# When do you retire your does?



## eliya (Mar 11, 2008)

How old do most of you let your does get before you give them permanent retirement? I have a MiniNubian doe that is 9 going on ten. She had her 20th kid last year and is due again in March. She seems fit as a fiddle and very healthy. What signs do you look for to tell if a doe needs to be retired and how old do you think is fair to breed a doe? I'm sure this is a somewhat subjective question, but I'd like to hear what others have done. Thanks!


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## mathewsfive (May 2, 2010)

That is a good question. I am excited to see what the experienced DGI people have to say about it.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I don't retire my does. I let them have kids and milk as long as they can. A barron doe doesn't last as long, isn't as healthy as a doe who is working. Now I do move them, at about 9 into a new pen, hopefully with other aged does they get along with...the worst thing is to have your herd queen fight and loose with the younger ones. I get their teeth checked yearly and move to a senior horse feed and soak beet pulp during the winter in very hot water. I also put them on a mixture of chondroiton, MSM and glucosomine which really helps them get around better. I also know when to say when and I do not allow my old girls to suffer, just because I can keep them alive until they are 14, or the ages heard about on the internet, does not mean I should. My belief in Right to death is one of the few human emotions I do put on my livestock.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

Vicki, When a old doe comes in heat in August , does she keep recycling about every 22 days till May ,if not bred ?? Isn't heat hard on them because they are so wound :crazy up ??

Is kidding finally what kills a old doe or what causes a old doe to die ?


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## tendermeadowsnigerians (Sep 8, 2010)

We had a Nubian doe who freshened at 12 yrs old, she was in great shape and held her weight fairly easily, I did add some soaked beet pulp in her feed but other then that she got the same as our other milkers. Now we have a 9 yr old Nigerian who didnt settle this year or last year, shes retired and wont be bred again.


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## mathewsfive (May 2, 2010)

Vicki
Is there a place in goatkeeping 101 that has your managment and feeding on the older does? I looked and didn't find anything.


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## Grumpy Old Buck (Feb 5, 2011)

A commercial dairy in California (Alpines) had a standing age of "10" for their does to retire. Of course, retirement meant they went to live out their remaining years being bred each year but only to raise their kids. Once the kids weaned themselves (or were weaned by humans), they were dried up and allowed to run on a hill and pasture. The owner's thought process was they had earned that retirement and a place to live out their remaining years (having paid their way and then some in the dairy).


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## eliya (Mar 11, 2008)

Thank you all! Bill, I like that idea of retirement. I think that is just what my does would like (although some of them might not be willing to stop milking after weaning!). That is basically what we did with 'Arthur' last year - let her raise her buckling and then dried her off. She seems fit as a fiddle and looks like she could keep going for many years. I have to sell a few adult does this year (or I can't keep any kids!) and was considering letting her go *sniff*. But I didn't want to sell her to someone who wants to breed her several more times if she should be retired now. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to hearing more stories/ideas.


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

The oldest doe I had was my Verona who was a French Alpine. She passed away in her sleep just after her 15th birthday. I retired her at the age of 11. She came back in heat the following fall. I had no available buck so she didn't breed. After that I didn't notice any heat cyclings and if she had they were suttle. I just could not sell my, "V....V" and there were some sentimental reasons why. One being that her former owner died of cancer a few yrs after I bought her, he really really adored her and was a good friend. The other she was my meanest and evilest doe up til the day she died.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

well,Like Bernice,my 2 doe's that I will soon retire,will die here as I wont sell them. For the last 3 seasons both of my does have had triplets and that's been hard on them,they have raised the kids without help and the kids have been mostly bucks.... I am praying for doe's and easy delivery with all does from breeding them to my new N buck ,however I am seeing a potential problem as they both have not uddering up much and they should deliver in 2 weeks :/


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes they still have heats, I don't see how getting them out of the barn and standing on the fence screaming for the boys couldn't be good for the big fat girls  I don't breed until October so all the girls scream until then, no matter their age. By 12, most does are old (some bloodlines you are talking like this at 9), they have trouble getting up and down, arthritis sets in, deliveries are hard on them and some stroke out or go into congestive heart failure after delivery. Thier teeth are bad if they even have molars. What kidding and milking (or letting the kids nurse if you like) does is keeps the girls moving. You can tell when it's getting to be time when a doe can no longer jump up onto the milkstand anymore. As much of a quality of life as we want for our does when they are here making money milking and having kids we sell, we want them to have the same quality of life when older. I opt for about 12 years here and put them down...having only buried 2 old girls before, we do butcher the old girls. Boys are eaiser, they are sterile about 10, I have never had a buck make it past 10 who wasn't shooting blanks, and yes they are butchered also.

I just am not capable of looking at an old goat who has made me alot of money, really suffering down in a corner of the barn, needing help getting up and down...being kept alive for the owner, I can't even do that to my own pets, let alone the girls. I have been to lots of farms and seen the old goats who are alive out of compassion for them, where if the owner could step back and see the reality of what they are doing, the most compassionate thing would have been to put the animals down.


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

Vicki: what you mentioned is the reality of the situation with keeping older goats. 



Verona was an exception for me but she was eating, getting around OK, and being her usual evil ole' self. I dreaded the day when I would have had to put her down and made peace with that. Fortunately I didn't have to make that decision because she died on her terms. But Jackie on the other hand........she was showing signs so as much as it hurt I had our vet put her down. And the same with most others I have had.


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## Grumpy Old Buck (Feb 5, 2011)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I just am not capable of looking at an old goat who has made me alot of money, really suffering down in a corner of the barn, needing help getting up and down...being kept alive for the owner, I can't even do that to my own pets, let alone the girls. I have been to lots of farms and seen the old goats who are alive out of compassion for them, where if the owner could step back and see the reality of what they are doing, the most compassionate thing would have been to put the animals down.


A-M-E-N !!!!


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

In my little herd, my matriarch is 10, she is bred for this year (not by choice) but had issues last year so I am worried about her kids this year. Her cervix doesn't seal tight due to an injury last year with a gi-normous dead buck kid that took the vet an hour plus to deliver. She has been leaking clear fluid for about a month now.

My Oberhasli doe is 9 and is due any day now. 

The 10 yo Alpine is big and rugged and eats like a horse. The Obie needs beet pulp because she has problems managing her hay. She gets soaked BP morning and night and wispy hay in between.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

Vicki, You are so right in your post about putting them down for the reasons you stated , as I surly dont like suffering. Several old loved goats have been put down here and also my beautiful cat that I had for 20 years that was my baby as ... I dont like suffering !


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