Downsized --

[Suzyq2u]

Well push came to shove (almost literally) and
it was evident we needed to downsize sooner than later.
It's been a week now since we sold *1/2* our herd.
We're now down to 7 and that INCLUDES the buck, his wether friend
and the cull. It was drastic..but between hubby's health (& often mine but I'm doing ok right now), my frazzledness (is that a word?) and all the help that was needed from the kids - it needed to be done. Maybe later when we re-fence the back, etc. But for now - It was time to regroup!

It was hard - I think about them a lot! But seeing how much we can
enjoy the ones we have left has been worth every bit of missing the
others.
For does we have left with us, mama goat and her doeling 6mo old Dot.
Pretty girl and 2.5 mo old Andromeda (we kept one of star's triplets).
The 2 little ones (dot and andi) have come around 100% they're
loving and take treats before they were far more stand-offish - especially andi.

I love working with them again, it is so much less stressful and overwhelming.
It's a step forward, not back

I'll get some new pics in a min

[Alice In TX/MO]

It's hard to downsize. I feel your pain.

Huggs.

[Suzyq2u]

Little andi

[Suzyq2u]

Miss dot

[dozedotz]

We are doing it, too. We have a small herd anyway, but it was getting to be too much even with what we had. We are now down to just 4 does and 2 bucks and it is much easier. The people who bought the kids and girls have been really good about keeping us up to date on how they are doing...that helps! Andi and Dot are sure cute!

[V-NH]

Sorry you had to sell them, but it was probably a good call.

My wife and I currently have:

3 does
1 buck
1 wether
15 laying hens
1 big mean rooster
15 pekin ducks
5 turkeys
3 geese
55 cornish x chickens
20 berry bushes
1 4x8 strawberry patch
1 4x20 raised bed tomato garden

It's at a point where it takes us 90 minutes a day M-F and 6-8 hours on the weekend to maintain all of it. I consider it to be our "max capacity" even though we have space for more. Luckily the ducks, geese, turkeys, cornish x, and garden won't be there anymore at the end of the summer. I have no idea how we would manage milking on top of that. Rest assured that you made the right choice if it was starting to feel like too much. It's better to have something little that you can take care of rather than something big that you can't.

[ne prairiemama]

They are so cute! Thanks for sharing the pictures and I'm glad you can enjoy them better!!

[nehimama]

I empathize! I often have to remind myself to watch out & not overload myself. It's easier to love on a few good ones, and take care of their health & management than to resent spending too little time on too many, and needing more energy & strength & hours in the day!

[mygoat]

Selling animals is always hard, but I always feel better after I cull. While I'm sad I don't have my boer goats, but I know it will help my sanity in the next couple years. I always feel like the decision I make are for the best - especially if I'm getting rid of an animal that doesn't meet my goals. If you cull your least favorite/worst quality, then you're left with a herd that is better quality/more of your favorite animals.

I'm glad you're happy with your decision to sell, and I love the pics! You've only got so many hands to pass out treats and to pet, after all.

[GoldenWood Farm]

I downsized this past year, it felt SO good! I missed some of my girls but now I am down to 7 milking does, 2 bucks and the 5 doe kids being grown out. I enjoy working with the herd again and I don't feel overwhelmed like I have in the past. When I was younger (and slightly more stupid) I had over 40 goats, I remember bottle feeding 31 kids one year .

I know I want to bring my numbers back up to around 18 or so but that will be over the course of the next few years .

Justine