Finding & Booking a Stud
Looking for an outside buck — for an outcross, a trait you don't have, or simply because you don't keep bucks — you can browse stud services other farms have listed.
That's the other side of this, and it lives in the Breeding tab: Stud Services.
Finding a Buck
Stud services appear on farm profiles and in the marketplace. Each listing shows the buck, the fee, and the farm's terms.
Worth reading before you enquire:
- Health requirements — what testing they expect of your doe. CAE, CL, and Johne's are common, and results take time to come back, so check early
- Driveway or pasture service — driveway means you haul her for the breeding; pasture means she stays for a cycle or more
- Guarantee — what happens if she doesn't settle
- Registration terms — whether kids can be registered, and on what conditions
- Availability — many bucks are only offered in season
Before You Enquire
Two things worth checking on your side:
- Run the pairing through the genetics tools — if the buck is in the community pedigree database you may be able to check relatedness before you commit to hauling
- Have your doe's test results ready — it's the first thing you'll be asked
Making Contact
Enquire through messaging, which keeps the conversation attached to the listing. Your contact details aren't shared unless you choose to share them.
After the Breeding
Record it as a breeding event with the outside buck as an external sire, so due dates calculate and the kids link to him in their pedigree even though he isn't in your herd.