Ham Sandwich

The Ham Sandwich

Some goats are like fine wine, they get better with age. Some goats are like a ham sandwich, you can wait all you want but they definitely will NOT get better. I have a ham sandwich goat. My little Fiona, daughter of Lucy, granddaughter of Gloria, from a long line of lovely goats -- is a ham sandwich. I have waited and waited for her to mature, lengthen, get taller, and develop dairy character, but to no avail. As a kid she had promise. I kept her through the awkward yearling phase with the hopes that she would grow into her body. Then I bred her because I thought that would do the trick. Nope. She is still short, stumpy, and fat.

Her mom, Lucy, is lovely. She's tall, has a great udder, and is a long, lean goat with no obvious conformational issues. Her mom's mom, Gloria, was a knockout. She was everything a high production dairy goat should be. I was hoping for the best because Fiona's dad was Gloria's son. I was hoping that mixing Lucy's genetics with more of Gloria's genetics would produce the goat to end all goats! Not so much....

I don't really know what went wrong with Fiona. Other kids from Lucy and Gloria have been a lot nicer looking. Fiona did produce two promising looking doe kids this year. They are nice looking as three week olds. I think it is time I cut my losses and send Fiona down the road. I have three other very beautiful dairy goats to feed so this less than optimal one can find a new farm. She's a great little doe with a very pleasant and calm personality. I will find her a nice family farm home where she can produce milk for the people and be a sweet goat as a pet.