Scored Well Today

[whodunit]

We decided to sell our goat buck and two of his buckling progeny (two of quintuplets) at auction.

The same day, DW noticed an ad on Craigslist that someone was giving away three sheep. She called, but he didn't answer.

This morning we loaded the goats and after we dropped them off at the auction, the guy called and we said we would take them. Apparently his spouse couldn't bear the thought of eating something she raised.

When we got there, I encouraged DW to ask him if he was okay with us selling them, which we planned to do right away. He told us that was fine.

The spouse came out to help us load the crazy things and mentions she is glad they are not going to be slaughtered. We kept our mouths shut and loaded them up. By this time the man was gone.

We got $110 for the bucklings, $130 for the buck, and cleared about $98 for the sheep.

We felt kind of guilty about the sheep, but we were straightforward with the person we dealt with and figured there was some kind of behind-the-scenes drama going on that we didn't want to get involved in.

It was a blessing to us because we need the money for an unexpected expense a week or so ago, so it was almost like someone handing us a $100 bill minus some time and gasoline.

[poppy]

Ya done good. I used to listen to Derry Brownfield on the radio. He lived in MO and raised cattle. One year he was telling about some goats someone gave him and he just turned them loose on the farm with the cattle. He had them 2 years I think and they multiplied very well. Some finally got out of the fence and became a nuisance around the house so he loaded them up ( 17 IIRC) and took them to the sale barn. I think he got something over $2000 for them and said they were the most profitable thing on his farm. He got them free and never spent a dime on them.

[whodunit]

Good story, Poppy!

Forgot to mention we also scored at the bread store. We can buy a whole rolling rack of baked goods for $26, to be sued as animal feed. Usually, most of the stuff is barely a week past the expiration date and even some things not even expired. I'm talking organic bread, doughnuts, fruit pies, bagels, rolls, buns, cookies, etc. This time, the lady asked us if we had chickens. We do and told her so. She rolled out another whole rack of "sweet" stuff for free that for some reason people won't buy for their other livestock. We took home a small utility trailer full of stuff. Our donkeys, chickens and goats will eat well, not to mention us, too.

As far as the auction, I was amazed at what goats went for; probably close to a dollar a pound on average. Most sheep were going for less than that and pigs were in the lower amounts sometimes starting at 10 cents a pound for boars. Everything sold; even sickly looking and crippled animals.