Culling Goats

If you are trying to raise goats for a profit you will be faced with some hard decisions and have to get rid of some of your nanny goats eventually. What makes you cull goats may be different from how someone else does it. But you can't keep every goat and expect to make any money. For farmers that are raising goats for profit the general rule should be if the goat is not making you money she/he should move on. I know there are exceptions to that rule like: your children's pet goat, the companion goat for the buck, and so on.

Where do you take your culled goats? There are several options that you can do to get rid of the culled goats. But it would also have to depend on the reason you are culling them. Sometimes you can sell them as pets. But don't do that to goats that are highly susceptible to worms or has something really wrong with it. That is just not nice to those that buy them and do not know any better. Those goats may be better sold elsewhere. The auction is probably the most common place that culled goats end up. With that in mind, do not buy your goats from an auction because who knows what problems you are bringing onto your farm. Goats can also be processed and you can sell the goat meat, whole, halves, and cuts (check your state laws on this).

Reasons you should cull your goats. Not all reasons alone are always enough to cull them. These are just ideas to keep in mind as you are looking at your herd. You will have to determine for yourself and farm which issues you are okay with and which are not acceptable to you.

Age.

Older goats have more problems then younger. The older your nanny goats are the more problems they could have during pregnancy and kidding. The older does may also take longer to get back into top condition after having and taking care of their kids. They just do not bounce back as quick as the younger does. There may be a certain age that is your cut off age for your breeding program or maybe you just go year by year and see how they do and if they have problems they get culled.

Pregnancy and kidding issues.

This will include not getting bred and miscarriages. Sometimes those issues are due to having a high worm load and or not being in top condition at breeding time. If you have to help pull the kids every time for your doe it might not be the best idea to keep her just because you might not be there one time and then they all die. Some people cull their doe if she rejects her kids, does not take good care of them, and/or does not produce enough milk for them. Mastitis and bad genetics of teats can also be a reason to cull. Most times goats will have twins but if you notice that your doe is only giving you singles year after year is it worth your time? Singles do tend to grow faster so you will have to make that decision for your own farm. The growth of the doe's kids may also determine if she gets culled or not. She may give you twins or triplets every year but if they do not grow nice is it worth it?

Worms.

Always fighting worms in your goat? That is a great reason to get rid of them. Worms can take a goat down really quick and it is hard to bring them back when they go down. If you do not have goats yet or are looking into getting goats go to a reputable breeder. Make sure you get the genetics of high worm resistance. We found out that Kiko goats are a lot more worm resistant then your typical Boer goats.

Other health issues.

There are other diseases or problems that could happen they may cause you to consider culling your goat. Our one goat got deer worm while pregnant. The baby died but we were able to save her. But she did not fully recover. It had weakened her back end and spine and we did not want to put her through another kidding so she had to go.

What is Deer Worm?

Another one of our goats had listeriosis. We were able to save her and she is doing good and there does not seem to be any permanent damage. So she will get another chance in the 2024 breeding season.

Bad personality or trouble maker.

Some of you may disagree with this reason to cull but others will understand. If you have one goat that is the trouble maker and all your other goats follow that trouble maker you will have LOTS of trouble. Our one goats is a jumper and the other goats will follow her. It is no fun dealing with a trouble maker. We had to put our jumper in the barn (with a few buddies) and our other goats did not jump the fence so we knew it was her leading the herd. Needless to say she is leaving.

Some goats are just plain mean to people or other goats that you have. Perhaps the best thing to do is to get rid of them for your safety and the safety of your other animals. Bucks may be the exception to this rule. Some bucks are complete gentlemen all the time but others tend to be more aggressive during rut or when they are with their girls.

Pick your battles. If you do not want to deal with a particular problem you see in one of your goats then consider culling.