow.The mud, however, that remains in its place is definitely unwelcome. I thought today...

- Our Babies Keep Growing!
Isn't that always the case? No matter how hard we try to freeze our children at certain ages and keep them small, they always grow up...well before we are ready for it! And so it is the same with farm babies. When they are small, they are warm and...

Animals