Breeding season under way at Egypt Creek Ranch

BBM Hanky Panky's Y266 (in the back) with some of his girls. The buck,
a TAY Onyx son, and most of these does belong to the Rittenhouse Kikos herd.
For those who don't know it already, here at Egypt Creek Ranch, we manage
the Rittenhouse herd, Bill & Brenda Moore's BBM Kikos as well as our own herd.

Breeding season began in earnest this week. After running together all summer, the does have been divided into different pastures with their bucks. Part of the fun in managing a goat farm is deciding which does to put with which bucks. You sit down with your lists and pedigrees and past performance records and hope you make the right decisions: Which buck will add what strengths to this doe? How did this mating work last year? Am I getting these genetics too close? Do I need an outcross here? How can I maintain that "look" yet add a little depth or muscling? You do the best you can. Try to make the best, educated choices. Listen to your gut on some decisions. Then wait five months to see what hits the ground.