Building A Herd

 

Building A Herd

Ideally, everyone would purchase a full grown animal with mature offspring to judge from. This is rarely, if ever, possible. Though we breed our goats for the best progeny, not all animals meet our expectations. However, sometimes it becomes apparent as the animal matures, or only when the animal’s offspring are born and mature. Goat breeding is partly a crap shoot: there are no guarantees. The younger an animal is when purchased, the more uncertainty accompanies it. We are selling genetic potential. The animals we sell represent more than the animal you purchase. That goat represents the combination of genes from our herd which you are choosing to ad to your herd. There is no telling how these genes will blend with yours. Occasionally we sell mature animals, bucks or does, after they have produced offspring. Obviously this is the most risk-free purchase…but still, there is no way to predict how these genes will blend with their chosen mates. Every breeding is a gamble. Sometimes genes from two outstanding lines do not blend favorably. This is a chance you take.

In addition, building a herd type takes time. First fresheners may show beautiful udders that stay that way, but only time will tell if they stay that way. Goats take several years to mature, so patience is often the best tool when making breeding decisions. Ultimately, the proof of any buck is a number (at least 1/2 dozen) of his daughters (out of different dams) when they are mature, with udders full of milk. The prettiest buck can be totally worthless if his daughters are trash. If we sell breeding stock that proves to be infertile (backed up with a Vet or AI collector’s detailed report for verification) we may feel an obligation to replace it with our choice of something comparable, depending on availability. We will require the infertile animal’s certificate of registration to be turned over to us for the replacement.