# Spanish goats



## Deschutes Dawn (Sep 24, 2013)

I have an opportunity to get a decent deal on a full bred Baylis Spanish buck and a care lease on his does with all offspring to be mine. It would be 18 hours round trip to get this starter herd. Does anyone have opinions? I am a goat packer and was thinking a Spanish infusion would add to a packer breeding program plus have a versatile multi use goat. I'm thinking wine and chocolate is called for in this decision with all of you as the governing body! Help!


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## SunnydaleBoers (Jul 28, 2012)

Deschutes Dawn said:


> I have an opportunity to get a decent deal on a full bred Baylis Spanish buck and a care lease on his does with all offspring to be mine. It would be 18 hours round trip to get this starter herd. Does anyone have opinions? I am a goat packer and was thinking a Spanish infusion would add to a packer breeding program plus have a versatile multi use goat. I'm thinking wine and chocolate is called for in this decision with all of you as the governing body! Help!


All of the normal health questions come to mind, especially if you already have animals of your own. Some additional things to consider:

How dramatically different are their current living conditions going to be compared to what you have to offer? I've always had the best results buying animals from someone that raises them the same way that I do. What kind of care have they received and are you going to be able to replicate it and/or improve on it?

Are the does guaranteed bred, who are they bred to, and how far along are they? 9 hours is a fairly long haul, especially if they're close-up or just bred- I'd have more concern about those girls potentially losing their kids. What's the kidding history on the does? (i.e. are these the does that had dystocia or rejected kids last year, and will be more likely to have problems this year?) What is an acceptable death loss before this becomes a losing proposition for you?

Why is this herd available, and are you receiving the entire herd? If it's just a partial herd then why have those animals been selected to go over the others?

Care leases can be tricky- most of the time those animals aren't being offered unless there is a feed or labor shortage, and as a result the animals tend to be in less than ideal condition to start with. We've done it a couple of times with dairy cattle herds, and while it worked out for us, they are deals that can turn ugly quick, especially if you're doing them on a handshake and a smile. I know it sounds crazy, but treat these animals like you would a rental car- a good contract, and good documentation of their initial condition is your friend!

At the end of the day you need to realize that you're going to most likely return the animals in better condition than when you received them, and that you will NOT be compensated for that. I don't care how many sets of quads they kid out.

Make sure your contract covers things like death loss (you're most likely not going to have a 100% survival rate on the does- are you paying the owner for dead animals, and if so, how much is each one worth?), veterinary care, who's retaining ownership of the kids, who's responsible for transport, when the does need to be returned by and in what kind of condition (bred? not bred? will they need to be a certain BCS? will you be responsible for worming and vaccinating prior to return, etc?).

I would also check to make sure there isn't a leinholder on the herd- this is much less likely with a small herd of goats, but you never know. If there is a bank involved I would want to make sure that they are aware of and have signed off on the deal before they leave the owner's property.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

In my reading about them I did learn one thing. Purebred Spanish goats are on an livestock conservation thing because they are so few and far between. Id find out just how Spanish the goats are before you invest in a lot of time, effort and money.

I am sure you have already visited it but in case you havent, here is a spanish goat assoc. website that you might be able to find a good breeder. http://spanishgoats.org/


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## Deschutes Dawn (Sep 24, 2013)

Thanks everyone. The herd is healthy, recommended by the Spanish Goat assoc. It is not a dispersal, but family crisis that the owner needs to downsize for a while. The buck would be mine, the does would go back when his situation improved and they would be my choice. They are not bred but, if I read it right, they can breed year round so that would not be a problem. I'm not sure if Baylis is the line I need and I need to do more research to find the line with the most height and length of leg. I want to find side by side photo comparisons and haven't found that yet. I'm also going to call my vet, a very experienced goat vet, and see if she has input. So before getting all helter skelter and dashing off to pick up what seems to be a good deal, I still have some research to do. Plus diesel isn't cheap so what would appear to be a great way to get a starter herd might work out to be more expense than I want to put out at this stage.
Any and all input is certainly welcome. I'll keep looking at any info I can get.

PS-they are full Spanish according to the association from a reputable farm.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds interesting and it sounds like you are doing your homework.


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## Deschutes Dawn (Sep 24, 2013)

Geez, found out he GAVE the buck to his neighbor! (expletive) No use going that far for does I can't keep plus I wouldn't be able to breed my does, which was the whole idea to begin with. Someone fairly local has a kiko-spanish buckling but their website isn't working right so I can't contact them. OK, deep breath, onward to the next ranch.


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## JamieAnn (Nov 6, 2013)

Spanish goats are listed as being "watchlist" status (fewer than 2,500 annual registrations in the US and a global population of less than 10,000).

You can view a US map of owners/breeders by using the search at http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/directory

There technically is a classifieds section on that site too, but youll have better luck if you use the map


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow, that is something. You'd think he would have wanted some money for him. I guess that wasn't meant to be and certainly saves you a long trip.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Have you seen these guys? http://www.cozinespringsranch.com/


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## Deschutes Dawn (Sep 24, 2013)

I have contacted them twice but they are probably busy with their ranch and haven't got back to me yet. From what I have learned so far they have a line called smoke ridge. The person I've communicated with from the association suggested for a packing cross that the sawyer or weinheimer (I think that's the name or something very similar) were bigger framed lines. I'm still learning about them so I need to chat with more of the breeders and gather any other info that everyone here has to offer. Who knows, I might even discover the cross with packing goats doesn't work before I use up a year of breeding.


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