Culling
Culling
What is culling? Culling is choosing between your animals and selling those that do not meet your standards. It can be choosing to sell based on genetics, over-population of your barn, and/or physical or temperamental characteristics that are undesirable to you.
Why cull? At some point in your goat-breeding career, you are going to have to cull. Goats are an extremely prolific species when it comes to reproduction, and you must keep in mind that you cannot keep every kid that is born on your farm! There are some principles to follow in your culling practices, however.
1) Set some rules
It is essential to set rules for yourself pertaining the size and scale of your herd. You need to find out what works for you and stick with it. If you allow yourself too many goats, it is very easy to get burned out. When you no longer enjoy your goats, it will be reflected in your treatment of them. Goats are a time-consuming and expensive way to be miserable! Make sure that you are not over-stressing yourself.
2) Set your goals
Decide what you are breeding for. If you want to show, you will cull differently than someone who wants to run a dairy. Research you options and cull based on them.
3) Learn to judge
Once you know what you want, learn how to objectively judge your animals. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; everyone has an opinion and you can always learn something from others.
4) Don’t cull too soon
Give your animals time to mature before really judging hard. A gawky kid can develop into a gorgeous mature animal. Some characteristics will not change, though, so learn to tell what those are. A kid with shallow heels will most likely be a mature goat with shallow heels. A very narrow, frail kid will probably be a narrow, frail adult. Adversely, a young animal that just doesn’t seem to “have it all put together” may very well be a lovely buck or doe when mature. So try not to judge too soon… things do change!