Reasonable price for a milking doe in Ohio?

[seedspreader]

Can anyone tell me what a reasonable price would be for a milking doe in Ohio? Breed??? well, heck, I don't know what breed I want yet. Sigh, I need to find local people who have a couple different breeds.

[mpillow]

Registered or not is also reflected in price. Crosses are usually cheaper and work well for homesteading purposes. For milk look for mostly dairy breeds such as Nubian (very gentle, but needy and noisy), Alpine ( like to bite&butt but very hardy) Oberhasli (gentle) and Lamanchas (gentle no ears). Then if you want some meat in your freezer you could breed to a meat breed buck.

I would say between $100 and $250 would get you a decent doe, but you'll want two as they are herd animals...a mom and her babies is how I started.

Having the shed to put them in and fencing is your best starting point.

Doesn't take long for two goats to turn into ten.....

[Ken in Maine]

Right Melissa;

Goats are almost as bad as rabbits. We started off with a bred doe and a yearling and now have had over 100!!!!

Of course we also have 6 bucks..... maybe that has something to do with it...

From rainy and wet Saint Albans Maine where we are having " Goat School" today with a tent up for cover but sure could use some sunshine.

[mpillow]

Have fun ....wet goats are no picnic, especially the bucks this time of year!

[pookshollow]

Hi Bob,
Are there fall fairs near you, that have goat shows? Go wander around and ask questions. I've just found myself a milking goat (picking her up on Monday ) by looking up local breeders on the (in my case) Ontario Dairy Goat Breeders website and sending out emails. Two breeders replied, I went to visit them, and have decided on a goat. Not the breed I was thinking of, but used to being handmilked and a good producer. I was hoping for Alpine as I already have an Alpine doeling (looking for a buck), but I'm buying a Saanen. The other nice thing is that they are only about half an hour away, and will breed my does for me, boarding them for a few days if necessary! I'm paying $350 Canadian for her, that includes her papers, and a breeding to the buck. Prices up here seem to be around $300-400 for a decent milking doe, young ones much cheaper.

So, ask around, send emails, talk to breeders and see what breeds you like the look of, and what's available in your area - that's pretty much what it boild down to anyway.

[Milking Mom]

My Alpine girls are sweet and loving. I've never seen one of them bite. I prefer Alpines because they are large and produce a good quantity of a nice milk. They are easy to handle and as stated, they are very hardy animals. I like them because they are quiet too. I like having the different colors you can get with Alpines.

[cindyh]

The Fairfield Co. Fair is this week in Lancaster, Ohio. The dairy show is on Monday and the market goats show on Tuesday. There are quite a few goats there and quite a few knowledgable "goat people." The fair run through Sat.