# low price goats are killing us



## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I live in a fairly smaller area and there are some Boer and ND breeders; as well as a few misc. dairy goats. Unregistered ND's right now around here and just 90 miles from here are selling does for 75 (most recent ad I saw)-200. Some of them aren't bad looking but it's harder to sell pet quality for those of us with reg. and tested goats. You can try and educate the theory of you get what you pay for or this is why you want tested animals; but still...There are about 10 boers, reg and tested not bad looking goats from 6mos-2yr running $200! Your average butcher goat seems to fetch 75-100. I'm not trying to get rich by any means but wholy cow.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

This is why I started training my babies. 

Before I moved to GA last year I lived in SoCal. Goat prices for any mixed mini w/out papers is about $60. I bottle raised my babies in an urban environment, taught them tricks, made sure they were all lead trained, and advertised them as perfect for the urban homesteader. I was able to sell my $60 goats for $150-200 (the smaller they are full sized the more hipsters will pay). I'd bring my Peggy Sue dressed in her clothes to outdoor concerts and festivals and I always had a waiting list.

It's all about marketing!


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I can see that, but with the Boers they can't live inside


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

I know what you mean! I am actually really surprised some of us around here (MA, NH ect.) can sell our wethers for $125 - $150 each! Mine are on the lower end of the scale the past two years (our kids weren't Fairlea, Dragonfly, Rosasharn quality lol!) but that will be changing as we are adding better goats and selling some of the others, and our kid prices will be going up.. So hopefully we can sell them at the higher prices and not have the $200 doelings beat us out...


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Lolz true! Can you pack train yer boers? Take them to popular hiking trails and such.

"Love overnight hikes, but hate having to pare down your gear? Clearwater Boers have the strength and stamina to carry the load, and no need to pack in extras because these babies are self-feeding and can live off the land!" 

It's all about finding a niche!


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

You get more than $75 for a slaughter nannie, here anways. The spread was $102-$120 CWT last week.

Price fell off a slightly last week. But overall not bad. At San Angelo on Wed a good 75lb kid would bring $165 to $185. OKC West was weak on low volume on Thursday. 

Per CWT San Angelo
KIDS: Selection 1 30-40 lbs 210.00-228.00; 40-60 lbs 220.00-250.00;
60-80 lbs 220.00-246.00

per CWT OKC West
Selection 1: 30-45 lbs 200.00-228.00
50-80 lbs 200.00-241.00
Selection 2: 80-100 lbs 130.00-165.00


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Unfortunately, I think the economy plays a role in it too. I noticed prices on Craigslist has dropped a little for goats. There have been quite a few people trying to just give away their goats recently. Hard to compete with free. But I do find that there are still people who want to be sure that their goats are coming from a good home and no one is sick, etc.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I hear you all. Economy and location. Our 4h wethers in the area have been pretty consistent for at least the last 5 yr that I know of- $125-150. Hispanics buy a lot of goat meat- but it's hit or miss- but they don't usually go over $100 for a goat ranging from 90-120#- they mostly stick to 50-90. 
As for training boers to pack- I most defin. do not have the time for something like that. I'm home FT but with mom and household, animals, milking and garden there's no way. Just sad when we pay what we do for our healthy animals and proper upkeep.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I look at it this way, with what I get in meat and milk and knowing that my food is coming from a very healthy source, it is enough for me. I don't have a large herd anymore and they are now strictly for our personal use with selling some kids to help pay for things. I got tired of doing the livestock business for a living. Took up too much of my time and was just getting too burned out.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

That's where we are, personal consumption, and possibly a few kids to offset some expenses. We too have a small number of goats. The boers that were reg. 200, were nice looking animals I think they just bred more than they could sell and needed to move them- which I can understand.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

clearwtrbeach said:


> I hear you all. Economy and location. Our 4h wethers in the area have been pretty consistent for at least the last 5 yr that I know of- $125-150. Hispanics buy a lot of goat meat- but it's hit or miss- but they don't usually go over $100 for a goat ranging from 90-120#- they mostly stick to 50-90.
> As for training boers to pack- I most defin. do not have the time for something like that. I'm home FT but with mom and household, animals, milking and garden there's no way. Just sad when we pay what we do for our healthy animals and proper upkeep.


Understood.

I'm lucky because I have my son to help and I have an extra room where I have a boarder who works on the homestead for their keep. When I want to be outside he does cooking and cleaning and when I'm inside he takes care of animals and the garden. Also my son helps training the goats and teaching my music class for a percentage of the profits. That leaves me with lots of time for side ventures and branching out.

Of course, in three weeks I'll have a new baby, so that's probably gonna cut into my time a teensy bit.


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## StarMFarm (Jan 17, 2013)

It definately makes it hard when you put so much time and money into your goats to make sure they are healthy and well taken care of. Especially around here, I have seen goats listed as low as $35-$40  Very hard to compete with those prices!


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I haven't had a problem selling my goats for my asking price. So far. I was a little surpised last spring, because I sold everyone I wanted to sell and a couple more. Even though I felt the recession was actually pretty bad at that time.

I did have a lady call and tell me that she could get a goat at the auction for $35.00. So, I said "have you seen the kids with snotty, bubbly noses, rough coats, and generally looking sick"? "Well, yeah, but I wasn't looking to buy those." "Ok, but every other kid is now exposed to whatever that kid had" And, any kid that goes into that crate is exposed to that too. Have you checked to see what a Vet charges these day? So, then she went into a long rant about the vet charging her over $100. for her last sick pet. Well, sometimes, those "cheap" goats are cheap for a reason...they are dying!


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## MrKamir (Nov 2, 2009)

There are alot of ND breeders in my area. For the first time last year I experienced something awful. People are getting more cutthroat when selling. I'm talking mean phone calls, mean emails, and people flagging ads on craigslist just to push people out. People talking to other breeders saying bad stuff about the quality of their goats. All that happened to me. I've seen it happen to other people too. We are a older couple and I was very shaken by this. Tears and all. Seems every year the majority are looking for something different. Last year, everyone wanted pet goats. Year before, most people wanted milk goats. 2 years ago, everyone wanted bottle babies. So who knows what it will be this year. But I have noticed they are not moving very fast for some people. Could be the economy. Let's see how things look for me in a couple of months when I'm ready to sell. I agree about the non-reg and reg. Mine are registered and the prices are ridiculous. It took me years to build up what I had. I sold half my herd last year. I had 15 does. Now I have 7. If it wasn't for my Anatolians needing something to guard, I would sell off most of my herd. Don't get me wrong, I love my goats. My neighbor had to travel far to sell his boers because of the low prices here. He said it was worth the trip. Competition here is getting fierce.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

Well, that stinks prices are doing pretty well over here on the east Coast.


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## MrKamir (Nov 2, 2009)

Thank you for letting me vent. I promise to be a cheerful sales person.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Up here in Maine, goat prices are not very good. People don't want registered stock, they want cheap, but its got to milk 3 gallons a day, deliver Quints adn get by on scrub hay!


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## MotleyBoerGoats (Mar 23, 2013)

Here in Idaho i charge $2:00 a lb for my butcher bores and if they are babies i have to charge $80 dallors for babies because the price of hay has gone up so much that i have to make it up somewhere and if i get more pure in my heard i will charge more for the babies


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

clearwtrbeach said:


> I can see that, but with the Boers they can't live inside


shhhhh dont tell my mom that Im convensin her to let me have one inside  lol


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

lottsagoats said:


> Up here in Maine, goat prices are not very good. People don't want registered stock, they want cheap, but its got to milk 3 gallons a day, deliver Quints adn get by on scrub hay!


I can so relate!!

Boers $2/lb- I wish not around here. More like about $1/lb on average.


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## Broski1984 (Jul 21, 2011)

Goats are fairly high in my area right now - unfortunate, because I'd like to be buying, not selling - except when it seems I want to sell something.

Pygmy does were going for $75-150 depending on temperament, color, etc. last October, until I needed to sell one, and then I couldn't give her away. Also brought three goats (two papered, good quality dairy bucks and a meat wether) to an auction, where the market price was a minimum for $80; got only $40 for our one buck (although the other went for $100 and the wether got $60, which wasn't bad for an ugly, medium-sized wether). Didn't help that he bloodied himself fighting with another goat, though. On the other hand, I was later able to sell two goats I got for free (planned on keeping them, but they were intersexed/hermaphrodites and I didn't want to deal with it) for $35 each. 

We had a bit of a dip in prices this winter, due to a "hay shortage" (it seemed more like, "no one stocked up on hay, and everyone raised their prices", as we still could find hay easier, just for $1-2 more a bale), but it's coming back up now. Always seems YOUR goats can't get anything, though.


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## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

I am glad its not just me experiencing this!


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

The wether prices I mentioned have been very consistent around here, roughly $1 pound -except 4 h kids. They buy their kids just weaned for usually about $125-150. Other than that for meat goats it's mainly a hispanic population here and they really don't want to pay much more than $1. Nigis in my immediate area have the competition of all the unpaperd goats going cheaper.


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## Broski1984 (Jul 21, 2011)

I remembered something, that I've been meaning to bring up actually.

The "miniature" goats here go for incredibly inconsistent amounts at auctions. At this point, it is baffling to me - you'd think there'd be SOME rhyme or reason to it! Last time I went to the auction, a bred, pretty-colored, healthy doe went for $17.50, followed up by an unbred, ratty, black doe that went for $40, a few wethers that went for much more than $1 a pound, and then a couple of papered goats that got about $35 each.

Because of this, we've sort of stopped buying small goats. It's just too inconsistent.


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## ogfabby (Jan 3, 2013)

Here, the minis generally go for $50 or do unpapered and $150 papered. The weanling meat kids are around $100 and papered breeding stock will range from $200 up to around $800


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## MrKamir (Nov 2, 2009)

I had to laugh at your post lottsagoats. I know exactly how you feel. People's expectations are getting out of hand. I came across alot of people last year that wanted pet goats for their kids. But those goats are gonna get big. I have a bottle fed breeding buck that tore up a couple of my stalls. (Cost me time and money to rebuild). He is sweet like a puppy. But I wouldn't want him to rub up against a little kid. Makes me wonder what they did with their pet goats once they got big. Kinda like those people who get baby chicks, baby ducks, and baby rabbits for Easter. They are not toys.


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