The age old debate...what's your opinion?

[harvestmoonfarm]

What are your opinions regarding the "you get what you pay for" mentality when it comes to dairy goats? It never fails - someone is looking for a family milker, and a person with registered show goats will pipe up and tell this person to get the most expensive goat they can find, because that's the only "good dairy animal." The other argument that always comes up is that "it costs just as much, if not more, to feed a cheap goat as it does an expensive, well bred one."

Personally, I disagree. I've had goats that I have paid anywhere from $0 for (people would faint if they knew which one it was), up to $125 (my Nubian doe - my first dairy goat - that was an awesome milker and just an overall great goat). The other goats I currently have include my registered Nubian ($100), my registerable LM ($50) and the LM's "mutt" daughter from last year (that has a beautiful little udder and nice teats, and is a dream on the milk stand as an FF). It's fine to pay astronomical prices if you're into showing, milk tests, etc., but if you just want a family milker for your homestead, farm, etc., I see no reason you should have to save for eons to buy one. There are a lot of really nice, inexpensive dairy animals out there that people need/want to rehome for various reasons.

Jumping down off my now.

[CAjerseychick]

I agree with you.
We went completely silly for our first goat purchase and bought 2 wild wild little Nigerian- something Toggenburgs (I realize now that the buck was much larger than a Nigie and was mixed with something, and the Toggenburg mothers were pure white)....
I did ask if they were tested (was told yes) so paid $100! for both does...
Registration wasnt important as we wanted something for milking/ pets/ weed eating. Thought we could tame them....
Honestly , they have been rehomed as weed goats (of course they turned out to be CAE positive) and they are probably happier that way.
Never could get them tamed past wanting to trample you for sweet feed, they just didnt enjoy human contact...

Then, we looked at an AD for weed eating goats for sale- and it turned out it was a dairy that was downsizing their weaned kids, she heard about our situation (we were desperate to try to get the wild goats tamer )-- and ended up selling us Sweet set of Oberhasli's-- a first freshener still in milk (yummy) Registered! and a doeling and little wether...
These guys are your dream goats - they will follow you around like dogs, "talk" back at you through the fence, ask for scratching and petting-- just such nice animals-- and the first doe would have milked through such long lactation! (Daughters sports schedule got in the way of milking)-- and honestly she has only been dry a month, and now she is bagging up again (I think she was bred by a buck we gave up, thats another story)--

Anyways, for these 3, that did test out negative for CAE, CL, Johnnes, and are just great all around goats-- $150 for the set....

Even our Nigerian dwarf buckling ($150 down the drain, registered, blue eyed) who came from a "breeder" was really a person keeping a few goats in her back yard (hey dont get me wrong, thats what we are doing, no judgement in that)-- who is just trying to make some turnaround money selling papered Nigies...
(the poor little guy also CAE positive, and now I have to worry about our sweet Oberhasli does having been infected, now that its pretty obvious that they are pregnant....

So my experience is it just depends....

What is priceless is buying from a knowledgeable goat person (to be fair the mini"toggs" came from the owners' first goat themselves and they had no idea how to raise them)- like this established, small dairy (she loves her goats, vs a large commercial operation)...

[Alice In TX/MO]

It just depends, as stated above. I'm not going to get into the controversy other than to say that I will pay good money for documented disease free goats that I can look at teats and udders of the dam.

It's all about milking for healthy food. Disease, teats, udders.

[ne prairiemama]

I just paid quite a bit for our Nigerian buck but he's all tested and has great lines. I feel ok paying more for him since I have more of an idea of what I'm getting.
I don't think you can NEVER get a good goat cheap but I do think in general you get what you pay for. Of course their are good milkers without perfect conf. etc. but "too cheap" makes me double check everything.

[CraterCove]

My two best does are from Dziminaski and Jug's Tavern lines-- 200 for each of them, one with a buck kid on her, both in milk when I got them. My ff this year I paid 600$ for and she's lovely and her doeling is beautiful. And I will have me a Whey To Go kid next season (probably one worth considering as a replacement buck and a doe) not worried about the costs. I think its far more about finding what you're looking for than how much.

As Alice put it, disease, teats, udder--- everything else is about style and personal herd preference.

[missmouse]

The worst doe I ever owned was the one I paid the most for. She had amazing bloodlines and was a beautiful yearling but never milked worth a darn. Sometimes you do get what you pay for but sometimes you can find a decent family goat reasonably priced or even free.

[Frosted Mini's]

I am one who says that, you get what you paid for. However, I hate to admit this, but my very best mini alpine does thus far, are out of my cheapest alpine doe, who really doesn't look like much herself. To me, "you get what you paid for" applies most of the time, but there are exceptions, particularly because people VERY often price goats WAY lower than they are actually worth; and then some other people price them WAY higher than their crap goats are worth. It's just hard to say sometimes what to think...it's all a gamble at times, BUT, I think if you go with a breeder who is well known, with a clean herd and you talk to and feel you trust them, it is darn worth it to pay a pretty penny for their goats.

[punchiepal]

I took a chance last year myself. A goat person near me offers breeding services. Gal dropped of 4 saanens and ended up leaving 2 there, surrendering them, and handing over 1's papers. She up them up on CL for 150 each. Many questions later found out she was a 10 yo PB saanen from older lines w/ papers, non-tested, and needed groceries/worming. Got her and her 2 bucklings for 150. They went to freezer camp and we milked her. She did well on the stand, we weren't sure if she was trained or not. Tested CAE free and gave us 2 mini saanen doelings at just shy of 11 yrs old a few months ago. For her age she looks wonderful now. Udder is great, still milks a gal a day, and has quite a personality.

Sometimes things work out. This time it was great, but I have also fallen in the camp of paid more than ended up milking.

[copperpennykids]

Then again, the stories are legend of the folks who bought a goat at the Sale barn (low $$) but spent a fortune trying to regain the health of the goat - and in the end, it not only didn't really recover but just about broke their new owners heart. Many folks have had their goat venture end before it can really begin.

Obviously, paying a really high price for a mediocre goat is just plain dumb. However, if you are buying a goat that milks well and is healthy with obvious good conformation then don't be afraid to spend a little more for it. And a goat that milks 10-12 #/day is going to be more affordable in the long run than 2 goats that each milk 4-5#/day - and her kids will be more saleable as well.

[mygoat]

I have gotten goats for free or cheap that were fabulous animals. I have paid a lot for a doe from a show herd, turned out she had CAE (early on, didn't know better to ask to test before purchase...)

Moral of the story, every animal you bring home is a risk in some manner. I have NOT brought home any animals that were sickly, thin as 'rescues'. I have brought home well cared for 'free' or cheap animals that someone had to give up for whatever reason, and they contacted me. My first dairy doe was a 50.00 american alpine that was healthy, but the owner just had another baby and didn't have time for the doe. She milked 12lbs/day the next lactation for me, if I remember correctly. I have strict biosecurity/testing routines that I stick to no matter what. I do believe that buying from a breeder and paying a good price for an animal is necessary if you are looking for something to meet your needs or fix a problem in your herd - you are not likely to find it free just anywhere. When out buying, I look for the most valueable animal I can afford. I'll take free if it's healthy and the animal is worth it to put through my biosecurity, testing costs etc. There are lots of goats out there you couldn't PAY me to have.

[dozedotz]

Since we have Nubians we have a little bit of a twist on this question: SPOTS or no spots? lol. People ask more generally for spotted kids. Spots do sell so I would say that it is probably worth it to buy the spotted Nubian kid for more...however, my general feeling is that if the goat is 1)tested clean herd 2)not totally sway backed or parrot mouthed or some other deformity 3) has decent udder 4)and a personality that says, "YOU are the boss and I am the milk goat who loves to perform! THAT is the goat you want. You have to LIVE with the goat and unless you are a show herd, you do not need the "name" and the price that accompanies that "name." No guarantees anyway...no matter how many CH or SG hanging on the sire and dam, no guarantee at all.