Mike CHS
Herd Master
Bad attempt at being funny. Seems some of yours will be there till old age. I know some of ours will be.
NH Homesteader- turkeys!
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- #892
NH homesteader
Herd Master
Oh, haha. Yeah I'm going to have a problem with this... They're all going to end up here forever! I've already given permanent status to a couple... 
What I'm really worried about... Is when we have retired breeding sows... We are going to have a real pig issue and those can't be put out to pasture to hang out for their old days!
What I'm really worried about... Is when we have retired breeding sows... We are going to have a real pig issue and those can't be put out to pasture to hang out for their old days!
Trade them with another pig owner... you eat theirs, they eat yours.
babsbag
Herd Master
I have that same problem with goats, what to do with the retired ones? I have Moonpie and RC that are 9 and 10 and will be here forever. I have Lyla that is 8 or 9 and is due to kid next week and milk greats but she is entering the sunset years. I bought Lyla from a friend a few years ago and while she is a sweet goat I have no real attachment to her but I still feel a responsibility to her, but I can't run a retirement home for old goats. That gets expensive.
I have considered selling all milkers when they get to age 5 or 6 and constantly keep a herd of young milkers for the dairy, but I don't want them too young. I need to figure out what to do before too long.
I have considered selling all milkers when they get to age 5 or 6 and constantly keep a herd of young milkers for the dairy, but I don't want them too young. I need to figure out what to do before too long.
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- #895
NH homesteader
Herd Master
I know how you feel. My two non-productive goats weigh as much as my other 4 goats combined, so they are eating about as much food. That's not good money management! There are only so many quality pet homes....
I have a goat I feel the same way about. She's sweet but I'm not overly attached to her. She's only 2 though, so maybe I will develop an attachment.
I know you are running a dairy that you'd like to have make a profit. And my family is living on one income which is made possible by raising our own food. So both of us can't afford to keep every retired doe.
What do other people do?
I have a goat I feel the same way about. She's sweet but I'm not overly attached to her. She's only 2 though, so maybe I will develop an attachment.
I know you are running a dairy that you'd like to have make a profit. And my family is living on one income which is made possible by raising our own food. So both of us can't afford to keep every retired doe.
What do other people do?
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- #896
NH homesteader
Herd Master
Well I listed them on the local list serv so if I find a good pet home I'll let them go. Otherwise I'll just keep complaining, lol.
Oh and DH says he has no issues with eating retired sows so we are safe there!
Oh and DH says he has no issues with eating retired sows so we are safe there!
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- #897
NH homesteader
Herd Master
Someone contacted me within a half hour of posting. They have a couple of pet goats and would like to add a few more and they're coming tomorrow morning to meet them. They have a human kiddo that hangs out with the goats too... This could be ideal... 
frustratedearthmother
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Wow! That's awesome, really hope it works out.
farmerjan
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Retired sows are superb sausage and bacon and pork chops and everything else...Really, pigs/hogs don't seem to get tough like alot of other animals. I had a sow done years ago weighed over 700 and she made ham steaks that were as big as a platter and they were pretty good. The butcher had to quarter the ham to cure it. No I don't usually do my own, there are only so many hours in the day, I was by myself except that my son lived about 5-6 miles away, but we both worked too many hours/ jobs, that it was easier to have it done and this place did a SUPERB job. If I had a "better half" that was an integral part of my life and lifestyle it would be different... so you do the best that you can with what you have and make management decisions as to what you do and what you have done by someone more capable with more time to do it.
With all the animals we have, there are still a few that have had retirement type status...but as I told my son we are not running an old age retirement home for cows...so when the time comes they go. We did take our favourite bull directly to a friend that was a dealer/buyer who put him on a truck to go directly to slaughter instead of having him go through the stockyards. He was having trouble getting up and down due to arthritis in a hock joint that had been injured by another bull, actually splintered a bone and they told us that we would be lucky if he could get around long enough to get rid of him and when we asked if it would heal and could he still be productive the vet looked at us like "are you for real???", but told us that if he had complete rest and kept away from the other animals that we would have a slight chance. Bubba did heal and went on to be our cleanup bull for 5 more years. He was a sweetheart but we wouldn't let him suffer from the difficulty of getting up and down with another cold winter so we did what was the best we could do considering. You just can't bury a 2200 lb bull ; not financially....not at 1.00 lb slaughter price back then. But it was hard....I have buried 2 old cows, my first baby calf on my first nurse cow, Smokey, and my first guernsey, Tammy, that were destined to live out their life and both went down and I said my goodbyes and ended their suffering and buried them on the farms where they were. But you can't do it often as there is just too much money involved. This is a business even though we do love our animals, we are practical...
With all the animals we have, there are still a few that have had retirement type status...but as I told my son we are not running an old age retirement home for cows...so when the time comes they go. We did take our favourite bull directly to a friend that was a dealer/buyer who put him on a truck to go directly to slaughter instead of having him go through the stockyards. He was having trouble getting up and down due to arthritis in a hock joint that had been injured by another bull, actually splintered a bone and they told us that we would be lucky if he could get around long enough to get rid of him and when we asked if it would heal and could he still be productive the vet looked at us like "are you for real???", but told us that if he had complete rest and kept away from the other animals that we would have a slight chance. Bubba did heal and went on to be our cleanup bull for 5 more years. He was a sweetheart but we wouldn't let him suffer from the difficulty of getting up and down with another cold winter so we did what was the best we could do considering. You just can't bury a 2200 lb bull ; not financially....not at 1.00 lb slaughter price back then. But it was hard....I have buried 2 old cows, my first baby calf on my first nurse cow, Smokey, and my first guernsey, Tammy, that were destined to live out their life and both went down and I said my goodbyes and ended their suffering and buried them on the farms where they were. But you can't do it often as there is just too much money involved. This is a business even though we do love our animals, we are practical...
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- #900
NH homesteader
Herd Master
So I am very picky about doctors and vets. Very picky. We had one vet we loved for our dog Lui. He's part chow and is anxious, and this vet was the only one who didn't make us put a muzzle on him or generally act afraid. He actually liked her! She left the practice, which was a major bummer, and the new owner of the practice was awful. So we have been vet hopping, which I hate.
So I had this vet recommended to me for my goats. I look at their website and realize one of their vets looks familiar. So I send them an email with a bunch of questions and hey... Did that one vet used to work at this other hospital?
She emailed me back, it's the same vet! And she asked intelligent questions about my goats and their rates (I think) are reasonable! They're kind of far away, and we'll need a backup vet that does farm visits in case, but I'm thrilled! I'll be making an appointment for my buckling to make sure he's growing OK, and get the dogs in with them also. This made my day! And now I have a Jeep so I don't have to put goats in the back of my car!
So I had this vet recommended to me for my goats. I look at their website and realize one of their vets looks familiar. So I send them an email with a bunch of questions and hey... Did that one vet used to work at this other hospital?
She emailed me back, it's the same vet! And she asked intelligent questions about my goats and their rates (I think) are reasonable! They're kind of far away, and we'll need a backup vet that does farm visits in case, but I'm thrilled! I'll be making an appointment for my buckling to make sure he's growing OK, and get the dogs in with them also. This made my day! And now I have a Jeep so I don't have to put goats in the back of my car!
