I don't know if we can afford goats anymore......

susanne · #41 03/12/09, 08:45 AM

dee that is what i pay for a goat per month.
now if you sit down and calculate how much milk you get and how much meat, the goats aren't that expensive anymore

i believe every homesteader should have at least three goats. think of all the dr bills you are saving because eating healthier

stanb999 · #42 03/12/09, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaDee

O.K., I did some re-figgerin' and it's not as bad as I thought...maybe.

It is true that I'm spending $275 a month at the coop on goat feed (alfalfa and grain and beet pulp.) But I think more of that than I thought must be rabbit and chicken stuff.

Here is a breakdown of what and how much we feed and how much that "should" cost for 5 does and 2 young bucks:

Grain: none for bucks
1/3 a pound a day for dry does
1 pound a day for 100 days plus bred does
2 pounds a day for milking does

That is about 4 bags a month at $15 a bag. So: $60

Alfalfa pellets: none for bucks
2 pounds a day for does (tried to separate dry from milking, but it didn't work too well)

That's about 7 bags a month at $12 a bag: $84

Beet pulp: Used as a treat. Maybe a bag every couple of months: $12 a month

I didn't even count minerals, since its such a small amount.

Now all of that only comes out to $156 a month for grain and alfalfa pellets. If you add $50 a month for hay it comes out to about $200 a month or $40 per goat a month. Is that more reasonable?

But my issue is this: somehow my coop bills were $250 for goat stuff. There's something wrong somewhere. I went over with my boys exactly how much they're feeding to make sure nothing had changed. I will have to save my bills and see exactly how much of it is chicken and rabbit stuff. I didn't think that much, but maybe my memory is failing me. Maybe it's not my goats sucking me dry, but my chickens?

Anyway, for 5 does and 2 young bucks, is $200 a month (just for grain, alfalfa pellets and hay) a reasonable amount of money to all of you?

Dee

Your numbers are right about what one should expect.

Some of save a lot for instance by buying hay in big round bails, Or buying alfalfa hay instead of pellets. Lots of little things that can change the final bottom line but your right in the range.

For instance I cut all my own hay, with a scythe, dry it with rakes by hand, move it to the hay shed with my little tractor and wagon. So for me hay costs about nothing. My goats are on pasture for 6 months of the year. When on pasture they only get feed if milking while on the stanchion. Then the only other time they get grain and alfalfa is for breeding and birthing. So for instance I use about 4 bags of feed and 1 bag of alfalfa per doe per year.
So realistically a doe costs me about 60 bucks a year out of pocket.

Of course when costing the goats for profit I must pay myself for hay and pasture.

**Terri** · #43 03/12/09, 09:44 AM

For us, from the store, $40 is about 10 gallons of milk: do your goats produce 10 gallons a month each, on the average? I suspect that they do.

Remember to count what the kids are drinking: if you sell OR eat them you are getting the milk indirectly.

*IF* your goats are averaging that amount-and I suspect that they do-then it comes down to how wisely do you use the milk. If you are not using it all, perhaps you could feed it to a few critters to decrease their feed bill?

Please forgive the above comment, as I have no goats. I *DID* limit the number of my chickens. It was either limit the chickens, feed the eggs to critters, or sell the eggs. And I decided I did not want the hassel of egg sales.

I would have enjoyed feeding the extra eggs to pigs, but, I cannot keep pigs due to zoning reasons. So instead I limited the number of chickens.

hoggie · #44 03/12/09, 09:52 AM

I had a similar situation a few months back - my feed bills seemed to be through the roof and I couldn't figure how we were ever going to make ends meet.

I started a system where EVERYTHING that gets spent on the animals has a chitty made out for it. I had quite a surprise.

When I sat down and analysed it, the animals that cost the most to keep? Using up about 1/6 (sometimes less but on average) of the monthly total? No, not the goats, not the pony, the CATS - two of them. And about 1/4 of our bill is freight.

It really is worth writing everything down - even if only for a few months - you may be surprised just WHO is eating the profits

hoggie

ETA - I also found that the amounts that some of the goats were eating had "slipped" somewhat and they were getting more than they needed - it is amazing how a heaped scoop instead of a level scoop can add up over a month. Now we weigh everything - OK, not practical if you have dozens of goats, but with half a dozen or so it keeps track of what you'r egivign them

southerngurl · #45 03/12/09, 10:04 AM

Yep, cats and dogs aren't cheap, because meat is the most expensive food source. Especially since I am not willing to "compromise" and feed my dogs and cats a bunch of corn protein that will make them unhealthy. I believe in feeding an animal what they are meant to eat.

Oat Bucket Farm · #46 03/12/09, 10:05 AM

We spend around 40.00 a goat as well. Funny enough, the only time our co-op bill was over the top was when we had rabbits. We sold off all the rabbits because they were costing way more than they were bringing in even counting in meat in our freezer.

Our goats and chickens are both extremely efficient critters. Heck even if you figured 60.00 per doe, that still figures out to around 2.00 a day per goat. If each of your does gives around a gallon of milk a day, given that milk at the store is between 3.50 and 4.00 dollars a gallon, you are still money ahead just producing your own milk. Add in sale of babies, and any that you put in the freezer and I would say that there is no reason that your does aren't paying for themselves and the buck. Add in feeding the extra milk to chickens, which will cut down on chicken feed, and maybe feeding extra milk to a pig that you then put in your freezer and you are doing even better.

Of course you have to enter into your budget your entertainment factor. Since I am not one to go out partying at the bars, not interested in going to the movies or eating out alot, but take great pleasure in the raising of goats, then I figure them into the budget as my entertainment. So between everything, they are really earning their keep.

steff bugielski · #47 03/13/09, 06:11 AM

Susanne, Here is the break down.
Feed is $10/50lbs
Hay is $3.50 a bale
I go through 5 bales a day and almost 50lbs of grain. That's $17.50 + $10.99 day
I am feeding 18 adult goats and 14 kids. They do eat a lot those kids.

Paper towels, I use a roll a day.
Milk filters I use two a day.
Iodine, teat dip, sanitizers, dairy soap, minerals, selenium,vet.
Believe me I have added it all up.
It is probably more than $700.
But I get no less than 3/4 of a gallon from each goat for almost 300 days. I sell it for $9 a gallon. That's 225 gallons per goat per year. That's $2025.00 income per goat per year.

stanb999 · #48 03/13/09, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steff bugielski

Susanne, Here is the break down.
Feed is $10/50lbs
Hay is $3.50 a bale
I go through 5 bales a day and almost 50lbs of grain. That's $17.50 + $10.99 day
I am feeding 18 adult goats and 14 kids. They do eat a lot those kids.

Paper towels, I use a roll a day.
Milk filters I use two a day.
Iodine, teat dip, sanitizers, dairy soap, minerals, selenium,vet.
Believe me I have added it all up.
It is probably more than $700.
But I get no less than 3/4 of a gallon from each goat for almost 300 days. I sell it for $9 a gallon. That's 225 gallons per goat per year. That's $2025.00 income per goat per year.

Even if they were costing you say $800 a year each your only at $66 a month. Which is good considering your goats are in production for 300 days a year. Your probably one of the more efficient goat herders.

Goatdad · #49 03/13/09, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southerngurl

Goatdad, if your goats are keeping your hill cleaned off, and just whethers, you shouldn't be spending that much. Just feed grass hay, a whether shouldn't need grain unless they need to keep from losing weight in winter maybe, but you are in California! I would just give them all the grass hay they want, minerals and leave it at that. They will probably be healthier too.

I don't give them grain. I suppose there is grain of some kind in the meat goat pellets but they also have the AC that I want them to have and I only add a little but of beet pulp and BOSS. I go through 4-5 bags of meat goat pellets to every bag of pulp and BOSS. I don't really worry about the money much. $150.00 one way or another each month doesn't do a lot to my budget. It is kind of sad that all totaled my wife and I cost about half of what our animals cost to feed for the month. We love the goats. We keep them at a proper weight and they are checked out by a large animal vet once or twice a month but that's only because my cousin is the vet and he would be coming over anyway.

catdance62 · #50 03/13/09, 10:02 PM

Wow, I am most DEFINITELY not starving my goats--they are in flesh, but not too fat, not too thin, but I get 50# bags of alfalfa pellets for $8.50 and mixed grain for .15/lb. We buy a 300 lb. barrel of it at at time. I figure I spend about 50-60.00 month on that and then we mix in some beet pulp (which is way cheap) and BOSS (which varies in price). So MAYBE $65.00/month. Now, I use kelp as a supplement and that stuff is pricey: $60.00/50 lb. Free-choice minerals I didn't calculate, it seems to vary with their need. So raise it up a bit to maybe 80.00/month. Hay, I don't know exactly how much they go through (more when it;s cold) but we bought 30 square bales of Tifton 44 at 4.00/bale. That was just right before Christmas and there is maybe 6 bales left. From like May-Oct. we dont' buy hay at all because there is lots of browse and grazing material. When my does are in milk of course they take in more pellets so that would affect it, and then when they are dry i feed much less.
So I would say in total we might spend max average $100-120.00/month. I have 9 does, 2 bucks and 2 wethers.
This year we are going to let one of our fields of bermuda grow up and will probably get a couple cuttings off it so that will save a lot of $$. We'll just have to pay a baler.

Ernie · #51 03/13/09, 10:12 PM

Learn to make silage. It'll cut your costs significantly.

I don't factor in labor normally because it's just too much of a pain to keep track of, but I know which farm products require more effort than others. Goats are not particularly labor intensive unless you have them in a dry dirt pen. If you graze them on pasture they more or less pay for themselves.

Arkyrick · #52 03/13/09, 11:02 PM

We have 3 adult Nannies 5 one year olds & 8 newborns we feed a 3 gallon bucket of sweet feed twice a day about 4 flakes of hay each night we have about two acres of grazing field that we let them access all day. We live in Arkansas we pay $6.25 per 50# bag of sweet feed and pay between $3 and $4.50 per bale of mixed grass hay our feed bill is about $50 to $60 a month. All our goats are healthy We expect to pay a little less now that summer is coming and we won't feed hay at all. We are about to fence off a wooded area as well for them.

Lizza · #53 03/13/09, 11:42 PM

I can't believe how cheap some of you can get alfalfa/orchard grass/grass hay. I get an Alfalfa hay that is 1/2 orchard 1/2 alfalfa for $270 a ton, down from I believe a high of about $285 a ton last year. If I buy it by the bale it is $17 per bale.

LaManchaPaul · #54 03/14/09, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertshi

I pay WAY more than all of you for my alfalfa bales! I pay $50 per 50Ib. bale of straight alfalfa here!!! LOL. JK-that's in pesos! LOL. And it fluctuates depending on demand...sometimes we only pay $25 or $30 pesos a bale. Last year it got up to $60 pesos though!!! LOL. It's still really expensive though when it's at $50 pesos. That's why we feed the peanut hay to break up the monotony of straight alfalfa and to ease the cost...only $15 bucks a bale...and they do great on it! Next year we hope to seed our own alfalfa.

Bucks or Pesos? If it is peso, isn't that a good price compared to most parts here?

¿Cual parte de México?
Where do you live in Mexico?
¿Que tipo de chiva tienes?
What breeds of goats do you have?
Paul

MamaDee · #55 03/14/09, 11:03 AM

Take a deep breath.....o.k., I feel really stupid!!!

Turns out, I did not spend $600 for the last two months at our coop for grain and alfalfa pellets (and some chicken food.)

When I was going through the checkbook and got to the beginning of the register, I went and got the last register that I took out--or so I thought. It was actually from a year ago and the dates were not exactly the same--close enough I didn't notice, but there was some overlap in the months's charges I added up. So........it was actually about $150 a month--not $300.

Much better. Now. that doesn't include hay, meds, supplies, paper towels, etc. And I will keep better records this yeat to know exactly what's going on. But.......I don't have to sell all my goats!

Yeah!

Dee

goatsareus · #56 03/14/09, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaDee

So........it was actually about $150 a month--not $300.

Much better. Now. that doesn't include hay, meds, supplies, paper towels, etc. And I will keep better records this yeat to know exactly what's going on. But.......I don't have to sell all my goats!

Yeah!

Dee

So glad you can keep your goats!!

We think of goatkeeping like the old joke....

Did you hear of the farmer in Indiana who won $3 million in the lottery?

When asked what he was going to do with the money, he replied.....

Keep farming until the money runs out.

Even though we track our expenditures to the penny, we won't give up goatkeeping just because we know it is not cost effective. The cost of the tractor to pull the hay baler, the haybine, the rake and tedder.....no way we can justify those costs with the goats and their products.....can't put a monetary value on the pleasure of taking care of goats.

desertshi · #57 03/14/09, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaManchaPaul

Bucks or Pesos? If it is peso, isn't that a good price compared to most parts here?

¿Cual parte de México?
Where do you live in Mexico?
¿Que tipo de chiva tienes?
What breeds of goats do you have?
Paul

Pesos!! LOL. But still it is expensive for us here! The average person makes around $700(MP) a week. We aren't that low but it is still hard for us!! I have 4 goats and 4 sheep, 1 gilt who just farrowed yesterday and about 25 chickens!! They are kept on a dry lot, pero porque no hay sacate aqui!! Batallan por el agua para riegar. Vivimos en Chihuahua en un pueblito como tres horas sur de El Paso. Se me hace que mis chivas son 3 Alpine y una Nubian crusada, pero no estoy segura.
(There is no grass here!! They fight for water to do the irrigating. We live in Chihuahua in a little town about three hours south of El Paso. I think that my goats are 3 Alpine and one Nubian cross, but I am not sure.)
We are going to be getting a piece of land this year, about 20 acres, and will be seeding in a section of Alfalfa for baling and two fenced one acre lots of grass to help out in the summer. Having animals in the desert is tough, but only if you look at the negitive side...I wouldn't trade them for anything!! And if you look at it this way...at the store I would be paying $40 bucks for a gallon of watered down cows milk!!! My girls are FF due this month I think and am very excited to get the by product of my four legged friends! We want to find someone near El Paso who sells good milk goats, not registered, at a decent price to bring them down here and that will help even more!!

LaManchaPaul · #58 03/14/09, 02:36 PM

Desertshi,
Como me encanta hablar en español. Gracias de hablar conmigo. Mas bueno de hablar por que se puede decir con mas emoción y exacto

Thanks for your Spanish response; I love talking in Spanish. It's easier because one can express more emotion with more exact words.

Te mandé un PM.
Paul /Pablo Puentes