Objectives :
When we started farming goats in the year 2000 our main objective was to be commercial meat goat producers. To meet the growing demand of market kids in Montreal and to be able to sell a few of the better animals for reproduction to other commercial producers.
Over these years we have basically gone back to school with the hands on experience here on our own farm as well as the help and knowledge from other producers. We've had the chance to learn what a good healthy meat goat looks like. This knowledge comes from aggressively culling the animals that had less desirable traits in our own herd.
Our objectives have evolved as we have learned more about genetics as well as conformation, rate of gain and health, how to prevent diseases and illnesses as well as for the most part the ability to know when a goat needs treatment or not. We have also learned what their nutritional needs are for them to be at their most productive. Through selective breeding and close management we are seeing our herd become more and more parasitic resistant. We have educated ourselves by learning what works and what doesn't through trial and error and lots and lots of research over these years.
Now in our herd we are proud to say are hard work is paying off, we are seeing excellent rate of gain, and prolificy. We are seeing a continuous improvement of conformation in each selected generation that is confirmed by Type Evaluating their Dam's and Sire's of kids that we keep and sell for reproduction. We are also pleased to say that with close pasture and nutritional management as well as copper bolusing and treating with Flukever as needed many animals in our herd handle the worms with out getting sick. (Our herd is on very strict de-worming as needed only)
In 2003 we made the decision to buy our first purebred registered Boer buck and to start registering up our foundation commercial herd from crossbred Boer/Nubian and Boer/Kiko to high percentage and Purebred Boer. The reason mainly was to have the traceability of their lineages on paper. It would also give us the future opportunity to add to our main objectives and to eventually offer excellent registered percentage and purebred Boer stock as well as to continue selling quality commercial animals to other producers and meat kids for the markets.
It has taken us many years to get to this point and still today we are continuing to improve our own herd genetics by culling heavy. (These culls are going to the auction not being sold to other breeders.) We are continuing to breed up by selecting the strongest genetics from our base commercial herd of does. We have, and plan to continue to purchase excellent quality purebred Boer bucks to bred them with. In the past we have also purchased a few purebred does to add to our breeding program.
We are constantly applying the experience and knowledge from trial and error (good and bad) that we have, and will continue to obtain in the future as meat goat breeders.
Our utmost important objective has become to raise and to sell stock to other breeders and have our animals do as well on their farm as they would do on ours.
