Is this a good place to purchase good goats or junkie ones? Are auctions a good representation of the type of people out there who sell goats? Are all goats at an auction handled roughly?
Do a little search for "auction" on this forum. I believe you will find a general consensus that an auction is quite possibly the worst place you can look for a goat. Even if you go to a filthy farm where all of the animals look diseased, at least there, you know what you're looking at and can walk away without making a purchase. People don't send good dairy animals to auction. They send animals with contagious diseases (which may or may not have visible symptoms), or horrible temperaments, or inability to breed, or serious milking problems, or animals that nurse other does, etc., etc., etc. What people send to auction are meat animals. They're meant to go for meat. If you want a meat goat, you might get lucky and find a healthy one at the auction, and you might get luckier and find that it didn't even catch anything while it was at the heavily contaminated auction yard. But if you want the best chance, or even a reasonable chance, of purchasing decent stock, registered or not, get thee to a breeder. Period.
We go to what I think is the largest auction in the US in Montgommery, IN, Amish run, they test and screen animals. I've been to other auctions that sell sick animals, etc but have not seen that here. I know, not all diseases are visible. However, I have bought 3 goats, all with suppurb utters (I couldn't resist), they are fine milkers and had them long enough to know they are disease free. However, they obviously where not bottle fed babies because they are skittish and they took awhile to get used to my milking routine. Of my 9 milkers, my two best come from an auction, I paid $175+ for my non auction does, one died of Yonnies, I paind $650-$100 for my auction does and have been very happy. I did have concerns about bringing "disease" ridden goats to my herd but so far my only diseased goat came from the most reputable seller in our area.
YEP! Auctions are the worst place to obtain your livestock. Now granted, every now and then you hear a success story, but how many invisable visitors has that goat picked up while there that will come out to bite ya soon? I am talking about diseases, like CAE & CL, etc. Over the years Vicki and I can tell you how many times folks will post or ask for help and then tell us they got it from an auction. I really am glad you asked that first before going to buy one, then ask. I sure wish more auctions like yours in IN where they test and screen. Bernice
It might depend on which auctions where, and what you are looking for. But I have only been to one goat auction here in Central Texas, and after watching the way these animals were treated, decided quickly that was NOT the place I would want to buy or sell goats. I watched a guy pick a young goat up by a leg and fling it over a fence. He's handling livestock and doesn't know that goat will likely limp out with a broken leg?!? (That auction place did go out of business quickly, so hopefully they were the exception.) I have had no trouble selling mine through the Thrifty Nickel. Granted I only keep a few goats, so only have a few to sell at a time, but one ad has always sold whatever I had to sell. In this area, I think the auctions mainly sell meat goats.
Yes, the Thrifty Nickle aka The American Classifieds, which not only comes in free "pick me up at the Convience Store in newpaper form for free" or you can find it on-line which is much more convient. Just plug in the word "goat" (or Great Pyrenees!) I love that little paper. I think it is a Texas paper but I am not sure....and I too consider a regular goat/cattle aution a dead end. What goes in, shouldn't come back out to a farm.
