A few months ago I posted a fact about the 5 month gestation of goats. Well, this gestation is incredibly short compared to llamas. The length of a llama’s pregnancy is 11.5 months and ends with a single baby!! I can’t even imagine a pregnancy this long!
Tag: breeding
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Fun Farm Facts Friday October 9th
Have you ever been on a goat farm during breeding season? If so, then you are familiar with the smell of a buck in rut… It’s a unique and distinct smell.
During breeding season the male goats (bucks) go into rut. During this period the buck’s hormones are surging. They tend to act more aggressively and will eat very little if at all. In order to “attract” the does to them they will urinate all over themselves giving them a pungent odor. The girls love it, but let me tell you, it’s quite gross and it can be smelled from quite a distance. Being that it is breeding season here on the farm we are dealing with it right now!
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Fun Farm Facts Friday October 2nd
When you hear facts about when to breed goats you will likely get different answers from different farmers. Some farms like to breed their goats right when they reach sexual maturity, while others, like us, like to wait until they are 18 months old. The general rule of thumb is not to breed before 7 months and 77 pounds. This is the baseline for when it is safe to breed. Breeding a goat any smaller than this could cause serious complications for the dam. Some farmers decide to breed their goats right when they reach this size and age limit… and they have success doing it. However there are a few downsides to doing this. Some say that it stunts the goat’s growth. The farmers who breed early will insist this isn’t true, while others claim they have seen it first hand. I’m not sure there is any scientific proof to this. The reason most wait to breed is that it allows the goat to get some size on her and reduces the likelihood of potential compilations during kidding.
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Fun Farm Facts Friday… September 25th
With all of these facts about goat breeding I thought it would be nice to have a fact about llama breeding… even though both of our llamas are gelded (castrated) males.
Llamas do not have cycles. They are induced ovulators! Ovulation usually occurs 24-36 hours after they are bred! Generally females are first bred at 14-18 months of age.
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Fun Farm Fact Friday… September 11th
Given that it is breeding season it’s time for another goat breeding fact!
Goats generally have 21 day cycles, although this can vary depending on breed and the individual goat. They are in heat for 24-36 hours with only about 12 of those hours being considered optimal. If you are not allowing your bucks to run with the does you have to watch your herd closely for signs of heat.
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Fun Farm Fact Friday… September 4th
It’s September! Which means the girls will start going into heat and it will soon be breeding season! I can’t believe it’s already this time of year! So going with this theme the next several week’s facts will be about breeding…
Many goat breeds, including Nubians, are seasonal breeders. These goats are generally bred in the months ending in ER (September, October, November, December). While it is possible to breed these goats at other times of year their heats are not as strong (or almost non-exisitant) and it can be very hard to tell when they are ready to be put with the buck. Breeding goats in the months ending in ER results in late winter to spring kids. The cooler weather keeps the parasites and flies at bay, helping prevent several issues that can cause major problems!
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Fun Farm Fact Friday… April 3rd
It’s time to break up all the goat facts with a chicken fact! Today’s chicken fact was one that I found quite interesting…
If you have several different roosters around your hens can/will breed with all of them, but they also have the ability to reject the sperm of roosters with whom they do not wish to reproduce. She can physically eject the sperm after they breed. This generally happens when the rooster is lower in the pecking order.