To Cull Or Not To Cull: Goats

[mikey]

We have been asked,when do we decide to cull a goat and which goat:
These are the guideline we follow in making our decision(s).Each farm will be different,as I have said these are guidelines,not written in stone.
-a male goat at 6 years old is known as in middle age.He has a harder time to forage beacuse of his teeth are wearing down.
-goats with bad legs and hooves.
-does with poor udder attachment to the body.Does with damaged or torn udders.Does with large sagging udders.
-Does in poor body condition,unthrifty.
-goats not used for breeding on a recurrring basis.
-does with low to no milk output,dairy goats.
-does with recurring kidding problems.
-Does with abortion diseases,sometimes antibotics like oxytetracycline,200 mg. every 40 days from breeding till kidding may help.
-Goats that become parasite tolerance and cost too much to keep deworming them on a regular basics.
-goats that are runts,small , and slow grower for that breed.
-goats with CAE and John"s Disease.
-goats that are overly aggressive,bucks and does.
-when it starts to cost more time and money to keep the goat or goats healthy, than what their value is worth,time to cull.

[mr hog]

Hey mikey what is the adverage live span for a goat anyway?

[mikey]

They can live to 12 years easy as long as they are kept healthy,thats the key (healthy).We have a 6 year old anglo breeding buck.Freddie is still healthy,his teeth are worn down,he is penned kept and he gets regular exercise,still a good breeder.We hope to keep him breeding for another 2 years,then we will retire him and keep him until be passes on.Should he cost too much to maintain,his retirement may come sooner rather than later.Does,well depends on their body condition,not sure how many does are still breeding at 12.Most have been culled at that age or kept only as  pets.The key is their health.On the other hand,if one has say 100-600 goats,they would never reach this age.Not worth your time.As does age,they will start to produce less milk,the dairy breeds.Once their production slows down,they are culled.Breeding bucks usually, turned over every 3 years.
life span for a buck is usually 8-10 years
does 11-12 on average,some reported as much as 16-18 years and some have been bred until the age of 10  years.
whethers 11-16 years on average
Support The Goat: