Went to the Sale Barn...
 

I had no choice. Texas A&M University got the orders from on high to cull out X% of their stock and cut their dairy goat program herd down to 500....

These are some of the best producing bloodlines in the state. ~sighs~

And because they are state funded, and Federally funded, any excess stock or excess ANYTHING they might have HAS TO, by law, be sold at auction. They are not allowed to sell it privately. This goes for excess saddles, excess, goats, or excess doors.

I bawled. :sob: All of these LOVELY goats, ALL tested religiously, all disease free, but they have to go through a filthy, dirty, disease ridden sale barn to go to new homes.

WAAAHHHHH!

Yes, I went.

Yes, I came home with goats, who are currently drying off because as SOON as they got home, they got a disinfectant bath. They did NOT like it. They do NOT approve of baths, disinfectant or otherwise. They do not approve of being in quarantine either. The researcher I know at the program is sending me their registration papers, testing paperwork, blah, blah, blah.

I ended up with two Alpine does and one Mini-Nubian buckling. I would have ended up with four Alpine does, but Mrs. Jelke, at Jobi Dairy, was bidding against me and she had a deeper pocketbook. Pictures will happen when they are dry and less terrified...i.e. tomorrow most likely.

The Mini-Nubian buckling is colored JUST like Mardi Gras, but he is of a higher generation. The Alpine does are virgins, but have lovely top-lines.

Congrats on the new goaties! I can't wait to see pictures!

Okay, Mini-Nubian buckling. My mother has named him "Popper" because, of course, he is "eye-popping-ly flashy".

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...P1010018-1.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...P1010013-1.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...G/P1010014.jpg

Poor baby is still scared to death.

He is darling! But he does look a little ----ed off. :) Congrats to you!

ok...ticked off?

Particularly in that last photo! That is one mad little boy. :)

Wow, I wish I'd known. It sounds like a place I could have gone broke after a long drive He's cute.

He has white eye-liner. It is adorable.

noeskimo, from West Texas, it would have been QUITE a drive to get to the Mid Tex Auction in Anderson. :) But trust me, it would not have necessarily been worth your while...Mrs. Jelke and I pretty much fought over everything worth having. Everything else, although the bloodlines were good, was culled for a reason. Slightly uneven udder here, a blown out teat there. I got two that the only reason they were culled was that they did not "catch" last fall with AI, so they were still open.

If you WANT to know when TAMU is going to send stock in, and drive all the way out here for it, lemme know.

Now, does ANYONE know how to get that sale barn sticker glue off of goat hair?

Congrats on your new goaties :)


Shave them?

I've never seen a goat in a bathtub, that's adorable! He's a very handsome boy. So glad you were able to rescue a few.

goo-gone? he's pretty cute. thats' why I have a bawling, scrawny nubie in my pen now, sucha sucker!

i would just use some vegetable oil on the sticky stuff in the hair, after it soaks for a bit, should come out easy.

ma'am, do you know you have a goat in your tub? Might want to get that looked at...

As far as the sale barn - no better sale barn than the one you went too. I love your new little man!!! Can't wait to see the girls!!

Just a little auction hint............

Next time sidle up to Mrs. Jelke and say "I am going to bid against you on every Alpine doe until I get four of them". She will get the rest, and at a much lower price.

He's adorable Caliann, sure wish you were closer I would love to have that little man! Can't wait to see the new does' you got also, hope they settle for you this fall.

Believe it or not, hand sanitizer removes adhesive. Had to use it to get the glue outta DH's hair when he had his sleep test. The alcohol dissolves the goo and the gel holds it there.

he has a rubber ducky on his shoulder! (or maybe a peep)
I have a chihuahua girl with a ducky!

I'm gonna try the hand sanitizer...I have a billion bottles of the stuff left over from when I was in the Army... (Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a LITTLE... but I do have a lot of the stuff) Then, I will try oil...and then maybe Goo Gone. After that, if it still isn't out, then I will just shave the poor dears bald.

He is a little darling, isn't he? My mother picked him out.

I would NOT have bought anything at a sale barn if it wasn't for the fact that these particular goats were from my local university program, I KNEW they had been tested left, right and sideways...the researcher in charge of the program was at the Washington lab when they discovered CAE....

So, the only risk I am actually taking is that they MIGHT have picked up something in the 3 hours they were at the sale barn...which is why they got the disinfectant bath.

With the disinfectant, and the short amount of time that they were exposed to POSSIBLE disease, my risk is very low...they ARE tested and clean from the University. The biggest risk from buying sale barn stuff is that a lot of people run their diseased and untreated animals to the sale barns, and therefore, you end up buying diseased and untreated animals.

Please, new folks to the board, do NOT think that I would encourage anyone to buy or "save" auction animals. For the most part, I believe that buying at auction is nothing more than introducing ickiness into your herd. If it wasn't for the fact that I KNEW that as of this morning at 8 a.m., all of these animals were tested clean and in a clean, well managed, well-maintained herd, I would not have even considered getting them.

As for sidling up to Mrs. Jelke and convincing her not to bid....she only got 5 goats herself. You see, we wanted the same animals. We both KNEW which does were worth bringing home and adding to our gene pool. :) She let me have these two because they are unproven, FFs....they were culled because they didn't catch on the last AI.... but she GOT the proven ones. LOL

It's okay...I am willing to take the chance on these girls. One of them, her dam to GCh in Houston in 2009.....

Adorable!!! I'm madly in love with his coloring! I just might have to add a mini nubian to my small herd. ;)

Yea - don't look now, but that hair ball is moving! :hysterical:

He is darling....although I think he may just be full of himself too! Look forward to pics of the girls - congrats!:goodjob:

I've been going to our sale barn recently. I bring No money and I sit on my hands. I'm trying to get a feel for what the market is like for livestock in this area...goats, sheep and hogs.

There are 50 commercial goat dairies in this region. They run their culls thru this barn. I've seen some nice looking Alpines and Nubians. I've also seen some goats on their last legs and headed for mercy. I'll stick to buying from owners I can talk to and facilities that I can see. Becoming a goatie rescue is such a temptation. Some of those ladies are very sweet.

I totally understand about the University situation. UT sends their horses through the local sale barn occasionally. Same situation as the goats- they've been fed the best feeds, vetted meticulously, etc.

Everyone is calming down, now. One thing these goats did NOT have at the University was....................

WOODS! Oh my! They are ADORING the browse. They had the best pastures, all-they-could-eat alfalfa pellets, meticulous everything, but they did NOT have scrub yaupon and Texas cedar trees! LOL

I am reiterating for rileyjo: I have been talking to the head researcher about these goats for a while now. I KNOW where they came from. I KNOW what kind of care they have had. To the point of being told, "Don't bid on anything with a tag that starts with XX number. They came from a buck who, although his dam, grand dams, and sisters did well, he didn't do a THING for udders or temperaments in his daughters." Trust me, these are not rescues or feeling sorry for them. Mrs. Jelke, who got several of them that I wanted, owns Jobi Dairy, and her Alpines and Nigerians *consistently* place as top producers in the nation. These were not unknowns that I was trying to get from the sale barn... just that they came from the University program and funded educational institutions have to follow laws to ensure they are not playing favorites.

Still trying to get more pics. The one with the big nose I am calling "Babs" (because i didn't think "Cher" fit her as well), and the finer featured one I am calling "Nipper", because when she gets into dominance games with another goat, she grabs her opponent with her teeth.

My bathtub is now clean. Popper is with the other babies and they all adore him, except for Lulu who is NOT happy that her position as littlest and cutest has been usurped.

Oh, for those that want to know prices...I paid $50 each for these girls...with papers, UTD on shots, tested, from good bloodlines, neatly trimmed hooves, etc. The University gets REAMED because they have to send their stock through the sale barn. I got one HECK of a bargain.

This is the pedigree on Babs:

http://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDeta...ber=A001543348

$50? Wow! What did the proven does that Mrs. Jelke purchased go for? I would have tried to outbid her a little harder...LOL!

They went for $90-$120. I did try to outbid her. If I hadn't been trying to outbid her, she would have gotten her does for $50 a piece also. If I had known she was there, I would have gotten with her before the sale and let her know which four I really wanted and promising not to bid against her on any other goats...but unfortunately, I didn't even know she was there until she started bidding. LOL But I happen to know she has WAY deeper pockets than I do and that what she wants; she gets. As I said, she LET me have those two does, probably because they are unproven and I gazed at her sadly during the bidding.

I went on a limited budget anyway, counting on getting at least a couple of does really, REALLY cheaply...and I did. These does are not Top-Of-The-Line like my other two, but there is no reason why they shouldn't be decent producers and any problems they have I can correct in their daughters with my bucks. They were great deals. :)

LOL! I think you did well......I have been wanting to add some alpines to my herd, I would've been a fierce adversary if I had known about the sale :grin:

Talk to me in winter. One of the reasons I wanted open, older does is for out-of-season kidding, and therefore out-of-season peak production. These two will go on the CIDR next month, once I am sure that their mineral reserves are good, etc.

I'll keep my eyes out for you also if I know of anyone who is jumping out of goats around here.

He looks like he is saying..."if I were bigger you'd be in big trouble missy"...disinfecting goats!?! ....LOL...I only laugh due to another story you told.....LMAO!!!

Well, it was also a pretty new sale barn, so it didn't have decades of built up ickiness! Maybe I'll just put a Decon Station at the beginning of my driveway and save everyone the trouble.

"Step right in here, man or beast, and get decontaminated. Ranch scrubs in the cabinets at the end of the showers!"

I just want to hug him, and that's saying something considering I don't usually get along well with Nubians and their capability to be as loud as the volunteer fire department siren when they think they want something. ;) too cute!

I totally understand what you were saying. You bought goats with a known history. Awesome! If you value the health of your own animals, it's the best way to buy a couple of new ones. I have been going to the sales barn solely to educate myself.

Your bucky looks a lot like my Nubian buck. Mine doesnt have the cute eyeliner tho. Congrats on the new gals.

Really??

You post this thread, telling us all about your new additions you scored at one heck of a price... I check back several times for the important part....The ALPINE pictures & with each check in, there are none!! :(

And no, just because you posted a pedigree link to your new girl does not count!! I want to see Alpine pictures *stomping my feet & pouting* :p

LOL Will try to get to it today. MAYBE. Good thoughts this way please, I am working my butt off on the guest room to make it right for my young cousin, who is coming to stay here for a while. She lost her 3 month old son and then went through a horrible divorce, and now is simply looking to start life over someplace where no one knows her, poor dear.

I will get pictures up, I promise! But it might be tomorrow. They just settled out the politics last night. Yaiza is the new herd queen, although it was a close match between her and Bamboo. Bamboo will likely take over in a few months when she gets some pounds on her. They are both calm, gentle goats that are super people friendly, so I don't see any problems with either of them being herd queen.

(Unlike some goats where, if they get the power, simply turn into nasty tyrants to the rest of the herd.)

Anyway, checking through here, then back to work. We HAD been using the guest room as a hatchery room and seedling greenhouse...so now to turn it back into a guest room. LOL