Do I have useless goats?

[s.z.ichigo]

We originally got goats for our own milk needs, and we weren't at all educated in what makes a good dairy goat. Really, at the time getting something for a low cost was what we were looking for. Now we've got three ND does and a buck that we really adore.

However, as I've read more about goats I would really like to make a side business of breeding NDs, but I really don't want to be a poor quality backyard breeder. I'm afraid though that our first four goats, in buying them kind of indiscriminately, might be awful. They've given us 5 awesome kids this Spring, which I was hoping to sell to fund buying a higher quality pair. But now I'm really worried that I've irresponsibly created 5 babies that won't be any good to anybody. And I'm also worried that I've got four goats that are good as nothing more than pets. Which is fine on one level, we really love them a lot...but I don't like the idea of keeping and feeding four animals that don't produce anything when we're aiming for self-sufficiency.

So I guess what I want to know is this...

How can I tell if my current goats are worth breeding and selling? Is it alright to breed/sell goats that are only pet quality? Or am I stuck now with four useless goats? One of them might be alright, as she seems to have a bigger udder than the others. It doesn't look anything like the dairy pictures I've seen online, but she's also feeding triplets so I don't know what it looks like full. Would you guys be able to tell anything from pictures, or should I try to find a local expert who can evaluate them?

Thanks for any advice. I'm really stressing over what I should do, and really worried I've made the wrong decision in breeding, or even buying these guys.

 

[treeclimber233]

It all depends on where you live, what market you are aiming for, and exactly what you want your goats for. If you want your goats for showing purposes they will need to have been registered and have papers. Or if you are like me (not interested in showing) papers are not necessary. You can't milk papers. People in my area are not worried about papers when they buy the babies either. If you want your goats for milking then papers will give you an idea of what their ancestory is. Even knowing that is no guarantee your goats will be great milkers. I had a doe that was from great milking lines and her teats were so small you could barely milk her. If you are only interested in enough milk for your family then your goats are probably fine. I would not worry too much about the quality of your goats. As long as they are sound, healthy and happy what more could you want.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

There are definitely two sides to the coin:

You have the super expensive, registered, show quality goats that may or may not necessarily be good milkers (in which case it would most likely be sold to a pet home).

Then you have you average non registered goats which may or may not be good milkers. A lot of people who can't afford the "supreme" goats like these "cheaper" ones because sometimes they do just as good of quality at milking or making meat. In my area a registered goat goes for about $400 and the unregistered ones for about $100; big difference. BUT, just because a goat isn't registered doesn't make it useless!

It does depend on YOUR goals and what YOU want to do. Do you want to show and earn titles and become a premeir breeder so you can get $400 for your goats, or do you want to sell them to average people looking for a family milker?

It's more important that your goats be healthy and tested free of CAE and CL to most people, and if you have a registered herd this is pretty much mandatory around here (for shows and stuff).

Just ideas to think about!

 

[Suburbanfarmer]

I have both registered and unregistered ND does. The one that I have that is unregistered is due to kid in 3 weeks and I have had a ton of interest in her kids. She is definitely less "dairy" than my 2 registered does. I'm a big believer that the market supports quite a range. There are plenty of people out there that want goats, but either can't or don't want to pay the prices that registered goats bring.

We are slowly switching over to registered stock too. I say, milk the ones you have. See if they produce like you want them to. If they do, but you still want to go into breeding then keep your eyes out for quality registered stock. I would personally go with a registered buck first since he can breed both registered and unregistered does. Then start getting registered does. One by one as you can. I found a great deal on a registered doe with 2 doelings by her side and sold one of the doelings for what I paid for all 3. Covered my cost right there. If you keep your eyes open you can find good deals.

Good luck!
-K

 

[s.z.ichigo]

Thanks a lot for the replies! It gives me a lot to think about. If anyone has any other perspectives, I'd be happy to hear them as well.
My goats are the sweetest most lovable things, and I imagine that even if they aren't first-class milkers they will produce great pets. I'll have to keep a couple of these babies I guess and see what they grow into. I'm told my buck comes from good milk lines, but that was just the previous owner's say-so so who knows. I was planning on getting a buck for my first high-quality expensive purchase. My little guy is getting really lonely with just the hens for company anyway, though I think they're a mellowing influence on him.
Thanks again for the replies

 

[OneFineAcre]

You didn't say if your goats are registered or not?

If not, then they are either pet or family milkers.

Registration is only relevant if you are showing.

You can raise registerd goats that are as you say "pet quality". Most of those are from breeders who show and evaluate the anmal and determine for what ever reason they are not going to be successfull as a show animal.

Animals that aren't necessarily show quality can be good milkers.

You didn't say how old your animal are? How many times they have freshened. There are other issues other than the size of an udder. How it is attached, if it is pendulum. Some ND's can have a smaller udder on their first couple of freshnings, but it get's larger as they get older.

You said you had a doe who has triplets. If she is feeding 3 she is making some milk. You would need to seperate to really evaluate her.

There are a lot of considerations.

 

[s.z.ichigo]

Sorry, I guess I was a little brief. Here's the info. None of these guys are related, and nobody is registered.

Our buck, Fudge, is a few days shy of a year old. He's 18.5" tall, and he has horns. He's got a really bushy winter coat on right now.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/580/fudge1.jpg/

Cheesecake is 3 years old and is 18" tall. I was told there was the option to register her and Fudge, but I haven't heard back from her previous owners about that. I was also advised that she came from "good milking lines" but she herself was on the small side. She had kidded before (a single), but never milked. She had a single baby on 3/25, as well as a twin that was stuck and born dead. Her udder looks a little lopsided here, but her kid does drink from both sides.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/692/cheesecake1r.jpg/
Her boy, Mousse.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/109/mousse1.jpg/

Cookie has what looks to be the best udder of the three does. To me, anyway. She's about 2 years old and is 20" tall and has petite girly horns. She easily had triplets on 3/23, which was her first kidding. They're a lot smaller tha the single kids, but I assume that's because they were triplets and not because they're not eating enough. They're all very healthy and playful.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/cookie1.jpg/
Her triplets, two boys, Milky Way and kit Kat, and a girl, Hershey
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/850/triplets1.jpg/

Sugar is our littlest girl at 17" tall. She's one year old this spring. She had a single kid on 3/20, though we had no idea she was pregnant. Never showed or acted the part, while our other two turned into lazy whales. She has no udder to speak of, unless you get down on the floor and look at her belly. Her kid is big, though.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/825/sugars.jpg/
Her girl, Cocoa.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/cocoa1.jpg/

Thanks for looking

 

[Queen Mum]

I don't know about everyone else, but one of those pics is a fabulous udder! The white one. It may be small teats but that is a milkable and very nice udder. And the kids are gorgeous! Those are very saleable kids. They have spots and are small... People like small goats. They make wonderful backyard goats.

Yes you can get registered goats and then the prices will be higher, but sometimes people want a lower price.

IMHO, there is NO SUCH THING as a useless goat.

 

[OneFineAcre]

IMHO, there is NO SUCH THING as a useless goat.

x 2. All goats are cool

 

[OneFineAcre]

Cookie has a nice udder.