Of Goats and Breeding Plans

Kinder goat sales collapsed this year. Of the registered kids I had on offer, I didn’t even receive an inquiry on any of them. Of people who wanted to be notified of this year’s batch, no one was still interested. In one of my rare visits to the Kinder Goat Breeder Association’s facebook page, I discovered that I wasn’t alone. Breeder after breeder across the US was reporting no sales, no interest, and people backing out of previously arranged sales. Individual goats and entire herds were being advertised for sale at big discounts. 

This is a huge turnaround from when I first got into Kinders. Then, I had a 2-year waiting list for kids. Most breeders did. This year, I made the decision to cancel my fall breeding plans until I could do something about thinning my herd. If I couldn’t get down to manageable winter numbers, I wasn’t going to add more goats. It was definitely time to rethink things.

I’ve never considered myself a professional breeder. While I love the breed and have had fun working toward improving my stock according to the breed standard, it’s never been a business or a money-maker for me. I’ve been fortunate that since I started with registered Kinders, I’ve been able to break even. Every year I’ve made enough sales to buy feed and hay until the next year’s sales. My goats have been self-supporting. The bonus for us has been the milk and dairy products I make, manure, brush control, some occasional chevon, a sense of purpose, and hours of entertainment and joy. Kinders’ personalities and antics never cease to make us happy. 

The knee jerk reaction to this turnaround is to blame the economy. I do think this is the underlying problem. Animal feeds, for example, have skyrocketed. Except for the lucky few, most of us have gotten to the point of having to make tough decisions about our household finances. I’ve overheard sad conversations in the grocery stores of people having to give up their pets. We’ve managed because of our homesteading lifestyle. Yes, we’ve been forced to choose to not buy many things, but because we produce quite a bit of our own food, we’ve been able to hang in there. Even with our pets because our cats are working animals. They keep the rodent population down and supplement their own diet in the process. To that I add eggs and milk, and so keep the boughten kibble to a manageable amount.

Of course the economy always rises and falls. This is nothing new. But one thing that I find different from the past, is that in the past, what was seen as an untrustworthy economy usually found people flocking to buy land, seeds, and livestock to become more self-sufficient. My first experience of this was the anti-establishment back-to-the-land movement, of which I was a part. Eventually, participants trickled back to society as we know it and sold off. Life went on.

But that wasn’t the only time I observed this as a social trend. 

• The 1980s, when my kids were little and breakfast cereal was pushed up to $4 a box (absurd then, but we topped that this go-round!) Self-sufficiency was the buzzword and people started flocking to the country. 
• Y2K. The most memorable story was told by someone in my weavers guild. She was contacted by a woman who wanted to learn to spin and weave, because she was thinking she’d have to learn how to grow her own cotton and make her own bed sheets. 
• Eight years ago, I had contacts about buying goats because of fears over the new administration’s economy.

So it is curious to me, that this time, people have been reacting differently. There has been no trend to get land and get self-sufficient. The biggest difference that I can identify is that now, society is totally consumed with the internet.

Anyway, after putting my goat breeding plans on hold, my next action was to start advertising my extra goats as Nubian-crosses instead of registered Kinders. Kinder genetics are a 50/50 cross between Nubians and Pygmies, which has resulted in a stout mid-size goat with excellent production and great personalities. Most people aren’t familiar with Kinders, but they do go for Nubians. 

Along with that, I asked bargain basement prices and managed to sell off five goats and get my herd to a manageable number. Every buyer was delighted with their purchases, and between you and me, they got some absolutely excellent breeding stock at prices that would make a Kinder breeder cry. But value is ultimately relative and needs must.

With my herd thinned appropriately (with one more I would be willing to sell), I could once again entertain breeding plans. As much as they are like big dogs, our goats have never been pets. We love them dearly, but they make a contribution in return for good care. I chose goats over sheep for their milk and everything I can make from that milk. It’s an important source of protein and calcium for our diet. 

For now, I’m going to breed two does for next year’s milk. Of their kids, it’s wait and see. I’ve chosen an optimistic outlook because I’m tired of the doom and gloom. I need a healthier new normal. We all do.