One of our primary goals is to raise, grow and harvest our own food. Our poultry provides eggs and meat, the garden and the orchard provides fruits and vegetables, our cows (will) provide milk and meat, etc.
We started raising goats in 2012, they were the 2nd livestock we got after the chickens (and would have been the first if certain circumstances hadn't happened).
When we first got the goats, I wasn't thinking about milk or meat breed - I just wanted some critters! But, as anyone who knows me knows, I love to delve into the history and purpose of breeds of animals, and it didn't take me long to learn about Boer goats, their history, that they were a meat breed (goat meat is called chevon), and decide I wanted to raise registered Boers and also raise them as part of our food source.
Our first kidding we had just two babies - both does. Sadly one of them had something wrong with her and passed away. Our second kidding we had both doelings and bucklings and planned on wethering (neutering) one of the bucklings so that we could have him butchered when he reached the appropriate age and size.
As the kids grew we came to the conclusion that we didn't want to. My husband had never been keen on eating chevon (having had past experiences doing so and not liking it) and the children finished off the idea. We get too attached to the goatlings. They are not like the meat poultry - sometimes you have to bottle feed a kid or help it nurse, we spend a lot more time playing with them and becoming attached.
So - goat has been removed from the menu! However, this left me in a quandary, because physically and financially we do not have the luxury to just raise pet goats - livestock critters on the Ranch have to have a purpose, especially those that graze or eat hay.
After wrestling with the decision within myself for several weeks, I finally approached my husband with the idea that we should get out of goats - if we can't/won't eat them, we need to put our limited recourses into other livestock that we WILL eat (pork!)
We may, some day, decide to have Rosa bred and raise some kids. We may, one day, decide to try some chevon - and we may not :)
The end of a Rainbow is not set in stone, but is fluid and changeable like the rain that creates them.