Cull or not to cull

[Stringinit]

I am hoping to get some insight from fellow breeders on this matter.

I recently acquired a beautiful goat that is a Dwite Sharp doe. She has the pedigree but has a horrendous bellow in the pasture. Every time she sees us outside she is screaming for hours afterwards! She is supposed to be a multipurpose doe, packgoat breeder/Milker. She only produces a half gallon a day, small teets, but is really easy to hand milk with no stancheon needed. I can deal with low milk production and small teets but she is sooo vocal… she is an Alpine/Saanen/Oberhasli.

Now, I only have experience with one other doe who is an amazing alpine doe in every way. So maybe my new doe is just normal?

My question is; what is the likelihood her offspring will inherit the vocal genetics? I have had her for 2months now and she is welcomed into the herd by the herd. 

Thanks

[Nanno]

What it comes down to is whether you like a particular goat enough to keep it. Your doe's noisiness is definitely not normal. I have Nubian crosses (Nubians being known for their talkative natures) and unless they are in raging heat, they rarely vocalize. It sounds like she's a little too bonded to you and perhaps in time she'll get over it, particularly if she bonds with your other doe.

As far as inheritability of this trait, it's a toss-up. Some noisy goats beget noisy offspring and some noisy goats beget silent offspring. Perhaps it's because mine are Alpine/Nubian crosses, but I personally tend to have a lot of inconsistency when it comes to whether the kids are as noisy as their mama. In the end, you have to decide whether you can live with this doe's screaming. If she's just too much for your ears or your neighbors' tolerance it's okay to pass her along. Some people don't mind noisy goats, and some goats stop screaming when they go to a new home. I've had a couple of noisy goats who were smacked by a dominant goat every time they screamed so they eventually learned to be quiet. Last year I sold a very nice goat because, of all things, she kept stepping on my feet! I had to downsize and I liked all my goats so I had to get picky. This goat (Mocha) never stepped on anyone else's feet, but when she was near me it was like she aimed directly for my toes every time. I sold her to a great family whose toes she never mashes and they love her. Some things seem awfully trivial but they drive us nuts. We just have to remind ourselves that it's okay to sell goats that make us unhappy, realizing that the same trait that is unpleasant to us may be endearing to someone else, or may disappear altogether in another herd situation.

Good luck!

[Stringinit]

Those are very good things to keep in mind. Thank you Nanno.

I also have one of her doelings, who’s not as loud as her mama but not too far off. The mama and doeling are also in the process of weaning. When the weaning process is over hopefully things will quiet down.

[Dandelion]

My friend has a Nubian/Toggenburg who is a similar screamer: she bellows angrily at us, FEED ME, starting in the morning, and when I am working on this farm I pretty much have to revolve my day around this goat. I was dumb enough to adopt two of her boys, who were also screamers, but more of the high-pitched squealing type, and I ended up having to sell them. But Pearl's daughter this year is quiet, apart from a very strange shrieking noise that she only makes occasionally. So it's hard to tell. I definitely would not have kept this goat myself (I would have tried to find her a home with a school for deaf children or something), but my friend is quite attached to her, and she is getting less noisy the older she gets. I think what it is, is that some goats just have louder volume capabilities than others, and if they can learn to use that to exploit humans, good luck.