Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In my experience, most of the kids wean naturally around 6 months of age. In 2011, the heat was
so extreme that our doe didn't produce much milk through the full summer and weaned the baby
a little sooner. We separate out the bucks at about 2 months of age because they have been known
to breed does as young as 8 to 12 weeks. They are castrated by 12 weeks so that the buck-scent
won't taint the meat. Female babies we keep unless we've reached my husband-imposed limit of
four does for our backyard space.
Raising or Selling Your Yearly Offspring
Females that you are not planning to keep can be sold as young as 2 months old. If I'm planning
to sell a doeling, I will usually not bother weaning them until the sale takes place. I'd hate to put
them through the stress of weaning right before the added stress of a move. Your extra stock can
sell for a wide variety of prices depending on the demand for what they have to offer.
Male offspring we castrate and raise to a butchering size at my in-laws' house. The arrangement
we have with them is they provide the space, and we provide the feed. They tend the wethers until
they are butchering size, and we split the meat that is produced. We've been able to add between
80 and 100 pounds of meat to the freezer each year in addition to having the doelings each year.
thOrny MatterS
Castrating young males can be done with either banding or surgery. There are pros and cons to each
method, and you should have experienced help before attempting either method yourself. Banding is
bloodless but takes longer. Surgical castration does cause bleeding but the procedure happens a lot faster.
Either way I recommend waiting a few weeks before castration to help prevent accidental damage to the
urethra, which can cause a blockage of the urinary tract called urinary calculi.
Whatever babies you decide to keep will need to be vaccinated according to the schedule your vet-
erinarian recommends. I also recommend handling them often to get them used to human contact.
We teach them to lead at just a week old and have never had problems handling our adults who
were trained young. We also get them accustomed to the motions of hoof trimming and grooming.
There is a limited market for castrated males that are trained to drive small carts, or used as pack
animals for backpackers and hikers. Also check out local 4-H groups, farmers' markets, and feed
stores for potential buyers. We've never had to list our goats in the newspaper or take them to the
livestock auction, but both can be potential places to find buyers for your goats. Ideally you'll have
developed a good relationship with the breeder that you purchased from and they can help advise
you.
