What's a good price for Alpine bucklings?

[CountryDreams]

I have two full blooded Alpine bucklings that I'd like to sell. I just don't know what price to ask for them. I don't want to give them away but I don't want to over price them and not sell them.

Right now they are only three weeks and two weeks old. We are not bottle feeding them. We could sell them now to someone who wants to bottle feed or we could sell them once weaned. I'm just not sure which way would be the best.

What would be a fair price if I would sell them as bottle babies? What about if I sell them as weaned bucklings? I'm also hesitant about banding them because I don't know what the potential buyer would want.

Any and all thoughts would be appreciated. I don't post here in the goat forum but I read all the time so I'm hoping you'll give me some advice.

[ozark_jewels]

My opinion only:
If they are not out of an outstanding doe(in conformation, udder quality and milk production), they should be banded. Some people will breed with anything and there is no need to pass on less than good genetics. If they are out of a great doe, that may be another matter.
If you sell them before weaning, you need to break them to a bottle before they leave your place. You don't want to sell them to someone, then stress them further by trying to get them to take a strange rubber nipple, so break them to bottle feed first. Some dam-raised kids take a bottle easy, some don't.
A fair price for wethers at 2-3 weeks of age would be something like $20-$30 depending on your market and their size. As weaned kids....maybe $35-$50. Again depending on sizeand weight. Registered, quality breeding bucks would be much more expensive of course, I don't know what you have. That is what the price would be around here for a healthy wether-quality buckling.

[homebirtha]

I'm sure it depends on your area, but I would think $25 or so. Bucklings just aren't in demand for breeding unless they're really excellent. And at this point, even if they were perfect, from great lines, you've made them much less desireable by letting them be dam-raised. Most dairy goat people will not buy a kid who has not been raised on CAE- CL- prevention. At this point, your best bet is probably to grow them out and sell them for meat. Or go ahead and butcher them yourself and sell the cuts of meat.

If you're going to sell them for meat, I would leave them intact.

Originally Posted by CountryDreams

I have two full blooded Alpine bucklings that I'd like to sell. I just don't know what price to ask for them.

[CountryDreams]

Thank you both for your responses. I was thinking along the same lines. These bucklings are not out of show quality stock, at least not that I'm aware of. I know the parents of my nannies were registerable but I'm honestly not sure about confirmation. I need to do more research on that.

I guess we may just see if we can get some interested parties and if we do, we'll try to bottle feed them ourselves for a few days prior to selling them to someone. I had already planned on doing that. I wouldn't want to stress these babies out. They are adorable and like everything else around here, they are my kids.
I guess if we don't sell them we can always put them in the pen with our Boer buck to keep him company after they are weaned.

[moosemaniac]

What are their bloodlines? Are they registered or registerable? $25 is ridiculously low if they are of good stock. $250 might be a better range.

Ruth

[CountryDreams]

I was told by my neighbor who got me started with my two nannies that they were registerable but he just didn't mess with it anymore. We bred them to another buck that he had this past fall. I'm not sure if the buck is registerable or not. I guess I'd better be talking to him about their lines to see if I have goats with more value here or not.

[homebirtha]

Really? If you could point me in the direction where someone would pay that, I would really appreciate it. I've got three REALLY nice looking LM bucklings from excellent bloodlines. I'd love to get $250 for them. I don't think you'd get that much for a doeling, much less a buck.

Originally Posted by moosemaniac

What are their bloodlines? Are they registered or registerable? $25 is ridiculously low if they are of good stock. $250 might be a better range.

Ruth

[mpillow]

As well as the quality of the buckling its also a supply and demand in your area...at $25 I would wether and fatten over the summer for the freezer....but you may be able to trade one or both for a comparable buckling for future breeding....
And if you dont want to wether you could just separate them from does and butcher at 5-6m.

I would ask $100 each weaned for good full-blood unregistered stock...you can always take less or trade...

[Sher]

For the first time..I just sold four boer/nubie and boer/saanen buck kids through the sale barn. Each brought $72.50 a piece. They were two days short of being 3 months old. They were still intact and weaned for a month.

I am assuming they went for meat. Don't sell your kids short...there is a happy medium to everything. $72.50 for a kid I have almost nothing in..is good money in my book.

Also..you may well find someone to use them as a breeding buck. If one or both of them is correct in his conformation..and everyone knows what is good and bad in the line...they might find a home breeding. Just don't ask for the moon money wise..it will scare people off. Not every backyard breeder is going to go for papers and whatnot. They just want a sound good buck that will keep their nannies settled.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by Sher

If one or both of them is correct in his conformation..and everyone knows what is good and bad in the line...they might find a home breeding. Not every backyard breeder is going to go for papers and whatnot. They just want a sound good buck that will keep their nannies settled.

The conformation is only half in my opinion....milk and udder quality is more important for most homesteading folks who don't care about the papers. Papers or not, you should always shoot for quality and breed improvement. Buy the best buck you can afford unless you intend to eat ALL the offspring.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by moosemaniac

What are their bloodlines? Are they registered or registerable? $25 is ridiculously low if they are of good stock. $250 might be a better range.

I'm from the same area as the original poster and I can tell you that unregistered dairy-type bucklings in the 2-3 week range won't go for more than $35.......unless your real lucky. Thats off the farm, I'm not sure about auction prices as I never do auctions. $250 is more than *most* people will give for a good registered milking doe.....in this area. Other areas of the country are certainly different. I sell my 3-7 day old healthy bucklings for $15.00 apiece, no papers go with them though they could be registered. Most are out of good, registered stock.....but that doesn't make them all good herd sires. Only about 5 bucklings out of the *best* does sold as herdsires this year. Thats five out of 80-some bucklings born here so far. Having good bloodlines and papers does not always a herdsire make......JMO.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by CountryDreams

Thank you both for your responses. I was thinking along the same lines. These bucklings are not out of show quality stock, at least not that I'm aware of. I know the parents of my nannies were registerable but I'm honestly not sure about confirmation. I need to do more research on that.

I guess we may just see if we can get some interested parties and if we do, we'll try to bottle feed them ourselves for a few days prior to selling them to someone. I had already planned on doing that. I wouldn't want to stress these babies out. They are adorable and like everything else around here, they are my kids.
I guess if we don't sell them we can always put them in the pen with our Boer buck to keep him company after they are weaned.

Sounds like a plan.