The goal with animal husbandry is to make money. The way you make money is by cutting costs (all the way down to zero is possible) and maximizing reproduction, gains, and health.
Genetics, often represented by breeding, is not a primary concern. It is secondary. Supposedly animals from a good breed with good genetics will put on good gains, reproduce well, and be healthy, all the while requiring less inputs.
The issue is that we know that the variations within a breed are often greater than the variations between breeds. That means a poor performing animal in the best breed is almost always going to be worse than a well performing animal in the worst breed.
It is only genetics that explain this? There are some who suggest that the health of the dame in the months leading to birth, the initial colostrum, and the early part of the animals life can make a huge difference.
That makes sense to me. It doesn’t matter how good your genes are, if you are nutritionally deprived, things aren’t going to go well.
This is why, for the time being, I am going to schedule all of my animals to be born in the middle of June. It’s two months after the spring lush starts and the animals should be in top health.
It’s also when deer give birth in this area.