# start up advice



## dawn019 (Nov 1, 2012)

Thinking of starting up goat operation of market goats but have questions. We are looking to do this to supplement income. We are located in NW ohio...about hr of Detroit and Cleveland. Like to get advice from someone who also does this. Many questions, but where sell...just to slaughter house or ive read where can sell direct to restaurants..is that possible?? What size herd do we need to start with for a return?? Would like to have a load of approx 60lb+ goats ready for market every few months. Have.experience in dairy goatw so know ins/outs of goats but market/meat goats new area. Any and all advice appreciated!!


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

I'd feel out the local market first, plus state/fed laws regarding sale both on the hoof and packaged to restaurants and ethnic groups.

Bob


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## mmiller (Apr 3, 2012)

Its great that you have some exp with goats that will help you alot. I would as Bob said feel out your local market. Great way to do that is see what goats are bring at the local goat sale check on craigslist to see what goats are going for there. Im not sure how many you mean when you say load so lets say a load is 20 kids at 60ls. (also check to see what weights bring the most dollar in your area) every couple months. You will not always have 100% live rate on your goats but for this we will say 100%. You would need atleast 10 does kidding everyother month to produce enough kids. So you have 10 does kid in Aug it will be April before those same does dropped kids for you again. Then in Oct you have 10 more does kid it will be June before those same does drop kids again an so on. If you just want your does to kid once a year (its not as profitable to kid once a year in a meat goat operation you need your does to have 3 different births in 2 years.) Lets go with once a year kidding you will need 6x10= 60 does. 

Some good advice is a so so doe will eat just as much as top of the line doe. Something to think about is have you a nice good herd of does that produce you nice healthy kids sell the bucks/wethers to market an sell your does as good replacement stock. You will get alittle more for you does in most cases. 

If you plan on your does kidding 3 times n 2 years just know that not every doe will be able to do that. So the first few years are gonna be spent culling your herd an culling it hard to be able to make a profit. You want does that take the least amount of care while produceing at the top. 

Then there is the buck. He is half of the genitics in your kids. I would spare no expense with him. Go with one that has atleat a half pound gain aday. There are some boer breeders on TGS that have kids weighing in at 50lds in 9 weeks thats very impressive (an it takes just as much feed to feed those does giving you those kids as one that give you 30ld kids in 9 weeks.) An if he is reg then you can reg your does at 50 % an you can fetch sometimes alittle more money from them.

Ok so I wrote you a book but I want to tell you all the things I considered when getting into goats to raise for commerical meat. I have found that my culls will go to meat an the better stock will go for show or replacement. That is up to you to decide but there is my 2 cents on it. Good luck!! Its an adventure for sure lol.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

The hardest part of your plan would be having sellable kids all year long.
Goats are worth more money from Halloween to Easter.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

here is my advice:
Daily gain is not only a management issue but also very genetic. make sure the stock you invest in has good daily gain. 

Purchase stock that has good structure, poor structure brings less dollars for the meat and good structure will help you sell some of your does as replacement stock to other farms and they always bring more money than your kids for meat. Really the only reason not to sell good does for breeding stock, is if you just don't want to deal with the public buying from your farm and you would rather load and take them to the stockyard or slaughter house and just deal with meat customers. 

prices are down in June, July and august and normally starts going back up October and then stays up through the spring. 

I prefer selling our kids at 70 to 80 lbs, but it certainly would depend on your markets and what the restaurants are looking for. 

I heard farmer markets are a great way to sell by the pound. meat has to be USDA slaughtered and stored in a USDA inspected freezer in our area. 

Not sure what laws for restaurants, but around here you can sell by the lb live weight and transport to a USDA slaughter facility and then the restaurant or customer can pick up their meat and pay the slaughter bill. 

Buy stock that is going to be raised similar to how you are going to raise them. Buying a bunch of does from someone who only raises them in a drylot, if you are going to raise on pasture, may cause issues. They may not be as parasite resistant as you would like, or the stock is just not as hardy as you need. Of course if you are raising in dry lot conditions, then it may not matter. Well, just something to think about.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Start small with at the max.. 5 Does and 1 buck. I would prefer to have started with only 3 but we started with 5. The market here where we are at has quickly become flooded and the competition is hard. Start small.. see how well you can sell the kids and then build, build and build and improve your herd by selecting the type for your market.


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## dawn019 (Nov 1, 2012)

Something really confused on is i cant seem to find where any markets.list what goats go for per lb. Initial thought was to have load kids....what load consists of a this time not sure 20+ maybe, but take load every say 3 mths. Not sure i wanna b traveling 100+ miles every few months to run thru auction. Are goats just not looked at like say hogs where guaranteed so much per lb


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

they are normally sold per head, and never weighed. There are probably a few markets that do weigh, but not any around us. Not even the big market in New Holland weighs the goats. That is the main market for the East coast.


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