How would I bring this up to my parents?

[Slinkytoys]

Would it be possible to find someone to share the milkings with, ya know, someone to give you a break so you could plan a few overnight events. Work out a barter where you will let them keep the milk they get for their time?
Slinky

 

[suzettex5]

Hmmmm, I have a slightly different perspective on this situation. I think that you shouldnt really use wanting a social life as a reason to disperse your obviously expensive hobby herd. That may make you seem less responsible than you really are. While its good you are coming to terms with deciding you dont really want to be in the goat business, at this point, you and your parents ARE in the goat business, together, and you all need to have darn good reasons NOT to stay in the business, if that is your choice.

As a parent who has been through many expensive 'trial' animal projects with my kids, them just wanting to slack off, or just wanting to 'hang out' with friends is NOT an acceptable excuse for running out on the animals they SWORE they would take care of forever (and they also promised I wouldnt be stuck caring for them). I would NOT be happy with your reasons for selling your herd if my kids told me those things. I would tell them- "Um, too bad! YOU took on the project, YOU then used MY money to continue the project, and now YOU want to sell them so you can go HANG OUT with your friends??? NO Way!'

Buuuuutttt, if you were to maybe approach the situation a tiny bit differently, and really be prepared to get some gruff from the parents, I bet you wouldnt have too much trouble. I would tell them how much fun you have had, and how cool it has been having the goats, but you really are kinda feeling like maybe you would like to persue other interests now. Definatley let them know that if you sell the goats and the equipment, THEY get all the money, since they have been paying for the feed and probably the land they live on as well. Thats worth something, right?
Maybe try to stress that you still really love the goats and enjoy them, but you now see just how much work and stress it really is and its not as much of a joy to you as it once was. Maybe you can play up the advantages of having fewer goats as well- less noise, less smell, less poo,and of course, less money for feed (plus any medications, wormers, and time saved during hoof trims and during kidding season). Be honest about their needs causing you stress, its alot of responsiblity for any young person, and you do have other responsibilities- like school (right?).

Just try not to make it about you wanting a social life, I mean, I've had a few goats (one was a milking goat) AND I have 5 kids and chickens and other pets, but I STILL have time for a social life, so I (as a parent with some experience) cant really see how they are really impacting your life that much, unless you are really just not into them like you used to be. Your herd requires serious, long-term dedication, and maybe you didnt realise just how much dedication that meant when you started, and there is NOTHING wrong with that! Its ok to be into something, and then maybe get over excited, and take on more than you realised. Thats part of life and learning, and finding out what our personal boundries are. It happens to LOTS of people. And sometimes we just need the experience for awhile to really understand what we are undertaking and decide then if it is right for us.
At least you are being responsible and trying to do the right thing for yourself and your herd- you dont want to get to the point where you resent the animals, better to send them on their way while you still enjoy them.

 

[dutchhollow]

Who is using the milk? Leave the kids on the mom's, milk in the morning only, or not at all if no one is drinking it, cut your workload in half (at least).

 

[Nupine]

WOW! Thanks for all the responses, I'll try to cover everything here, including my decision.
One of the reasons for wanting to sell out, that some of you mentioned but I did not. I AM getting older. I'll be graduated in two years, and I'm starting post-secondary college courses this fall. I don't plan on moving to a dorm for college, I plan to just drive there, but that will still make having goats much more difficult, and I would need to at least cut back.
I also did not mention that I have other interests. I have horses and I play guitar. I have noticed that I've had much less time for those two things lately. Partly because of school, partly because of the goats.
The goats were my idea, partially. We purchased a little crossbred doeling at a hay/livestock auction 5 yrs ago,[we went there to get hay for the horses], without having any previous experience/knowledge of goats. And, things just grew from there.
To Squishy: I am having a very difficult time seeing your point, and I'm actually a little offended. As far as it being difficult to find that 20 minutes to milk in the morning, and once again in the evening, it is. Tonight I have a 4-H meeting from 6:00 [I leave the house at 5:45] til about 9:00. I milk at 7 pm. So do I milk before or after? Considering I have some sort of Bible study or youth group 3x a week, plus many 4-H meetings, Fairboard meetings, etc., and also nights with friends, I run into this problem several times a week. I also spend an hour a day from 4 pm til 5 pm feeding the goats [and other critters], bottle feeding several times a day, plus several hours a week with other goat chores. It is a lot for a girl my age to handle. The thing about me going to sleepovers or being out at night does really bother me. I am NOT seeing your point there. I am a firm-standing Christian girl, as are all of my close friends. I'm not a trouble maker. The biggest party I've been to is our 4-H club's annual Christmas party. Besides at sleepovers, the latest I have been out at night was 11:30 pm and that was for my friend's drama club's Halloween fundraiser thing last fall. I have a few close friends that I sometimes have sleepovers with and we watch movies, eat junk food, etc. I live in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbors, and I have no siblings left in the home. I'm homeschooled, so I'm constantly around my parents [both are retired]. I truely don't see the harm in spending some time with my like-minded friends.
This is not just about my social life, and I hope you all understand this.
dutchhollow, we use some of the milk. We don't leave the kids on the dams because we can't sell unfriendly kids.

I talked to my parents 2 days ago about this. They are actually quite supportive of this. And we came up with a very good plan, that is a compromise and still allows us to have goat milk and sell kids, with less work. My herd is at 16 right now, we are selling 10 of them, many of which would have been for sale anyways. I'm selling our buck [we don't really need him, and his newly renovated pen may come in handy for other animals], 2 of the milkers, the bred doe [was for sale anyways], 3 of the doe kids born here this year, 1 buck kid, and 2 wether kids [I think I have a buyer]. That will leave me with my best milker, the doe kid I just purchased, my favorite doe kid from this year, and my 3 pets. I put an ad up on a facebook goat group yesterday and I already have two people interested in some of the goats. If I get the prices I want for the 10 goats I'm selling, I'll make about $1800. My parents are extremely generous to me as far as finances, and they don't seem too interested in taking the money. If they don't want any of it, I'll use it to go to a wildlife veterinary camp at a nearby wildlife conservation center, buy an electric guitar, and use the rest for other expenses/save it.
Thank you all for your advice/encouragement!