A common question a new goat buyer asks when looking to buy their first goats is “What is a Wether Goat”. Understandably so, if you are unfamiliar with goat terms, a wether sounds rather strange. Lets dive into what a Wether is and why you would want to buy a Wether or “make” Wethers.
To begin, a Wether is essentially a castrated male goat. Basically a goat that was born with a scrotum and the rancher has made the decision to remove said scrotum. (Commonly removed with a rubber band) Wethers are the most commonly used for meat as well as for show, but Wethers are also commonly used for pasture management and pets.
Let’s start with the basic benefits of Wethers and why Ranchers choose to “make” Wethers.
- Ranchers do not want below standard male goats to breed their does
- Wethers will not go into “Rut” so you avoid the breeding behaviors from an intact male. (Smells, Urine Stains, Agressiveness)
- Wether meat is considered to be more “tender” and not as “tough”
- Fairs often require goats to be Wethers in order to be shown
- Wethers can be calmer and lack the “Breeding Drive” (Less likely to escape/ break fences)
Because of the reasons listed above, it is common practice to “Wether” most if not all of a ranchers buck crop for the year.
Depending on the Ranchers program, they may produce all Wethers or produce only Breeding Stock. Even if the Ranchers program is to produce Breeding Stock, they will also “Wether” any male goat that does not meet the standards of the Breeding Program. Some Rancher programs are to produce really nice males that some would leave intact, but their program is to supply schools with quality show eligible goats, so they are “Wethered”.
If the rancher is producing primarily goats to go to market, they will most likely sell Wethers as they are bigger than does and are more tender than intact Bucks. It should also be noted that if the rancher is selling directly to the consumer, some niche markets prefer their males to be intact for ethnic or cultural reasons.
That being said, our program here at Guzman Boers And Angus it to produce replacement does and bucks, but any male that does not meet the qualifications is wethered. This past year for example, we had approximately 10 kids born males and 7 of them were wethered.
If you are interested in any of ours, you can see them in our availability tab here.
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Thank You,
– Jose
