# Goat buying



## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

I have not been into goats but a year or two and have bought se kids from different farms . I look in the internet at pictures of the goats and ask questions then drive to see them. The internet web page will look like it's a great place but you get there and it's far far from that. I wish people would show what it really looks like. Ugh!!! Disappointed when I get to some of these places after driving for hours. Just a little rant.


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

Trust me, I know where you are coming from when I was looking for my goats I had that happen to me PLENTY of times. Sorry you had to go through that too.


❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

When you are a breeder people expect a well run farm, seems like breeders forget that their barn is their sales shop, and needs to refect quality and cleanliness.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

That is the problem with photoshop and other programs to fix pictures.


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

This is true. Just frustrating. My picture will reflect what I really have.


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Out of curiosity...given that where there's goats, there's poop...I can't keep my barn pristine any more than I can my house, with its doggie nose prints on the glass doors, and the day's dishes waiting in the sink, and the full laundry basket. What is and is not acceptable, given that raising animals is of necessity kinda messy? The appearance of regular maintenance? Reasonably fresh bedding, no ammonia smell, (fresh) hay in the feeders and not on the ground, clear water? Feed tubs secured and rodent proof? No junk lying around? Everyone healthy, or isolated and being taken care of? Dry, draft-free housing, mended fences? Or does it need to be all that, plus Martha-Stewart-was-here? Just wondering!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It doesn't need to be perfect. Basically yes to all your questions except the Martha Stewart one.


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

Yeah wasn't expecting perfectly clean. But if you are paying to ship animals in and having nice pictures and stuff it should not look cheap and run down when you arrive there. Not expecting poop not to be around just nice facilities. Anybody can have dog houses and tarp everywhere. If you have enough money to have that high quality if an animal why not spend more on how your place looks. When you arrive and see that you wonder if the animals are what they say. Just saying.


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## RaineyDayFarms (Oct 10, 2013)

My barn is older than me. I have and will continue to put a lot into it though. It's far from perfect and still being altered to fit the goats. I clean the stall, have clean bedding, pick up after everything, wash the walls etc. It looks nice for a day then back to hay all over, poo in the feeders and gates getting bent by angry sheep, paint being eaten off the walls. Having chickens doesn't help either. I also work 40+ hours a week so that makes things a little harder. I wouldn't trade any of it though. 

I totally understand what you mean about being disappointed. I had this problem when looking for my horse. Pictures can be very deceiving  I've seen some where the fences are laying on the ground and sharp metal object call over. Scary!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Beings that the goats must pay for themselves (I have no income) just because I sell a goat for 500-800.00 doesnt mean I will have a brand new amish style barn with cool nice fencing and pristine pasture. We just bought this place and its full of junk! We are slowly trying to make it our own. The goat barn is covered with a tarp because I dont have money to replace the roof yet (food on my table is WAY more important and the tarp is doing a grand job!). I try to keep it organized best I can and cleaned up but of course the entry way is the lowest point on the goat yard due to the constant travel it receives. So it tends to be the muddiest. My gate isnt some cool gate from Tractor supply. My husband made it quickly for me when the place I was boarding my goats at said I had 3 days to remove the goats. I had limited resources after putting out every last penny to buy the house! It is functional - does it look pretty? No! But its functional and eventually he wants to replace it, but until necessary there are so many other projects that need doing to keep the house working (always something breaking on an older house) or the cars in working order. Oh and did I mention he works from 6:30am to 9-10:30pm! And we have a 10 month old TODDLER. Yeah so I may have quality goats but Idont always have perfect life. I think its best that you don't judge before you know the whole story. That said if anyone knows me they see my facebook page and know i post pictures of our place all the time, the good the bad and the terrible. So I dont hide that my "farm" is far from perfect. Actually before I moved here my previous barn was so cool My dad custom build it for me. Sometimes I dream of being able to bring that barn here but for now thats just not possible.


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

Just be honest and post what's real that's all. 


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I'm with Stacey on this one. I don't have the money to hire someone to come build me some fancy barn and have no one around to help me build anything fancy. But IMO the most important thing is everyone goes to bed with full tummies on clean needing in a ugly house that keeps them warm and dry. My gates are beef panels that were cut in 4' pieces and it opens so I can go in and shuts so no one can come out. Their water goes in clean empty protein tubs and most of their feeders are about 50 years old but it keeps it off the ground. 
Now I have seen way worse then my set up but as long as the goats are healthy IMO that's what matters the most. 
Yes one day I would LOVE to have a big barn as I'm sure as the people being judged by their dog houses would love a new barn but how are they or me ever going to get it if we are judged more on our set up then the nice healthy animal that's for sale.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

highpockets said:


> Just be honest and post what's real that's all.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


I get the impression you would judge the person like myself who would post "whats real."

In the real world life isnt perfect. And just because I have a tarp on my barn doesnt mean I have to charge 50.00 for my herd. Ive worked hard on my breeding program and showing. Scraping together every little bit I can do make it work.

I take offense to statements and such like these that I cant move a goat to a nicer location to take a picture to show her off to the world then the actual barn yard.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

My place has never been fancy. But we have always kept the grass mowed and the animal pens clean. That goes a long way. 

I'm sure what we are talking about here are pictures that are either doctored up or from 20 years ago or even a previous home that people are using. I don't think we are talking about high dollar goats in high dollar barns. We are talking about walking up to a place and it looks very close to the pictures that you have looked at.

I think it is time to take a step back and remember to keep it friendly, keep it fun. Unfortunately we aren't seeing facial expressions or hearing tone of voice. That flat text can get misinterpreted.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I too agree with what has been said.. I don't have anything fancy either.. My 'barn' was our old chicken shed.. And my dad built me 4 kidding stalls in the garage.. All my milking stands and feed and equipment is in there too.. My hay storage is a portable garage/tent for the majority of it... The rest, is sitting on pallets under a tarp in my driveway in front of my barn... 
My bucks have a calf hut for a shelter and I do put tarps for shade in other areas of their pens so they don't have to be in their shelters for shade.. I also put tarps up on the fence so the boys can't always see the girls come this time of year..
My pens are made of dog kennel panels and 4ft red brand fence (that is slowly being switched with cattle panels) and some of it is held together with zip ties and baking twine.. The barn recently has a new roof.. Before it was a metal roof with holes and like Stacey's a tarp. 
My pens are kept clean for the most part.. Sometimes (like now as I've been crazy busy with work) there is more waste hay then I like.. But, their stalls and shed are always kept as clean as I can.. My goats are all healthy and well taken care of.

And on top of that.. I live in a neighborhood! (That always gets people when they pull in! :lol: ) 

Most of the pictures I have on my site of my goats are taken at shows, or in a part of the yard that there isn't much too see in the background.. I don't want a distracting background so either in front of the barn door or a where you will see mostly grass or stone..


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I think what needs to be looked at when purchasing a goat is: are the goats on the property healthy? do they look well fed? no abscesses? Can you see herd test results? thats way more important then the size, shape or condition of the barn.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

StaceyRosado said:


> I think what needs to be looked at when purchasing a goat is: are the goats on the property healthy? do they look well fed? no abscesses? Can you see herd test results? thats way more important then the size, shape or condition of the barn.


Agreed. The health of the goats is more important then the looks of the barn they live in.


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

As a newbie I can say it is going to be a while before I can afford to have a nice looking barn, my goats have shelter, good fencing and nice size pasture. They are happy with that and for now I have to be too since I spent as much as I could to buy the best breeding stock I could find. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on nice looking shelters then buy cheap goats.. Although the fencing wasn't cheap, for now I have pricey goats in ugly shelters  as long as they are happy and healthy, I'm happy. I only have one breeding doe for this year and no matter how many kids she has this year I won't even make enough to pay back for building the fence, let alone what it cost to buy the goats and definitely not enough to make a nice barn. But I will work my way up to it! Nobody can say my goats are not well cared for 


Newbie to Nubian dairy goats! 2 nubian does, 1 Nubian buck, 1 Pygmy doe, 1 Pygmy/ Nigerian wether, and 1 alpine/ guernsey wether! Plus the rest of the farm pets which would take the whole page to list  
~Dee

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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

StaceyRosado said:


> I get the impression you would judge the person like myself who would post "whats real."
> 
> In the real world life isnt perfect. And just because I have a tarp on my barn doesnt mean I have to charge 50.00 for my herd. Ive worked hard on my breeding program and showing. Scraping together every little bit I can do make it work.
> 
> I take offense to statements and such like these that I cant move a goat to a nicer location to take a picture to show her off to the world then the actual barn yard.


All I want Is someone to post what is REALLY THERE not some photo shopped picture of something that's not there.... I don't care what the surroundings look like as long as the goats are what they were said to be.

❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

is the goat clean..well fed, healthy and well managed..do they spend thier funds on quality hay, feed minerals and testing? cause that is where our money goes...to the animals...we dont live in a junk yard but many times it looks like it...we work to keep it safe for family and animals...we use pallets to buiild fencling, gates and sheds : ) we have been known to use a tarp from time to time..the most important thing is..DID YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR? A quality disease free animal? One in good health that was well cared for? that is what is important..farms are a work in progress..moving fences, new building..revamping old building....whats worse is when they post an old pic of thegoat in very nice condiditon and you get there and the poor thing is skin and bone....and I admit...Ive been to messy, muddy smelly farms that I have turned around and refused a purchase..why? not because it was a muddy mess...but because the quality of care for the animals...poor feeding habits, poor looking animals...Just saying :wink:


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

StaceyRosado said:


> I think what needs to be looked at when purchasing a goat is: are the goats on the property healthy? do they look well fed? no abscesses? Can you see herd test results? thats way more important then the size, shape or condition of the barn.


Agreed as well!! And FYI I'm not being mean in any of my replays just trying to point out a different point.
For pictures I do try to take them in decent places in the pen and actually I want to take my does out to the oat field this spring to take pictures because it does look so pretty.
Now if we were talking about people taking pictures that show these wicked awesome goats all fat and healthy looking and when you get there there's a skinny goat with mud dread locks hanging off them then yeah I agree and have been there and wasn't happy that I drove all the way to see something like that.

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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

> I don't care what the surroundings look like as long as the goats are what they were said to be.


This is what Im talking about....!!


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

Shoot did not mean to offend someone. Everybody has there own way of doing. All I said is don't wanna drive many hours to wind up with it not being as advertised. That's it.


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

I put money on a two does one time and waited till weaned. My husband drove 4 hours to pick them up and they were snotty and coughing. I told him not to bring them home. It's happened at least twice to me. Also the pics not looking like the actual goat. I am just burnt out on people not being real.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is terrible when you think you are getting healthy goats and they aren't. Hopefully you can find some soon that are nice and healthy.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

highpockets said:


> Yeah wasn't expecting perfectly clean. But if you are paying to ship animals in and having nice pictures and stuff it should not look cheap and run down when you arrive there. Not expecting poop not to be around just nice facilities. Anybody can have dog houses and tarp everywhere. If you have enough money to have that high quality if an animal why not spend more on how your place looks. When you arrive and see that you wonder if the animals are what they say. Just saying.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


In all your post previous you never mentioned sick goats. They all were directed at the facilities. So that's what we were commenting back on.

Sick or malnourished goat is a whole different story. Believe me I've been part of that sad tale.

But you can just flip it around and say that you were talking about sick goats when in actually nothing about the goats condition was mentioned before. Yes topics can snowball so I went back to check your actual words and this I what I found. Yes this struck a nerve with me and others. Ha you mentioned that animals were sick and it would have hit a different nerve and I would have sounded off in agreement.

As I said before the condition of the goats is way more important then the set up and barn.


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## Hollowdweller (May 5, 2011)

I have been raising and milking goats for 26 years and I can tell you that an aesthetically pleasing farm set up has nothing to do with the quality of the animal.

Goatkeeping is incredibly labor intensive, process and more than a few goatkeepers work off farm too so a farm can look bad because the people are putting all the effort into feeding and milking the goats.

I have found no difference in quality in the animals. The important thing is how they treat the animals.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I understand where you are coming from Highpockets. I also understand taking pics of your goats that make them look good. But...there is a vast difference when you get a pic of a beautiful goat in a clean, wonderful looking place and arrive to find a dirty, rundown farm. My farm isn't the best either and I try to edit out anything bad (don't we all?) but.....to arrive expecting something really nice and to find nasty, dirty conditions is another story. I would question condition of animals also. If I go to buy a goat and expect to find a clean, decent place (not saying a $100K barn or anything....just decent) and find a rundown place, I'm going to go over the goats with a microscope and may end up not buying because you never know what the farm is hiding. Been there and done that before too. But, I've also been at fairly decent places and found bad goats too. I think we all understand that a farm is a farm and isn't always clean and sanitary....but there is a point between decent and rundown that is fairly obvious (at least to me)


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

highpockets said:


> Yeah wasn't expecting perfectly clean. But if you are paying to ship animals in and having nice pictures and stuff it should not look cheap and run down when you arrive there. Not expecting poop not to be around just nice facilities. Anybody can have dog houses and tarp everywhere. If you have enough money to have that high quality if an animal why not spend more on how your place looks. When you arrive and see that you wonder if the animals are what they say. Just saying.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


It is not important how the place looks. 
A breeder can have really good goats to sell and making good money with them.
Remember though, most people have outstanding bills(debt) which the extra income comes in handy. They can buy good feed and care for their goats and maybe pay that mortgage as well as care for your own family needs. Things pile up and we can get way behind. We must not judge or jump to conclusions about how someone's place looks. 
I myself have to agree on the other hand, I prefer a clean property.
But we can only do so much. Some may also have a job which stops them from having time to do those extra things that need to be done too.
We cannot judge others by the way they keep their place. But we can judge, if those animals are unhealthy and uncared for, which venting is a legit reason to do so. 
The most important thing is, the health of the goats. The real thing should always be the animals themselves. Are they healthy, reasonably clean stalls(not smelling like urine), have clean water, good feed? If so, they are well cared for and the property should not be of concern.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

Interesting thread. highpockets, I'm truly sorry you have been deceived while trying to find your goats. I can understand how frustrating that can be. I wonder if asking and checking references would help. I find out what Vet they use as well. In my experience, honest folks are happy to provide this kind of information. Don't give up. You've learned a lot from these disappointments. Your better armed now...so to speak. ;-)


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I agree with what has been said. I have been to some pretty torn down looking places, but the animals were well cared for. That's what matters. 
I have also been to some gorgeous properties and the animals weren't so well cared for.
It can look like an absolute junk yard, as long as the animals are nice and healthy, and the junk is kept out of the pens. 
I used to have a substantial amount of income at one point in time, I had a 2 bed, 2 bath house, with a outdoor laundry room, a 2 car garage, and 3 barns, and all the animals looked great. Then when I had my son, we had to move. We ended up moving back to my parents old place, which basically was a junk yard. 
20 years later, we're still working on getting all the junk hauled off, which is a very slow process, but our animals still look the same. Their care didn't change, their housing arrangements certainly did though. 
I don't have one barn on the property and I just don't have the money to build any like last time. But they have shelters to get out of the rain. They have food, they have water, they get what they need. They eat before we do.

A lot of people you see who have the nice pictures of their animals on their site, and when you get there and the place is a little raggedy, they might be embarrassed about it because they don't have the money to haul the junk away. It's almost always more than meets the eye.
And lets be honest, if you saw a gorgeous goat (or any other animal) with a pretty backdrop, you'd be more inclined to buy that goat. Now lets saw you saw the same exact quality looking goat, and the picture had a bunch of junk and ratty fences behind in the backdrop, you probably wouldn't buy it would you?

It's nicer for you to pick up an animal from a pretty house because it's pleasing to the eye. But I could care less about what their house looks like, what their fences are, if they have a fancy barn, etc, as long as the animal still looks good, no matter what the property looks like, that's fine with me.


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

Hmmmm we went through 3 places to get goats over the past yr and a half, the one contact we made that had clean facilities, healthy well cared for dairy goats- I asked that person next time around when we were looking for another goat (buckling) and indeed the person she referred us to also had clean facilities and well cared for healthy animals... so word of mouth? References, etc.... are a good way to go I think..


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I understand that it can be disappointing when you look at a nice website and in your mind picture an amazing place, but visit the farm in person and it's not at all what you expected. In most cases, I would lay the blame on the person with high expectations and not so much on the farm. We all want to have nice photos of our goats and property. No one is going to take a photo of the broken down fence or rundown shelter that they don't have extra money to repair yet. I've learned to be open minded when it comes to looking at someone else's property. No one's place is perfect and you never know what someone may be going through. Things happen in life and chores can pile up, a farm can quickly become messy, but the animals should always come first and be well taken care of.

I try to keep my place as clean and neat as possible, but it's a farm, not a luxury resort. Things get messy and as soon as I have time, I clean up. Things break down and since I haven't yet hit the lottery, I don't always have the money to quickly go pickup whatever is needed for repair. Sometimes you have to make do with what you've got. Now there are things that are not excusable and the animals should always be well cared for. They should come first, no doubt. 

As for photo editing or just plain misrepresentation... If someone advertises a good looking, shiny, healthy goat in the photos and you get there and the goat is emaciated with long hooves and a scruffy coat, yeah, I would be disappointed to say the least. But if you get there and the goat is all it's said to be and looks like the photos, but the farm is not perfect or not what I expected, then so what? Breeders who photo shop their goats or misrepresent their farm by saying they have something they don't or showing photos of something that's not their's...yeah, that is totally wrong and you'd have good reason to be upset, but for your average breeder with a nice website and photos...that doesn't mean they have a five star barn and flawless fencing. Like I said, I try to be open minded, but I also don't try to picture what someone's farm looks like or expect something grand and amazing. I just wait to see it in person and go more by the goats health, management, and care. 

In a perfect world, we all would have huge five star barns, paved driveways, perfect fencing, no junk laying around, nothing broken down, and the goats would eat rainbows and poop butterflies. :laugh:


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Golly you shoulda been here when we were going back & forth visiting a dying family member for a good month or so.
It was all we could do to keep everyone fed & watered.


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## highpockets (Jan 30, 2014)

Yeah This is true is just matters about the health and the goat condition and yeah the truth is that when I see run down I do tend to judge the goats by that. Which I am sure is misleading. I can see that finances could make it hard to have everything real nice. I wasn't expecting perfection cause mine is not. I guess that reading back it did sound like That. I guess I am new at this and horse buying in the past has made me think this way . I am learning about this goat buying thing . Took me a while to figure out the horse buying thing too. Now I would know what questions to ask before I drive . Thank for replies and shedding some light .





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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

Is 50 dollars a good price for him?








❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I think that depends on what you want him to do at your farm.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

AintGotNoCreekRanch said:


> Is 50 dollars a good price for him?
> View attachment 76957
> 
> 
> ❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


Is he intact and is he FB?

Registered or not?


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

Intact but FB???? What's that? Not registered.... And to the other post I want him for a breeder buck.... CRITIQUE IF YOU CAN!!


❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

FB is FullBlood I believe


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

Oh thanks :face palm: ummm no he is 75%


❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

You might get more of a response if you start your own topic


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

AintGotNoCreekRanch said:


> Oh thanks :face palm: ummm no he is 75%
> 
> ❤Chelbi in Southern Texas❤


He can be sold for $150 to $250 depending on if he has good teat structure, good bite, good pigment and scrotum. This is for unregistered.
So, if you are buying him for $50 that is a good price for unregistered stock.

Yes, FB is fullblood boer.

If you have anymore questions, please create a new thread as Stacey mentioned.


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