I haven't run into that problem yet. The majority of the girls are friendly enough, but not so much when it comes to petting. So it's easier to see them go.

Pretty soon though, I'm going to have to sell a few of my older girls who are very tame. When the time comes, I'll try and find people that are looking for a pet more than livestock; vs taking them to the sales yard.

My goats are there for being strictly livestock but there's always a couple that grow on you. I also just don't have the space to maintain a retirement home, unfortunately.

So it'll be interesting if I'm able to stay strong. I think I'll be able to do it, GF.....not so much lol.

 

You just have to harden your heart and do it. I went from 25 to 2. I do want to have 3 total.

 

It can be hard, but look at it this way.
When you run out of room in the field and barn, you can start putting them in the house. LOL.
So it is good to downsize occasionally, right? :buttheads::haha:

 

Pam that was an awesome reply!
Our last kidding season was a zoo, There were no kidding stalls left. The last one to kid had to be loose in the barn aisle. She had to sample every bucket of water brought in for the others, even if hers was full. But the biggest pain was her knocking over hay & straw.
It IS hard to see them go but there are times you gotta cut the feed bill, make room & time for the rest. And keep the ones who don't cause trouble or have health issues.

 

What was the conversation you had with your children, when you got your goats in the first place? Did you, yourself, fully understand the end result of breeding yearly

Since you have come to the point of making the culling decisions, remembering what you and your children said at the beginning can help move this forward. Even if it has to be, "We know that you always thought these would be forever pets, things have changed now in these specific ways (list ways) If we keep everyone, that means that all of them will not have the best life that we could give these few."

But I feel it is important that the child's original understanding be acknowledged, in order that he come to understand that life can change sometimes, but you aren't going to be capricious and callous about it. Ultimately it will build trust in you.

This can be so hard. I sure don't like making these decisions every year. But we have to.

 

I'm no help. I live alone and have 3 bucks, 16 does and a doeling. I sold 2 yearling does but ended up with a Nigerian doeling in partial trade. My straw and oats person is sending back a doe she bought from me as a kid because she read somewhere that goats milk contains natural opiates and is addicting. She is claiming she is addicted to goat milk and needs to detox. Before all this happened, I had reserved 2 Nigerian doelings for the 2018 season.

Sorry, no advice for you. I am ok selling the young kids, but once they are here for a few months, they tend to stay. It's a sickness, I swear.

 

My straw and oats person is sending back a doe she bought from me as a kid because she read somewhere that goats milk contains natural opiates and is addicting. She is claiming she is addicted to goat milk and needs to detox.

My head hurts.

 

I don't have too many goats yet, but I have that problem with chickens! I have a chicken retirement home! Of course no one wants to buy an old hen who's not laying any more and I don't have the heart to kill any of my animals I sell my baby goats without too much trouble. We all just know from the beginning that the babies won't be sticking around.

 

Yes goat milk is just as addictive as the goaties themselves.

 

Thanks, everyone! I guess I'll just have to find a way to bring myself to do it - Or else win the lottery & buy some more land... Yeah, lottery! That's the ticket! (heh)
I agree with that lady though - goats milk is *totally* addictive.

 

Since the fall of 2014 we've gone from two does that were "supposed" to be pets only (no breeding) to now - we have 1 mature buck, 7 mature does, 2 doelings and a buckling. Out of those 7 mature does, 4 were just confirmed bred, and 2 are likely bred. My brain is screaming, "WE HAVE TOO MANY GOATS!!" while my heart is saying, "Oh, we have the perfect little herd."
These past two years though somehow we've SOLD 12 goats. Two of which I really regret selling, and want back again. I went so far as to search my old emails and get in contact with the buyer of those two does and tell him that if he ever wishes to sell them, well, to shoot me text!

All that to say, goats are addicting. One thing I've learned is, if I want my does to keep having kids every year, I will at some point have to sell some goats. One aspect that helps with the selling part is that in not too long I'll be heading to college, and will either have to sell all (or most) of my goats or hand them over to my younger siblings. They won't be "mine" anymore and I won't have time for them.
If I just couldn't bring myself to sell any of my goats I'd probably have been better off starting with a handful of wethers...

 

I want to clarify that yes, goats are addicting. But NOT because there are actual drugs in the milk. I don't want this thread to be conformation for someone's delusion that there are opiates, or opioids, in the milk. Please, let's not fuel that delusion.

Those of us with milk do not need further madness thrown our way...

 

My magic number was 10 but now have 19 does, 3 are spring babies still for sale. 3 bucks. It is really hard for me to sell my adults animals. (emotionally) I am only going to bred a couple of girls this year and try to milk thru - they stress out when I sell their babies so I feel like they would stress so bad if they had to got to another home. It's a problem!

 

I think my biggest issue is that I'd want to sell the ones that have issues. How do I sell a goat that has a bad udder, doesn't get along with other goats, and is generally an cantakerous old lady in a 4 yr old body? There's no way she'd get a good home. And so on. If I were selling the good ones, it'd be easier - since they're more valuable, I'd feel like they'd be getting a good home... but the ones I'd want to sell are likely to end up in bad situations.

 

I don't sell the ones with issues. If they're aggressive, they go to the freezer, if they have some other issue then I find them a pet home. I don't list them for sale, just give them to friends that are looking to get into goats.

 

I agree. If I can't get a good home for a goat, I try to either keep her, or butcher her. But sometimes I just need money too much and then it is the auction barn.



Usually I do butcher though. I have a lot of dogs and I view bad goats as dogfood on the hoof.

 

I send the ones with issues to meat auction barn. I don't want to make my problems someone else's problems. It used to be very hard, however I feel there are too many nice animals out there in need of loving homes, so my time, $$$ and honestly emotional attachment are better served for animals that will be a part of their forever home here - or with another family.