Raising the 2017 kids-Who are you keeping/selling?

[Southern by choice]

So, we are making a list and checking it twice and going to see who is naughty or nice....

We actually will have to wait on some goats to see if they udder well after freshening. We expect them to just waiting.
It boils down to wanting to keep x amount of animals... then selecting from what we have.
My thought is if GW and my DD want to show then that may be what needs to be focused on.
"Foxy" is a really nice goat but she does NOT want to be a show goat. She doesn't do well with anyone else handling her she gets nervous and really doesn't want to showboat like some of the other girls. So even if she has a spectacular udder and she is really nice she may need to move on to a home that may want to work with her kids but know that Foxy doesn't want to show.

I am going to talk with a breeder friend and see what she says. I don't know how she does it... just about every animal (she has been breeding for forever) scores very high LA's with FF generally 87-89 -89 being highest FF can get... so how does she keep those numbers down. LOL not a bad problem to have I guess... and we aren't there yet but still I think there has to be a better way.
Having more than one breed means keeping less of each breed.

I was going to take a pic of our loved Trouble today but as soon as I went to get the phone it started pouring! We have had storms all day- everything is flooded!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Just a thought I'll share
Our appraiser last year is very respected
He told us it isn't always a good thing when a FF scores an 89
Peaking too early

 

[Southern by choice]

Just a thought I'll share
Our appraiser last year is very respected
He told us it isn't always a good thing when a FF scores an 89
Peaking too early

I don't think she's worried considering her goats are still kidding, on test at 10,11, & 12 years old and look phenomenal. She still does LA too just retired from showing years back.
That is why I really love her goats they have longevity.

I know what you mean though- some goats are burnt at 5 years old and by 8 done and cannot settle or kid. Don't really see that with Nigerians though.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Didn't say she was worried
I'm sure she has nice goats

Just saying you can't go by that FF LA score when making decisions on who to keep

And if a doe scores 89 as a FF she may not score a 90 as a 2nd freshener

I know someone who goes by that if they don't score a 90 as a 2nd freshener they get sold

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Didn't say she was worried
I'm sure she has nice goats

Just saying you can't go by that FF LA score when making decisions on who to keep

And if a doe scores 89 as a FF she may not score a 90 as a 2nd freshener

You are right, you can't just go by the FF score. I've seen FF's score in the low 80's but after a few years they are spectacular. We all know how that goes.

Like I've said before, I do like it when goats are a little slower maturing so that they aren't "blown out" at 6 and 7 years old.
I have certainly seen that before and this is not the case with this breeder.
This breeder in particular though has done an amazing job though. She doesn't breed the first year, so the does are 2 or older (usually). I think that plays a role.
She's been breeding longer than most of the big names we know now. Because she isn't showing she doesn't get a lot of acknowledgement. But looking at the milk test info and year of LA… it's very impressive.
Those same does are scoring 90 or higher when they are 7 and 8 and still doing great at 9 and 10.
Last time I was at her farm she had an 11 year old milking over 10# a day and looked great. I don't know how she does it, but she has high scoring FF's (and getting better with age) and has the incredible longevity.

That same appraiser had also said he wanted to take a FF home with him when she scored an 89

All joking aside- I so wish I could have gone to the convention last year and taken his class. I'd love to pick his brain one day!

 

[OneFineAcre]

I only kept 2 kids this year.

Lucy, unregistered ND because I told her dam I'd let her keep a daughter, and Mary Arden, my Saanen doe's kid who I still have not DNA'd ( ) but I will before I register her. Assuming her sire is who I think he is, she will be the first goat with my herd name.

View attachment 35963

I have recently bought 2 Nigie girls.

Edelweiss

http://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=D001851528

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And "Dazzle"

She is my show potential kid! Her dam looked very nice and some of you may recognize her sire.

http://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=D001855429

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I like Dazzle

 

[OneFineAcre]

After consulting with a very long time experienced Lamancha breeder we will be keeping Prynne and Pearl.


Prynne- Prynne hurt her knee so she is forward on that front leg
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Love her head
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Pearl- being silly- wanting a kiss
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behaving
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she kind of "glides" when she walks
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They are lovely

 

[Southern by choice]

They are lovely

Thank you.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Well, we have quite a list...

Sold List:

Some of our lovely chickens.
Nearly all our older lambs [20+].
Our super beautiful and prolific two year old Barbados breeder ram [not sure I made the right choice, but the guy wanted it so bad and paid us top dollar, nearly double our normal prices].
Our first mixed Barbados/Dorper who looked like a cross between a skunk and a Holstein cow whose name was moo-moo [he got really big in only 8 months time]. BTW, my wife cried like crazy when I told her....whoops. He wound up being a nice barbecue for a really nice family on the fourth of July.
Our one and only California Red/Barbados cross ram
Lots and lots of chicken eggs.
Lots and lots of veggies.
Soon to be sold: lots and lots of beehives [at this rate, our apiary will have increased from 5-7 hives last spring to over 25 now, and over 50 if all our splits go well.

List of what we have bought or will buy:

We will buy a beautiful new Barbados breeder ram [I already picked him out], from a good friend, for a fraction of the cost of what we got for the other breeder ram.
10+ new chickens [existing chickens are nearing the two year old mark].
My wife wants a pig [oh my] but I hope she changes her mind...
Maybe a boatload of Friesian milk baby ram lambs [I found a seller that sells them for $25].
One or two baby male cows [not even sure what ya call them [but the rancher offered me as many as I would like for $50 per head]. We will definitely wait until rain starts for then we will have lots of free grass...

And that is all I can think of for now...

 

[Goatgirl47]

@soarwitheagles - that is a long list!

And male calves are called bulls (or bull calves).