# Decision time is coming



## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

we've been a busy bunch. We moved, added to the herd, and are awaiting our new crop of kids starting at the end of January. 
My work outside the farm has me so busy forums have been a thing of the past. I think this is the first actual day I could sit down and relax in 3 months.

So a few pics. Tesla (boer buck) is growing up to be a great buck. JD finally is getting mature looking at 18 months...he has some late bloomers generically.

Now for decisions time. Spoiled and my black and white boer doe both failed to conceive with Crusader. I've rented them both this fall to Tesla. Looks like the black and white has settled but Spoiled aborted a couple of weeks ago, found the fetus and it looked well formed and female. She has since come back in heat and rebred but she will be 4 this spring and has never freshened. She's one of my favorites but if she doesn't carry this next time she'll be off to auction. The doe in the top pic on the left with the kid beside her only had that kid this year. I'll kid her out this spring as well but if she singles again she's going on the same trip. She's not very nice so her lack of production will be her fate.

We are moving to more Boers than dairy now. I still have a handful of dairy does, 2 alpines, a Lamancha that's just a doll, and 3Nubian does and a Nubian Doeling. I bred everything dairy to the Nubian buck this year, but that may change as our market for dairy goats is slow lately.

THree of my does are over 10 years old. They get to stay just because of their age and I don't have the heart to ship them for meat. I bred all 3 so hoping to still get kids out of them. The old alpine doe had twins this year, one I kept. The old Boer doe is the one who had the Hydrops Uteri last pregnancy and had to have triplets aborted.
So we also have the tan doe in the top pic. Not sure what breeding she is but she's big and probably a dairy cross. She is bred to the Boer buck. 
Breedings for this year are:
Tesla :
Ruby (red Boer)
Spoiled (red and white traditional Boer)
Eclipse (black and white Boer)
Evie (unknown breeding doe)
Annie (red and white paint Boer)
Dapple tri color doe with no name yet
Calypso (probably Nubian/Boer cross)
Jd
Missy (alpine)
Bonnie (Nubian)
Clara (Nubian)
Cheyenne (Lamancha)
Raven (Nubian)

Then the lone ewe sheep is bred to my daughters ram...which one I'm not sure they both got in on that action. The white one is off to the processor soon as he was one that the Boer doe raised. The brown and white hair sheep ram gets to stay because he's a sweet pet.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

They all look great!


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## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

It’s so good to hear from you! Sorry about the miscarriage.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

They do look good.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Decisions are tough to make, that's for sure! We have 11 does right now, most we've ever had this time of year and will need to sell some after the new year. I want to buy a couple of new, young does with the qualities we lack for showing so my daughter (and son if he continues showing) will have something a little different to show. So that means making room. 
We also had a doe abort back in Sept at about 2 months along. Saw no fetuses though, but was really sad as she is a nice doe, gave us really nice triplets this year (kept both of her doe kids). Slower growing genetics, not as much bone, but if they are like her they will be nice and top out about 185-200lbs when mature. We sent her to be bred and just got confirmation today that she is pregnant, so I'm praying everything goes smoothly!


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## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

Thanks, my old girls are showing their age. The alpine doe looks ancient as she probably is and is the hardest to keep weight on. 
Raven and Bonnie are looking like they’ll be going after they kid. Raven for sure unless she produces something really nice. She didn’t take last spring, and if she doesn’t take this fall she’s off to the packer. She’s a pain in the butt so she’ll have to impress me to stay. Bonnie was a poor mother last year, decent milker for a ff but rejected her babies from the start and I ended up losing both of them. 
We lost my daughters little doe yesterday to pneumonia. Super sad because she raised her on a bottle after I put her mother down. She was always kind of more on the not very hardy side but even though she was vaxxed she went downhill super fast with the pneumonia. I really miss her already she was a doll.
We picked up a pair of scrawny ewes at the auction a week ago. I felt sorry for them and they are young so we now have 5 sheep.i also purchased a spotted Boer doe and a giant commercial Boer doe that’s heavy bred recently. As much as I like my dairy girls they are delicate and I’m not sure that’s in the cards moving forward. At least not Nubians, I’m debating switching over to Lamanchas for the dairy aspect. I prefer the Nubian Boer crosses for aesthetics but it does come down to not mattering what they look like as long as they grow well since really I just want the dairy girls for our own personal milk and their kids can go to the dinner plate/commercial meat production. 

My doe that aborted did breed back, whether she’ll slip it again or not I don’t know. I’m hoping it’s just a fluke because she’s a nice doe but if she can’t carry a pregnancy she’ll have to go too. She was bred last spring and didn’t take, I assumed it was too late in the season, now I wonder if maybe she aborted early on then as well. Hard to tell, nobody that was exposed at that time took, the black headed doe appears to be very heavy bred now and should be due in January, she was the third that didn’t take last spring. Hopefully since the black headed doe and the one who aborted are both 3 year olds now and have never kidded.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I hate decision making time  for the a lot of them it’s easy but not when it’s something that is adored. I have a freemartin I am trying to figure out a reason to keep her because quite frankly I love the fat turd. She is one that everyone who comes to look at goats for sale want to know how much I wanted for her, just a lover of a girl. At the moment I’m broken hearted from loosing my old doe and my cow that was my show girl 16 years ago so I’m just not making any decisions on her or my old ladies at the moment. 
You have very happy looking goats on your hands


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

They are all beautiful.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Oh decisions... I have a 6 year old doe that aborted at two and had chronic metritis and has been sterile since. ( despite many treatments) but she’s my baby and shall stay... 

I’ll have to be more strict with others as I don’t have the space for many goats in total.

Did you have any of the fetuses tested to see why they were aborted?


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## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

No I didn't bother with testing it, it was pretty small.
My Nubian doe that is a crappy mother aborted triplets this morning. All 3 good sized about a month early and very pretty. All bucklings. Not sure what that's about either but I have 7 more does due mid January that are doing well. 
My Nubian buck has worn his welcome out here. He's a giant fence destroying lovable pain. He's not getting anymore girls and since I only keep the milk for use I figure I'll use the Boer buck can breed the girls since I don't care to replenish my dairy stock and will just buy them outright as the need arises. 
That said, not sure if it's everywhere but goat prices are down. I bought a big Boer doe last week for less than $1 a lb. looks pregnant too. She was hard to load in the bed of the truck since she's so heavy and we wanted to be careful with how far along she looks. Good thing she's a gentle soul, we named her Tundra.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Have you considered that your doe that aborted may have Chlamidia? That seems to be really prevalent. I don't know if it goes in cycles, but 3 people I know have had an outbreak in their herds recently. (No relation to each other, no common shows, etc).


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## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

Jessica84 said:


> I hate decision making time  for the a lot of them it's easy but not when it's something that is adored. I have a freemartin I am trying to figure out a reason to keep her because quite frankly I love the fat turd. She is one that everyone who comes to look at goats for sale want to know how much I wanted for her, just a lover of a girl. At the moment I'm broken hearted from loosing my old doe and my cow that was my show girl 16 years ago so I'm just not making any decisions on her or my old ladies at the moment.
> You have very happy looking goats on your hands


Exactly, most of them it's not a hard decision. But a couple of them are smart enough to know if they are loving and sweet they make it a hard decision. 
My old ladies get to stay. Spoiled is the one who aborted first this year with the tiny fetus. She's a favorite of mine so I'm hoping she can get with the program so I don't have to ship her down the road. Tundra will easily be a favorite as she's very sweet. Bonnie (aborted triplets this morning) and raven are wicked witches. I'd gladly off load or trade them for a Lamancha or Boer doe. Evie is obnoxious, auto correct must know this since it tried to correct Evie to evil. 
Calypso is a lot better than she was but she needs to produce more than a single this year because she's big and eats a lot...so needs to produce more to stay. The black headed doe is neither here nor there, honestly I'll probably sell her off after she weans her kid(s). She has little to no pigment under her tail and since my kids are picking out show animals that's not productive. But I'll keep track of her kids weights compared to another doe and she may stay if she does well. 
Most of them are subject to finding a new home depending on how they produce. Only the old ladies really get spared since they've earned it.


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## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

Goats Rock said:


> Have you considered that your doe that aborted may have Chlamidia? That seems to be really prevalent. I don't know if it goes in cycles, but 3 people I know have had an outbreak in their herds recently. (No relation to each other, no common shows, etc).


Ive definitely considered that it's an infective reason for the abortions since we had another doe abort this month but fetuses were much further along and seems more likely of an infective agent. Could also be a selenium deficiency since we are deficient and they went a bit without mineral while we were moving and setting up (long story on that, but it was a hot mess). But we're watching cautiously, one or two aborting isn't cause for alarm, but more than that is suspicious.


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