Milking questions

[Green Acres Farm]

Has to do with embryo transplants.

Southern will share more on that later as mentioned

 

[NH homesteader]

Haha OK thanks. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to know what that meant. Now I assume it's simply because boers have trouble giving birth and they transplant into a healthy doe? If so, that is the stuff that I hate!

 

[babsbag]

Boers don't typically have trouble giving birth but they are challenged many times to raise twins, and triplets are usually out of the question. There have been a lot of Nubian blood introduced into the Boer gene pool to help with the milk production (and to get the spots). My Boers could raise trips with no problems, but they also weren't high dollar full blood. My buck was a purebred but I know that there was Nubian in him...many generations back, but still there.

They do ok as a breed in CA, really no different management wise than dairy stock. But they do prefer grass over brush. They are lazy.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Haha OK thanks. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to know what that meant. Now I assume it's simply because boers have trouble giving birth and they transplant into a healthy doe? If so, that is the stuff that I hate!

The main reason they do embryo transplants in any livestock is to increase the production potential of a superior female animal.

With a male an outstanding buck or bull, you can greatly increase his output by using his semen by artificial insemination. A bull might be able to naturally breed 50 cows in a year , but by collecting his semen it could be hundreds or thousands.

But, with an outstanding female goat or cow they can only produce so many offspring in their lifetime.

So you harvest the eggs fertilze invitro and use surrogate mothers.

It is pretty expensive so the animal and her offspring are going to be pretty valuable to go that expense.

 

[NH homesteader]

Yeah I don't like AI either. Not arguing, I get the merits of it. Just not for me.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Yeah I don't like AI either. Not arguing, I get the merits of it. Just not for me.

LOL
Probably not something someone with a few family milkers should pursue
I wouldnt want one of my does to be a recip either