If a goat has been with me for several years, it's never an easy choice to sell that animal. The babies and yearlings are a little different—after all, I raise them to sell, so choosing to do so is just the right thing and the smart thing. But when they've been with me for two or three years, a lot of thinking and soul searching and weighing of pros and cons go into the process.
Still, after seeing what he has produced in the kid crop this spring, I have decided to sell my boy, Epic Baddle. Epic has been here as a herd sire for two years. Last spring he was young and so only sired a set of twin boys for me. I didn't think they were anything special as far as breed potential went. They were boys, after all, which are not nearly as desirable as the doe kids. However, they were also black and white like their dad, which is definitely a selling point. It adds absolutely nothing to milking capacity or the Nubian breed type. But black and white spotted kids are flashy, and people buy them.
With that toss-up on his record, I kept Epic for another year. He was a busy boy last fall and was bred to five of my seven does. And I do not like the direction in which those breedings are taking my herd.
He did give me some nice color again this year. But his kids tend to have ears that are narrower than the wide, bell-like ears that make the Nubian breed so recognizable. They also, almost without exception, were funny about learning to suck on the bottle. I plan to keep only one of them for myself, hope to sell the others fairly fast, and have definitely chosen to sell their daddy.
So, this evening, a family from Missouri came out to the farm and gave Epic a new home. He didn't go alone. Minty and her daughter, Mistrie (two of my milkers), went with him. I want to see my herd produce better individuals than what these were producing. But, like each goat that leaves the farm, I'll always remember these three. Thanks, Epic, for the beautiful colors, for Shandy (his daughter who is staying), and for teaching me more about the Nubian breed. And thanks to Minty and Mistrie for the companionship and the gallons of milk you provided. Happy trails.
