# What do you cull/remove out of your herd?



## AlaskanShepherdess (May 13, 2011)

After looking at the "Breeding for Cocci Resistance" thread that made me wonder, what characteristics/problems do you cull or remove out of your herd for?


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## Ariel301 (May 14, 2011)

I cull for personality. I'm not terribly strong due to some neurological problems, so I need goats that are easy to work with and easily trainable. Also, my main market for sales is backyard milkers, so my customers want something sweet and gentle. 

Second, I look at conformation. Anything with real problems like extra teats, bad legs/feet, or that doesn't meet the breed standard will not be used for breeding stock or be registered. It will go in my freezer or depending on the problem, be sold as a non-breeding pet. 

Does that don't produce enough milk to be worth their feed money won't stay in my herd. Feed is expensive, and a gallon a day milker eats about the same as a quart a day milker, so it just makes sense to keep the best I can get.

I would love to have a parasite resistant herd, but I am limited on the number I can keep, the price I can pay for an animal, and LaManchas are hard to come by in Arizona (at least, REAL LaManchas, and not 3-teated Boer mixes with elf ears ) so I have to work with what I can get, the only disease resistant animals here are ones that have developed naturally because they are neglected and just left to breed freely with no intervention, so only the strong survive and the rest die; but obviously these animals are never purebred or high quality dairy stock, so they are not something I can use.


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## RabbleRoost Farm (May 27, 2011)

I want to get away from the sack of bones that Tansy is and head towards more of the err.... "Meat character"?
I want these guys to be the best meat goats they can be. 

And unfortunately, I don't have the money to run out and get stock from all over the country to improve my herd instantly. In the long run I'll kick myself for keeping a (future) doeling out of her, but I intend to breed towards improvement. If the only way I can do that is by having a nice buck over crappy does, I can keep choosing the best kids from the pairings until I have something I'm happy with. I hope.


(Edit: Not to mention hooves breaking off on their own or wearing down so I won't have to do so much trimming, worm resistance, general appearance (I wanted a lot of color in my herd before I even knew that "colored Boers" were the next best thing) and conformation etc.)


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## 20kidsonhill (May 27, 2011)

The last 4 or 5 years we were working on stronger/straighter legs.  Getting that under control.  know we are working on getting extra teats out of our herd. 

Of course there are all the other meat goat issues, but those are two specific onse we have been working on recently

I could care less about color. Can't eat color.  

give me good structure over color any day.


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## ksalvagno (May 27, 2011)

Conformation, correct udder attachment, milk production, temperament and hoof nails not growing too fast. Those are the qualities I want and will sell any that don't have it.


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## mabeane (May 28, 2011)

I cull for personality and ease of milking.  I am getting quite close to age 70 and want to enjoy my sweet NDs not fight with them. I just sold 7 because one of the mamas was ornery and stubborn and the other mama was hard to milk. Their babies went with them.
The two milkers left and the doeling are docile and sweet. Mamas are easy milkers as well.


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## poorboys (May 28, 2011)

ones i have to drag!!, stubburn ones, low produtivity in the milk, constant problems. i milk for the milk, so i want good udders, personality, mannerism, good sturdy legs, good breeders.


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## freemotion (May 28, 2011)

Cull?  What, they don't all stay here forever? 

I just thinned down the herd for productivity and kept four does that I will milk and the buck, who will get another year just in case he is the reason I got so many babies this year.... Although I suspect he will have to go when he is done with his job around January.  He tore the front off his house and I worry that it will be a pile of splinters before long.

I am considering selling the older doe who is CAE positive while she has some value to someone else.  She will probably lactate for a couple of years so could go to someone in the spring and still earn her purchase price.  Or she may go for brush clearing.  I don't think she should be bred again, so this will be a delicate situation as I will not mislead anyone.


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## julieq (May 28, 2011)

When we started with the ND's over ten years ago we culled heavily for conformation faults, ugly udders and lack of milkability.  Some that we purchased as kids we actually had to give away as pets once they reached adulthood.  We stayed with the bloodlines that worked for us and when recently we decided to get back into ND's again, we were fortunate enough to get back into the same bloodlines.  Now we pretty much focus on personality and cull those we can't get along with.


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## RabbleRoost Farm (May 31, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> The last 4 or 5 years we were working on stronger/straighter legs.  Getting that under control.  know we are working on getting extra teats out of our herd.
> 
> Of course there are all the other meat goat issues, but those are two specific onse we have been working on recently
> 
> ...


Very true. Can't eat color... As a new goat raiser I find myself drawn to the pretty ones and then forgetting about conformation.  Smack myself!
It's like when you watch a show about people new to house buying... They all say "Oh that's some hideous wallpaper" when in my head I'm yelling at them to ask about the furnace and the roof. 
I ought to apply that a bit more to myself and my goats.

Color is a plus, but goats that look like they're carrying meat around are what I'm aiming for. Hardy, hardy goats, with lots of muscling and thick necks (none of the "show quality" skinny giraffe necks and long tubular bodies). I'm glad I haven't really needed to deworm them since I bought them, but that doesn't mean they won't have future problems. So I'll keep that in check and breed towards the ones that have less of a parasite issue.

This is a good thread to learn about what others find important. Hoping to apply some things in the future, but right now I'm mainly focused on getting my numbers up with the best quality buck I can afford (Edit: Without taking out a loan...) over my current does.


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## Jake (May 31, 2011)

I have been  lurking on the thread, and didnt see anyone speak to this directly, temperament has the highest breeding coeficient of all traits, good temperament produces good temperament and bad temperament produces bad. In ALL mammals. 

In Israel we milked mostly Nubian crosses, some of the way back foundation was the Native Black Goats, hardy but low milkers  and often poor temperaments. 

Here in MI I would prefer to have Sannens just for cold hardiness, and milk.  Generally they are good temperaments, milking ability, good dams and sound udders. Those are the traits I have valued, and I found with both Sannens and Nubians that longevity was there in both breeds, that has value too.


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