Friday 1 February 2013

Discussion I never thought I would have [Part 1]

Our management team meetings have been very productive so far. We finalized the farm plan this afternoon so will now swing into action to make it happen. When we got to AOB in the meeting Duncan (our farm manager) chipped in with the “What are we going to do about the billy goat?” question. In a previous blog I mentioned that this goat has been a bit if a disappointment so far in the making baby goats stakes. Following observations by Duncan it would seem that the problem still remains.

It’s surprising how long you can carry on a discussion about this topic! The issue is fairly straightforward. We have been planning to breed good quality kids by crossing local she goats (which are hardy and disease resistant) with an ‘exotic’ goat (in our case a Toggenburg breed). The idea is that we produce quality kids which will be bigger and stronger than the local variety and therefore command a good price. Goat milk was also included in our plan as a useful by-product of the breeding program. Without some breeding activity this plan is, obviously, all just so much theory.

The obvious solution was to complain to the guy who sold us the goat. Duncan has tried this but he is proving elusive. Requests for him to come and discuss the situation have been met with assurances that he will come and talk about the problem with us. His definition of soon and ours are, I think, miles apart.

We could just sell the billy goat, ideally without losing any money, and buy another one. Unfortunately this would not be possible in our local markets as the exotic breeds don’t do very well. To get a better price would involve going to a market in a town about forty minutes’ drive away. A better alternative, according to Duncan would be to hang on to the goat until December, fattening it up for the meat market which is pretty good at this time. As we produce all the fodder we need and have had minimal vet’s bills so far that seemed like a viable plan.

Unfortunately this plan didn't resolve the breeding question. Our two nanny goats are, apparently, at just the right age to start breeding so we need to get on with it. Two alternatives were discussed. Hiring in a ‘stud goat’ or artificial insemination (AI). We discussed the pros and cons of each option for a while. We decided, in the end, to opt for the live breeding choice as we thought AI might prove costly. This kind of technology is also, on the whole, not very well advanced or reliable around our area.

At this point Isaiah offered the idea that the billy goat might take a bit longer to mature as it is an exotic (pedigree) breed so suggested we give him a bit more time to prove himself. This seemed at least plausible as this breed of goat is quite large when mature and ours isn't yet. We added this option to our list. It should be easy enough to find out. The Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) has a facility in Kisii (a town about forty minutes’ drive away) and Isaiah has some personal contacts there.

The possibility that the billy goat just didn't fancy breeding with our two lady goats wasn't considered. This factor doesn't seem to affect any of the goats that are kept by our neighbors but you never know. Our goat’s exotic temperament might be the cause of the problem. If it’s good enough for Pandas I don’t see why goats shouldn't exercise breeding choices.

Decision time. We thought it was worth leaving it a bit longer for our goat to prove himself on the grounds that we didn't have much to lose in doing this. We’ll continue to harass the guy we bought it from (who is some kind of vet) but I don’t hold out much hope on this front. I’m not sure what the goat equivalent of a ‘pig in a poke’ is but I suspect the conversation would head off in that direction. Isaiah is going to talk to his KARI contacts to see what our options are for breeding should the billy goat just turn out to be a dud and, eventually, a Christmas dinner.

“Does anybody have any more business?”

Mary, our manager, had been a bit quiet in the last part of the billy goat discussion. The meeting had run on for some time (it’s a serious and time consuming business deciding what to plant and where to plant it). Everybody was ready to call it a day. Duncan’s item with the billy goat had looked like the last item of AOB and a firm conclusion had been reached. Except ……..

“I have a relative who is very good with goats,” said Mary.

Mary now has an extra item on her to do list. I await the next round of the billy goat saga with interest.

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