The Sad Part of Goat Breeding

This event actually happened in March 2020 and I posted it to my FB page and some goat groups, but didn’t think to blog about it, I guess because I was too upset at the time. But I thought I should add it here because this is a part of goat breeding that most people don’t think about or talk about, but I think it’s important to discuss so that we can all learn from these sad events and do better in the future for these animals that are entrusted to our care...

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I lost a baby goat today. When you have as many babies born as I do you’re going to lose a few each kidding season and he’s not the first one I’ve lost this year. But he was a really special little guy - a bottle baby, which I rarely have, very sweet and friendly, healthy and strong and beautiful, and the first buckling of my own breeding that I’ve liked enough to want to keep. He was one of my favorite kids of the entire nearly 70 kids born this year.

He seemed perfectly fine earlier in the day when I gave him his bottle, then I heard him yelling and went to check on him. He was in obvious pain. I’m not sure what was wrong with him but possibly Enterotoxemia. I began treating him for that immediately since that’s all I knew to do. It didn’t help. In less than 15 minutes he was dead and I am just heartbroken.

When people ask me why my goats are “so expensive” this is why. Because I work so hard to raise healthy, happy, high quality goats. But sadly you can do everything “right” - give them the best hay, organic minerals, proper medical care and love and still you’re going to get your heart ripped out every so often. You’ll save some from difficult illnesses that most people would have given up on and then tragically lose other babies that you didn’t even know were sick. 😢

And why do I continue in this business despite the heartbreak it can bring? Two reasons. Because I love goats more than any other animal besides dogs. They’re unique and special creatures that bring me joy every day and I’ve adored them since I was a kid. And because I love sharing these wonderful creatures with other families like the lovely family that came earlier in the day to buy two wethers from me. I want to breed healthy, beautiful babies that can bring joy and happiness to others, be it does for milking and making cheese or wethers for pets. They’re all special and seeing how excited the families are when they take their new babies home makes me so happy. But some days it’s really hard to be a goat breeder. This day started out so great, but ended so awfully. I hope tomorrow is a better day all around. 😢