# Wow...what to do...



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

My breeder friend has offered us a fullblooded doe in exchange for our paint buckling... We saw one of the doe's bucks from her last pregnancy <twins>, and he's super nice. The doe is running with her buck who is the sire of the kid we saw - he's been throwing AWESOME looking kids.
There is another doe in with her that she offered to us for a set price or we could give her a buck kid from one of the does. I think I'd rather pay the set price.
She said they have really nice pedigrees, and they should both be pregnant by her buck, but if for some reason they aren't we'd bring them back until they are bred.

I think it's a good deal, and we were talking about getting some fullblooded does so we can get some nice kids for our kids to show in 4-H, or at least nicer goats to sell since they are fullblooded.
The girls have some bad feet <my friends partner has had health problems and can't get out to take care of their feet>, so she is nursing the girls back to health, they are walking real good, but will need more work on their feet. They aren't friendly, but not mean. I've dealt with that before so we'd be prepared to try and tame them down with love, treats, etc. 
We've bought 4 goats from her and they have never had a health issue, so I am not concerned with disease, etc.

But..... we'd have to sell a couple of goats before we'd bring in more....

We love our girls, so it's really really a hard thought. I know, you sell the ones that are least productive or not producing nice kids.
But we think our does have done well considering they are all mixed bred.

However....if we do this and sell someone....I think it's going to possibly be my herd queen and her 4mo old daughter... We want to go more with boer, and she is Kiko, and her kids look more Kiko.

I originally planned to sell her daughter, but wow...she's a brat, but a sweetie and we always said we'd never sell her.
Guess we'll see what the kids think too....

Anyway...wanted to share with my TGS friends who understand...because my family and friends wouldn't understand....A goat is just a goat to them..


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

This will improve you 4h kids,you would have more options anyway.You sure you cant squeeze in one more without selling your others?They are all good looking goats.

Maybe try to work out a deal by helping her with her goats.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

hard one -
of course its easy for me to say "of course sell the one that doesnt fit into the future breeding ideas" but the attachment you feel towards them is nothing to just brush aside.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Decisions like this are never easy. I would sit down with your family and talk about it. This doe sounds like it would be good for your herd. If you want ot go more towards the Boer, then the obvious choice would to be sell the Kikos.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I'd do it ..anytime you can improve the herd....that is a good thing to do.... :wink: :thumb:


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Candice I know how you feel when it comes to possibly selling your favorite. It is really hard but I am doing it this year. Well I am not totally selling her I am trading her for a new black spotted boer buckling. She is actually going back to her original breeder which is nice and that has made it easier. My other favorite doe was the aggressive one. She really was a people lover and it was sad to see her go. Man both of my personal favorites are going to be gone this year. But if it helps the herd I am for it. I just want my nieces to be happy with what they are showing even if we do not win anything. I am not saying that what we have is crap but there is always something better out there and we just have to get to it threw some really had cuts. I am still not the best at that part but I am getting better at it.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much  I mentioned it to my 4yo and she doesn't want to sell her, so it's hard. She's been this does buddy, but lately my daughter just doesn't spend any time with her anymore. She can be a real sweetie once she gets to know you and trust you, her daughter is a sweetie too. But they aren't as beefy/meaty as I'd like to have, they are very slender compared to boers. And with my kids wanting to do 4-H, and enjoying it so far, I don't feel she can give us anything we can use. 
The only other doe is MY BABY....she's got lousy teat structure, but she had a buck who was clean teated, and her doeling isn't too bad.
I want to give her another chance, and see what her second crop of kids turn out like. She's solid red and gave us solid red kids.

It comes down to those two, and the doeling. So I think the mama and daughter would be the logical choice to find new homes together.

Roger - sounds like we're doing something very similar! But we're trading our buckling for her doe. The other doe that comes with her would be either paid by $$$ or by giving a buckling from one of the girls. But I'm pretty much set on paying the $$, because if for some reason we were to only end up with one buckling from both girls...we'd have to give it up as part of the deal. After seeing the boys these girls produced...I want a buckling 

So... we'd have 3 fullbloods, and 3 unregistered does <boer/kiko and 2 nubian/boer>. I'm hoping the girls pick up weight so we can get them bred for end of the year kids. I think we could get some nice market wethers from them for the kids to show next year, fingers crossed


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Did you check and see if there are age limits for the wethers in 4-H. I know at our fair the kids can not be born before January 1st. So before you breed everyone you may want to check into that. I think you should sell the red doeling and the kiko(Snow white) doe but that is just me. I would give trouble one more chance I think if she is bred to a really thick buck she could possibly end up with some nice kids. Good luck with your decision. I don't have any fullbloods yet all of mine are percentage does. But so is my buck.


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

StaceyRoop said:


> hard one -
> of course its easy for me to say "of course sell the one that doesnt fit into the future breeding ideas" but the attachment you feel towards them is nothing to just brush aside.


I agree with Stacey, those connections are hard to put aside. As a new breeder of ND goats, I know just how hard it is to let go, especially of ones who may have been the beginning of your herd, if they are 'awesome' quality or not. You will make the right decision though. Go with your gut! You can do it!!! :thumb:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I will check on the age limits, but I 'think' they aren't as strict here, because I thought I had read for the kids showing wethers this year they had to be born after a certain day in June or July of last year. Most people were telling me that Nov-Jan is what they were aiming for though. 

I agree with you Roger, the bottom three on my list are: Snow White, her doeling, and the red doeling. THey are nice, but not for what we are trying to do. Mischief, the red doe, is our lil brat. She is a fun showmanship goat, and she helps keep whomever is waiting in the pen company, so she has a job for now  She's identical to her mama in ever way. 
I plan on keeping 3 doelings for now: Madison, Daisy and Stormy - Stormy is the 2 mo old fullblooded doeling that my 4yo is determined she will be showing next year LOL


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Well now I guess we may not be getting the does... her partner is saying they are worth more pregnant. I won't pay that much $$ for a goat that I have to nurse back to health plus have to tame down, nope...not worth it to me.
Instead my friend wants me to wait until her girls kid in a few months and pick a doe or buck. This is okay as long as I can get an equally nice kid, so one of my kids can use it for 4-H and hopefully future breeding stock.

I still want to get a nice doe for breeding, even if she is percentage doe. I've seen some gorgeous percentage does that are real meaty and carry the boer trait, and that's fine with me. So I'm most likely going to sell some goats so I can get a nice doe or two. The doelings from them can be registered, and the boys sold for commercial buck or used as 4-H wethers. I told my husband I want the kids to have a few wethers for 4-H for sure next year. All 3 of my kids can show next year, and they all want to show.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Sounds like you have it all handled!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Well i thought so...she really wants my buckling and keeps wanting to make a deal...we'll see how it goes. I'd love to have at least 2 fullblooded does, then percentage does, and a registered buck...kids could show fullblooded kids if they are nice, then the unregistered girls can give percentage does and market wethers...


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Wow so much has changed since I first posted...LOL
Didn't get those two does, and went to look at an unregistered doe but she wasn't really what I was looking for, pretty, and friendly, but I decided to not get her...
My friend had me look at a 5 year old doe last night that she had on her friends farm. OMG this girl is HUGE and everything we have been looking for! She's being treated for a sore foot, and is pregnant, starting to bag up a little bit, so if the deal goes down we won't bring her and her kid/kids until they are a few weeks old. I don't want to get excited yet, but it's a good trade.

Which means we may be keeping our buckling <so long as I get his mama's paperwork>, we'll see...


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

Have you heard any word on the papers yet?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Nothing yet, but she found the tag # and they are supposably working on it. I am going to check back because we'll be needing to wean the buckling in a few weeks, and think about getting him sold. 

Every deal gets changed, and falls through so I am done with it. Now it's someone else that wants my buck and wants to come look at him next week, and it would be a cash deal, but he can't leave until my does are bred.

I've had to step away from all of it, and say okay what direction do I want to go? I'm getting pulled into the fullblooded world, and I am thinking I might just keep our does, and not do anything different until next year.... It's just too stressful with all the deal breakers.
We are keeping at least 2 of our doelings, and I 'might' buy 2 fullblood doe kids from this friend this fall for the kids to show next summer. But...again not going to count on it until it happens. 

For now my plan will be to get our herd down to our 5 does, and 2 young does. We have a doe that is possibly pregnant and due at the end of Sept...which kind of 'stinks' unless she has doelings, because we can't use her bucklings for 4-H...


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

Your selling your big buck? He is a nice buck.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Steve! I really like him a lot, but not sure I want to winter him again this year. He'd have to be seperated from the girls, not sure I'd have a buddy that could go in with him <one that he likes that is>, and I don't want him getting depressed, or lonely. Plus we're keeping 2 of his daughters, and would have to figure out who we could breed them too when the time comes. Once the girls are bred, then we wouldn't need a buck until next year. I'm toying with the idea of buying a nice young buck next spring that my son could show in 4-H then afterwards we can use him for breeding. 
With only having 5 does, and then the 2 young does, I really don't want to breed them to their sire, I'd breed to a half brother, but not to the sire.
I have the paint buckling that I wanted to keep but problem with him is I couldn't breed him to his mom or sister 

Pretty sure my big red nubian/boer doe is pregnant, if she is she'd be due at the end of Sept. She's gaining weight nicely after having Jan kids that ran her down. She gave us some nice big boned kids from this buck, so I am excited to see what she has.


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

Your friend is right that a pregnant doe is worth more money, but a nice buck is also worth more than a doe (of the same bloodline/confirmation). I wouldn't trade a doe straight out for a buck unless she was bred. It's so hard to get rid of the goats we love. I had to sell almost all of our babies this year because their sire just wasn't very nice at all and we wanted to improve our herd. I bought nicer does with the money from selling the kids.


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

Well now i see your predicament,i think i would make sure that i good one as good as the buck you have now though,if i had the money and good pen to keep him i would by him from you.Between him and Dude i could have plenty of breeding optoins without ever breeding too close.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much. I know what you mean Aimee, I think we're only going to keep 2 of our young does out of 5. One was growing really nice, but then she just stopped. She's kind of stuck at 45lbs and she was born at the end of Feb, was the biggest of the 3 Feb does. Now the other 2 have surpassed her <including Dude's sister Daisy!>

I have been meaning to ask how Dude has been, I was looking at his pictures this morning, sure do miss the boys. I always get more attached to the boys than I do the girls!

Would be a great plan Steve! Maybe we can do it with the buckling I get next year  I plan on getting a youngster early next year, one that the kids can show in the fairs


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## Steve (Mar 12, 2011)

He is doing great,and getting along with the rest fine now,they dont attack him anymore but still kinda butt heads with him sometime.His foot is all better now he doesnt even limp,but i need to trim him again,its just so hot now i dont want to hassle him with it.Sounds like a good excuse right?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm so glad he is doing so well! He is such a nice boy with a great personality. I miss the boy, funny how I always manage to get attached to the boys!! I love our paint buckling, and it's going to break my heart when we wean and sell. We're going to pull him from his mama in a week and a half and unless we have a buyer then he may go over to my friends house and possibly buddy with a buckling she is mending with a fractured leg until he is sold. 

I understand about not wanting to trim with the heat, I need to check all the girls, but with the heat I'll probably put it off a couple more days when it's a little cooler.


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