Whay is a fair price for bottle kids?

Kshobbit · #1 02/14/10, 09:42 AM

I have gotten involved with raising and selling grade LaMancha kids. The sire is a purebred LaMancha buck (mine) and the dams are grade LaManchas, Alpines and Nubians, with a couple of 1/2 Boer does.
I have asked $20 to $25 for the bucklings. They all are well started with colostrum and taking bottles well. At this point they are all disbudded, immunized and dewormed. I am banding the remaining bucklings. I asked $40 to $50 for the doelings. I sold 4 bucklings with no questions, then I was told the prices were too high. I sold 8 more for a lot less but got stubborn on the rest. I have 4 bucklings and 7 doelings left.
They now range from 1 week to 1 month old. My partner is keeping the one 1/4 Boer doe kid and I have one 1/4 Boer buckling. All the rest are 100% dairy.
I am feeding a combination of whole cows milk, goat milk and high quality goat milk replacer. With a total of 25 kids I can't buy all cows milk. They are big healthy and poop is normal and very active bouncy babies.
What would you all ask for these babies.

deineria · #2 02/14/10, 10:10 AM

Seems a fair price to me, but if you're in an area flooded with dairy kids right now, I guess it would seem high on the Bucklings.

thaiblue12 · #3 02/14/10, 10:31 AM

I guess that would best be answered by people who live in KS.
Here in my area that is a more than fair price. Wether kids depending on breed go from $40 to $75. I was getting $75 for my wether Nigies but have dropped that to $50 due to economy. Doeling go for more $100 to 200.
I am talking unpapered goats here. Clean goat kids that are disbudded, non-registered and healthy.
Are you closer to Missouri? Maybe they would sell better if you advertised there and made one trip with a bunch of kids.
I wish you were closer to CO

I want another bottle kid to drive me insane.

issylthesthlia · #4 02/14/10, 10:48 AM

Not far from here Altrece is selling bottle babies-- $25 for doelings and $10 for bucklings. They are Nigerian dwarf/dairy mixes. I've purchased from them previously and they've been top notch quality...

However-- they're just going for a quick sale.

Here your prices would sell fast.

luvzmybabz · #5 02/14/10, 11:01 AM

I wonder if the person telling you that you are asking too much just want cheap goats had something similiar here to a friend that raises LaMAnchas. We were talking about it and then he told me the guys name ( rockets going off and flames fromthe top of my skull) the breeder was not asking too much. The guy was wanted to buy them and make a profit at his auction!!! I have also caught this person trying to sell his "friends" (read PArtner's) dairy goats that he has had forever (read 3 weeks from the slaughter auctio)
to unsucpecting buyers on another yahoo group. Just be careful as there are thoswe types everywhere!!

betsy h. · #6 02/14/10, 11:15 AM

When we start kidding around here, I'll be selling x-bred dairy doelings for $50, Americans for $100, all disbudded and tattooed w/ ADGA paperwork applications. I am only keeping 4 American kids this year. We will put them on clean raw cow colostrum- from a johnnes/BLV free herd- and pasteurized milk. I want them gone quick- just cutting back on the herd so I can get milk shares started. Seriously, I am keeping 12 Saanens- does and kids, then 8 Guernseys- so this is the way I am dealing with it. I must focus on feeding and management this year rather than kidding and raising extra babies.

I'll have Am. Saanen kids, xbred LM/Saanen kids, xbred Alpine/Saanen kids, and some grade Guernsey does in milk early on. Next year, my ND buck will be big enough for ND/dairy crosses for $35 each, $10 for wethers, bucks by reservation only, etc..

For now, if you want little dairy wethers for $10 each, or dairy breeding buck kids for $25 each or ADGA registerable buck kids w/ papers for $50 when they are a week old, take one or all, but they must be gone by the time they are 2 weeks old or they are cabrito.

Contact me if anyone is interested. We start kidding in March.

yarrow · #7 02/14/10, 11:25 AM

every spring I *GIVE AWAY* purebred nubian bucklings (disbudded with their adga reg applications)... why? simply because I want the milk & I don't want to have to feed them! so why not pass them on? I have decent lines & get lots of nice kids each year.. I only offer them to folks on this forum and one of the local Ozark homesteader groups... if my excess bucklings can go on to improve someone else's milking herd (or be grown out to feed a family) I'm fine with just giving them away to people who can use them. My reg. bottle doelings start at $125. I never have a problem selling kids.

susie, mo ozarks

shiandpete.1 · #8 02/14/10, 04:33 PM

It really depends on the s/e plains of Colorado. I bought a Lamancha bottle buckling last year for $200.00 as a herd sire (he has top blood lines). I think prices are regional, people can be cheap and want to see if you are really solid on the price. I myself always give what someone is asking for a goat as I find it an insult when I have a $50.00 wether for sale and someone offers to give me $10.00, after all my time is worth more than that, plus the banding, vaccinations and even dehorning. I can sell them more as cabrito or even fill my own freezer with a quality product and that is worth more than $10.00.

Goat Servant · #9 02/14/10, 09:23 PM

Well said Sarah!

It all depends on who wants what & where you live. Our hay prices are higher than you all in the midwest & we have to buy it.
One family was shocked when I told them (not gonna divulge exact figures) around 100 for a just weaned wether.
I says look I have to feed the doe while she is pregnant plus get her ready to breed with basic vacs. And nobody thinks about your own time mucking hoof trimming & routine care.
Another customer didnt bat an eye, came back a week later saying how good he was & was impressed with the amount of meat on him. He had purchased a goat previously that was mostly skin & bone.
We have put them in our own freezer rather than "give" them away.
Personally I would not insult anyone by trying to bargain, but then again as a seller there are ethnic groups where it is customary to do so.
BUT when you get to the place where you have to move them as Yarrow has stated, you do what you gotta do.

OOPS I just saw the OP title..sorry

goatkid · #10 02/14/10, 10:21 PM

I sell my bucklings for $25-$30 each if taken as young bottle babies. Once they are weaned they start at $50 and go up from there depending on their weight. The local goat dairy is giving away their bucklings because they just want to be rid of them.

Bricheze · #11 02/15/10, 04:48 AM

I just sold two bottle baby bucklings here for 150$. Well I put them on reservation for when my goat kids

. Small breeds of goats are common here, but there aren't tons of registered dairy animals

Backfourty,MI. · #12 02/15/10, 09:03 AM

That sounds really inexspensive to me. I dam raise all our kids & sell them for more. Usually get &100.00 for doelings & bucklings at weaning. These are not registered. We'll see this year with the economy, will probly sell them a little less.

Kshobbit · #13 02/15/10, 09:49 AM

Thanks all for the great answers. I thought I was being pretty reasonable. I had done a check on craigslist and most were in my range and up to over $100. But the economy is bad here in Kansas with lots of laid-off and unemployed folks. They are not the ones complaining about the prices. That person is what we used to call in Tennessee, a "pen hooker". I hate the idea of him making a profit on all my hard work.
I would have happily given away the bucklings when they were a day old or so. Maybe next year. Thanks again.

wintrrwolf · #14 02/15/10, 10:00 AM

Yeah in missouri ads I have noticed the prices on goats really fluctuate. So am not sure what to list mine for ...Gypsy is a pygmy expecting in April she got bred by Cletus(ND) kid(s) will not be registered. So this would be a pet/milk/meat kid, should I keep it if its a doeling?
Inga is a registered ND bred to a registered ND buck that is unrelated to my little herd so will probable keep any doeling born but what should I ask for a buck?
Then there is Sugar if she has kid(s) by Cletus and Piper(rND) that would make them mini-saanen and I haven't seen any of those listed for sale yet in the ads what the heck would I ask for that would be reasonable??

In the ads right now I have been watching a lot of goats sales starting up so think Kshobbit is having to deal with selling her's at the same time as a bunch of others so getting decent prices maybe hard.