Goat Sales

[HDRider]

How do most of you buy your goats? How do you find them?

I am not interested in rolling the dice and chasing scrubs thru Craig's List.

Do you go to sale barns? This scares me as maybe all I am getting are other's culls. What have been you sale barn experiences?

Do you buy from a single or maybe a couple of trusted breeders? I am thinking this might be expensive and smaller lots than I'd want to get started.

Do you go to dispersal sales? Is this an economical way to build a herd?

I have founds some good sites such as:
http://goatgateway.com/
http://www.boergoats.com/clean/coverpage.php

Do you have some auction/sale site you like?

[Doug Hodges]

Susie..........................................lol

[Doug Hodges]

Buy from respectable breeders that test for everything. It cost more initially but in the end, its cheaper.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Only buy from people you know. You will have to visit farms and look carefully and ask a lot of questions before you buy.

I went to Emily's (Ozark Jewels) farm twice before I bought goats from her.

I would buy from Susie and other folks on this forum

I've been to farms that you could not PAY me to take home a goat.

[gunsmithgirl]

There are only 2 breeders I buy from now. Like said above it may cost more upfront but will be worth it in the end.
If I was to buy from someone else the goat would have to be quarantined until tested and re-tested. Sadly there are just too many people who are very dishonest in order to try and make a sale.

[Backfourty,MI.]

Only reputable breeders with disease tested herds.
I would never go to a sale barn but I don't think all Craigs list ad's are going to be scrub goats either. I'm sure there are reputable breeders that advertise on Craigslist with disease tested herds, etc.

I agree that talking to the breeders, seeing their farm & animals & also ask to see the paperwork showing their herd tested & disease free.

[mygoat]

Originally Posted by HDRider

How do most of you buy your goats? How do you find them?

I watch for ads, and add clean tested herds to my favorites. I do a LOT of networking with other breeders on Facebook. I sold the majority of my goat kids this year via Facebook.

Originally Posted by HDRider

I am not interested in rolling the dice and chasing scrubs thru Craig's List.

Hey, I sell goats on Craigslist! Good ones can be had, but usually craigslist lurkers are looking for cheap crappy goats, and my 'too expensive' goats don't get a lot of sales. That's fine by me, as it has worked here and there for me.

Originally Posted by HDRider

Do you go to sale barns? This scares me as maybe all I am getting are other's culls. What have been you sale barn experiences?

DO NOT GO TO YOUR LOCAL SALE BARN AND EXPECT TO BRING HOME ANYTHING WORTHWHILE. Even on the RARE occasion that you do get a nice healthy appearing animal, it will have been to teh sale barn intermingling with who knows what. Those barns move a LOT of diseased stock through them all the time, and they are not cleaned well. It's a great way for healthy animals to pick up disease if they are run through. So even if they arrive at the barn healthy, they can go home with a lot more than you want to work with, trust me.

Originally Posted by HDRider

Do you buy from a single or maybe a couple of trusted breeders? I am thinking this might be expensive and smaller lots than I'd want to get started.

I'm guessing from the boer goat picture you want boers. What are your goals? Do you want to raise for show, or meat? Understand there are diseases that some of us breeders do NOT want in our herds, but on a commercial herd level it is almost unavoidable and MANY, MANY show boer herds have problems with these diseaes (Caseous Lymphadenitis, to be particular - also known as CL in the goat world). BUT - they still sell stock for thousands and commercial herds with CL can still be very much profitable. For me, it's an ethical thing - CL is zoonotic and I do not want it in my herd. I will do all I can to avoid it.

Originally Posted by HDRider

Do you go to dispersal sales? Is this an economical way to build a herd?

In the boer goat herd, there are large breeding stock auctions where you can get quite a lot of GOOD breeding stock (NOT culls). But, you should note that you probalby will bring home CL sooner rather than later with those sales. This depends on your goals.

Originally Posted by HDRider

I have founds some good sites such as:
http://goatgateway.com/
http://www.boergoats.com/clean/coverpage.php

Do you have some auction/sale site you like?

Can't help you with the last two. I don't do auctions of any sort except to sell my meat stock and culls at for meat. Local auctions.

Starting with a small group of does and a superb buck will get you farther than buying a lot of middle quality does and bucks, if your goal is show. The boer goat industry, at least in the show world, is making quite large leaps in progress thanks to assisted reproduction. Options such as embryo harvesting/transfer and artificial insemination make it very easy to make fast changes in your herd. So, starting with a small group is really not a *bad* thing if you invest in the best you can.

For commercial, I strongly suggest smaller bodied crossbred does bred to a purebred boer buck. The does should be breeds other than Boer to increase hybrid vigour. Crossbred does of smaller body will also display their OWN hybrid vigour in worm resistance, hoof quality, disease resistance, prolificacy and increased milk production - and the smaller bodies means more does per housing space and better feed conversion. The boer buck will add hybrid vigour to the kids by being a terminal sire and will add superior frames and growth. Ideal weight for commercial goats is 40-60lbs which these crosses should easily get to after weaning around 3 months of age. A big commercial herd is beneficial to start out with, getting a large number of good sturdy does. Then, practice good pasture management and worm prevention. Cull those that don't perform well, or always hve singles, or don't gain weight back fast after kids are weaned. Does that breed back fast and kid again in the fall may be favored.

[Doug Hodges]

I bought 4 very very nice goats off of Craiglist.

[Doug Hodges]

Matter of fact. I try to stay off craiglist and Facebook just because I always see something I want.

[Pony]

What MyGoat said. Most emphatically.

You get what you pay for. Better to start with the best you can afford and build from there. You buy cheap, you get carp.

Buy decent and build.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I sell on craigslist too & my herd is disease tested & I think pretty nice goats too!

[Donna1982]

I will not buy from a sale barn. They are mostly there for a reason they are culls. I helped my mother work in Kentucky at the sale barn she ran and I seen what came in CL infested, CAE (knees so large they could barley walk) and just down right sick animals. Nope wont do it!!!

I know there is a few people who I know who have gotten REALLY nice LaMancha and Boers some with papers and ended up being totally clean when they tested them. This wouldn't be my luck so I wont even go to a sale barn lol.

I buy mostly from my breeder who has become family. I trust her and I know she would never lie to me or give me a sick animal. She also has some of the nicest LaManchas in my area if not the nicest.

A few months back I swore up and down I was done with Boers I was not going to breed them sold off everything besides one Doe who ended up having twins. Well now I sit back and we are starting to think about getting back into Boers but I cannot find any breeders who I can afford or who test for everything in my area so I still wait and wait. I would rather not having something I want REALLY bad then bring in something that is going to wipe out my whole herd that I have worked so hard to build.

[Pony]

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

I sell on craigslist too & my herd is disease tested & I think pretty nice goats too!

Craig's List is a good place for buying and selling, IF you do your homework. It's certainly a place where "caveat emptor" should be the watchwords!

Katie, I know your goats are good stuff, and MyGoat's are too.

I would buy from almost everyone here on this board, because I know the majority of them are careful, wise breeders.

[mammabooh]

I have bought and sold on craigslist. I made sure the boys I bought last year were from disease-free stock before I even went to look at them.

I put an ad on craiglist to sell three week-old bucklings last spring, and there was a girl here within an hour to buy all three of them. I also sold two does a month or so ago.

I think it's a very good way to reach a lot of people...especially if you just want to move them along and aren't asking high prices.

[dozedotz]

We started with CL...that's where we found Joan and Joan helped us find Emily. Joan was also really helpful when we started getting serious about Nubians...she obviously is quite amazing in her knowledge of genetics and show stuff. We became friends with both Joan and Emily before we bought goats from them...visited several times, went out to lunch, just talked on the phone. They were so great!! As we began looking for other goats to add to our growing (but still small) herd, we went to Joan and Emily all the time for advice and they were always willing to help. You cannot say too much about having an experienced guide!

[Hollowdweller]

Best to contact state or national breed clubs find out the members.

[HDRider]

Originally Posted by mygoat

I watch for ads, and add clean tested herds to my favorites. I do a LOT of networking with other breeders on Facebook. I sold the majority of my goat kids this year via Facebook.



Hey, I sell goats on Craigslist! Good ones can be had, but usually craigslist lurkers are looking for cheap crappy goats, and my 'too expensive' goats don't get a lot of sales. That's fine by me, as it has worked here and there for me.



DO NOT GO TO YOUR LOCAL SALE BARN AND EXPECT TO BRING HOME ANYTHING WORTHWHILE. Even on the RARE occasion that you do get a nice healthy appearing animal, it will have been to teh sale barn intermingling with who knows what. Those barns move a LOT of diseased stock through them all the time, and they are not cleaned well. It's a great way for healthy animals to pick up disease if they are run through. So even if they arrive at the barn healthy, they can go home with a lot more than you want to work with, trust me.


I'm guessing from the boer goat picture you want boers. What are your goals? Do you want to raise for show, or meat? Understand there are diseases that some of us breeders do NOT want in our herds, but on a commercial herd level it is almost unavoidable and MANY, MANY show boer herds have problems with these diseaes (Caseous Lymphadenitis, to be particular - also known as CL in the goat world). BUT - they still sell stock for thousands and commercial herds with CL can still be very much profitable. For me, it's an ethical thing - CL is zoonotic and I do not want it in my herd. I will do all I can to avoid it.




In the boer goat herd, there are large breeding stock auctions where you can get quite a lot of GOOD breeding stock (NOT culls). But, you should note that you probalby will bring home CL sooner rather than later with those sales. This depends on your goals.



Can't help you with the last two. I don't do auctions of any sort except to sell my meat stock and culls at for meat. Local auctions.

Starting with a small group of does and a superb buck will get you farther than buying a lot of middle quality does and bucks, if your goal is show. The boer goat industry, at least in the show world, is making quite large leaps in progress thanks to assisted reproduction. Options such as embryo harvesting/transfer and artificial insemination make it very easy to make fast changes in your herd. So, starting with a small group is really not a *bad* thing if you invest in the best you can.

For commercial, I strongly suggest smaller bodied crossbred does bred to a purebred boer buck. The does should be breeds other than Boer to increase hybrid vigour. Crossbred does of smaller body will also display their OWN hybrid vigour in worm resistance, hoof quality, disease resistance, prolificacy and increased milk production - and the smaller bodies means more does per housing space and better feed conversion. The boer buck will add hybrid vigour to the kids by being a terminal sire and will add superior frames and growth. Ideal weight for commercial goats is 40-60lbs which these crosses should easily get to after weaning around 3 months of age. A big commercial herd is beneficial to start out with, getting a large number of good sturdy does. Then, practice good pasture management and worm prevention. Cull those that don't perform well, or always hve singles, or don't gain weight back fast after kids are weaned. Does that breed back fast and kid again in the fall may be favored.

Thanks MYGOAT for an excellent reply.

I plan to start small to learn, but hope to grow a rather sizable herd for the commercial meat market and direct customer meat sales. Not interested in showing at all.

At this point I am leaning toward crosses and pure breeds of Boer, Kikos and LaMancha.

I want to move numbers for profit.

Thanks all....

[mygoat]

If you want to profit, don't skimp on learning MANAGEMENT! You can manage away most of the profit reducing issues. No good goat can perform well in poor management. I strongly suggest looking into rotational grazing/worm management. Decide how many does you can house, and how to go about managing breeding - kids born outside in january are going to die unless you're up at 3 am to make sure they're dry and nursing. Do you have barn space for 20 does to kid out? 50 does to kid out? Do you want to pasture kid them, barn kid them? What kid of losses are 'acceptable' to production? Lots to consider. I do suggest starting pretty small. Understand you will operate 'at a loss' for several years as you learn, but it's better than making a huge investment and loosing it all.

[Doug Hodges]

Bought my last one off Craiglist.

[HDRider]

Originally Posted by mygoat

If you want to profit, don't skimp on learning MANAGEMENT! You can manage away most of the profit reducing issues. No good goat can perform well in poor management. I strongly suggest looking into rotational grazing/worm management. Decide how many does you can house, and how to go about managing breeding - kids born outside in january are going to die unless you're up at 3 am to make sure they're dry and nursing. Do you have barn space for 20 does to kid out? 50 does to kid out? Do you want to pasture kid them, barn kid them? What kid of losses are 'acceptable' to production? Lots to consider. I do suggest starting pretty small. Understand you will operate 'at a loss' for several years as you learn, but it's better than making a huge investment and loosing it all.

I am studying rotational grazing intently. I am going to alternate the paddock visits between goats and beef cattle for parasite management of both. I am installing about 1/4 of my water system this week with quick-connects for water access to each paddock.

I have a lot of browse for the goats over 150 acres that will be fenced around the perimeter with five strands of electrified high tensile. I have good grass on the pasture for the cattle with excellent browse in the many dry creeks contained within the HT.

I am in the process of building my infrastructure now and for the next couple of years. Once that is in place, the fun (learning) begins. I will work small until I learn the ropes enough not to jeopardize the animals.

Regarding birthing, I am a big believer in following natures lead and birthing in the proper season. If wild goats and deer can birth and raise themselves with a high probability of success, my goats should help me help them with proper minerals, good access to food and water and predator control. This is not a hobby for me, and they are not my pets. They have to be sustainable and hardy to pull their weight.

Thanks again.