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What kind of influence do males have on kidding?

Last Updated: November 05, 2010

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Even with the continuous presence of males, kiddings tend to be grouped. The explanation is not always obvious. The presence of the male and his rutting activity has a strong influence in terminating lactational and seasonal anestrus of does. It is possible to have some degree of control over kidding dates, and the periodic removal and
readdition of rutting males (i.e., one month in and one month out) can have a stimulating effect on total kid production. Due to the relatively long breeding season, twice-per-year kiddings do occur with individual does, especially those that lose kids, but it is by no means the norm on a flock basis. The anticipated norm for kid production should be on the order of 1.25 to 1.5 kids raised per doe per year but may well deviate from this by a large amount due to inherent potential or production conditions.

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