Herd Reduction: How do you decide?

My new doe barn is a lot better than what I had, but its still not all that big - just 12x24. That space includes 12x12 general housing, two 4x6 kidding stalls, feed storage (I feed primarily alfalfa pellets) and milking space.   Without crowding the most does it can comfortable hold in the winter is 12 does.

Right now I have 12 does - 5 adults, and 7 that are nearly a year old. I don't have the money to build more housing for them and theoretically my interest is just supposed to be putting dairy products on the family table.

I know that I will need to do some serious herd reduction soon, but I'm not sure how to go about making that decision.   The bucks I have are all young and as of yet unproven, but they both have some awesome milking does behind them. So I know I need to keep some of those younger girls in order to see what sort of udder their sire put on them.

I would love to be able to keep them ALL! (And all of this years too!) But that just isn't what my reality is. Any suggestions on how to make these decisions? How do you do it?

(And if anyone wants some nice does.... http://www.wagsranch.com   I need to reduce the herd by at least 6, and the only ones that are NOT portentially for sale are Mame', Mystery, & Tsunami.)

Replies

Jane Wagman March 17, 2010 at 4:44pm

2 cups = 1 pint = 1.07lbs
1 quart = 2.15 lbs
1 gallon = 8.6 lbs

I have seen some web sites that claim 2 quarts (4lbs) is average - and that may be true if you only look at does that are on milk test. (BTW - Highest one day test for Nigerians was 6.9lbs) In actual experience I would say that the average is probably more along the lines of 1.5-2#'s a day.

The following is my personal opinion:

5# and above - exceptional milker
4-5# very good
3-4 good
2-3 above avg
1-2 avg
1 or less poor

So if your doe is milking 2 quarts a day that would be a little over 4#'s which would put her in my "very good" category. :) As for your first freshener - you should see an improvement over her next two lactations, unless she only has a single kid. Also the peak of a lactation is usually around the 10-12 week mark. (I just had a class on this a couple of weeks ago - so its still fresh in my memory.)

Tammy said:
How many are actually considered a herd? 5 or 6 or more? In two weeks, we will have a total of three milking does and two babies. My goat that is the best milker will give between 1 1/2 quarts to 2 quarts per day. Is this average? Also, one of the does gives exactly 2 cups of milk per day. She has kidded once. The other does have kidded three times. I have a hard time telling my son "no" we cannot keep every one of them. It's hard because you can get attached very quickly.
Tammy March 17, 2010 at 2:15am

How many are actually considered a herd? 5 or 6 or more? In two weeks, we will have a total of three milking does and two babies. My goat that is the best milker will give between 1 1/2 quarts to 2 quarts per day. Is this average? Also, one of the does gives exactly 2 cups of milk per day. She has kidded once. The other does have kidded three times. I have a hard time telling my son "no" we cannot keep every one of them. It's hard because you can get attached very quickly.
Jane Wagman March 16, 2010 at 10:37am

Yes being very strict with myself is the hard part! My hubby's suggestion - well if you know there are three for sure you want to keep, then sell everyone else and just keep them and any doe kids from them. Which actually sounds like a decent plan on the surface.... And then I go out in the herd and start thinking about well maybe if I just kept 4 or 5 or 6.....
Deborah Phelps March 16, 2010 at 9:28am

And you have to be very strict with yourself, which is the hard part. Oh those babies are soooo nice this year, ohhh she's such a sweetie what do I care she's never put out a show-winner in her life...ooops, big feed bill. THAT'S why I care. Decide what your standards are going to be, and stick to them. Allow yourself a little space for the retirees, so you won't feel like a total heel, though. I have three does that will leave my farm only to go to heaven, even though they are worthless as brood-does...although Aphrodite is Auntie Aphrodite to every kid on the place! She babysits while the moms are out grazing...she may be worthless, but she's priceless! ;-)
Deborah Niemann-Boehle March 10, 2010 at 10:58pm

This is always hard! But my suggestion would be to focus on your goals and make decisions accordingly. I'm going through the same thing myself, because my children are going to college, so showing is in our past. I just don't have the time. It's tough to focus on my goal though -- milk production! I have goats for the milk, so I need to stay focused on that. It is really hard to sell a gorgeous doe, because they're pretty to look at. But if I'm not showing, she's not doing me any good unless she is also producing a lot. If you can hang on to those yearlings until they kid, you could then make your decision based on ease of milking, production, whatever is important to you. If dairy is your goal, then weigh the milk every day so you know who your best milkers are. Make a decision that you will sell the three or four lowest producers. Keep daughters out of your best producers who also have the best teats, udders, etc.

I once read that it would take six or seven years to start consistently breeding the type of goat I want, and after eight years, I agree that's pretty accurate. Why? Because no two people want the same thing from their goats, and very few breeders ever sell their best animals -- and if they do, it's for a price that most people can't afford. So, you have to decide what is most important to you, and only keep animals that match that ideal.