# Need help finding a herd!



## lauradb (Dec 2, 2012)

Hi all,
I am looking to start a commercial goat operation in Oregon and am looking for any information on sales, auctions, or consignments where I can buy a larger number of animals at once preferably in Oregon. California would work too as long as it was northern. Haven't had much luck searching for as many animals as I'll need to start up.
Does anyone know of upcoming events that fit this bill? Going a private route would work too, but not looking for anything immediate. More likely (hopefully) next year. I know Woodburn has sales, but haven't heard anything about what kind of stock they offer, and their website doesn't elaborate on much.
Any help pointing me in the right direction is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Welcome to TGS! :wave:

Have you ever owned goats before? I would strongly suggest starting small like 6-8 females and a male if you are new. There is a HUGE learning curve and if you start with a large herd, you could incur a lot of losses if you don't get a handle on subtle problems that come about.

Also, auctions usually don't offer the best quality animals. You would be better off to buy from quality local breeders that will give you support if needed. You should always buy the best quality you can afford.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

You just have to keep looking, and be prepared to travel to bring them back. I am assuming you are talking about meat goats. I have seen several entire herds go up for sale over the years. Craigslist and facebook are good places to keep searching. There are for sale pages on facebook for farming and boer goats, regional and national. 

With rising costs of feed, sadly, i am sure there will be more herds going up for sale.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

It depends on what type, ie breed, reg. or not, from clean tested herds or not. There is Madras auction in central oregon but I'm not sure anymore how many goats go through there. CL has several from oregon to southern WA. If you are looking for meat goats, there are people getting their numbers down before winter.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I 100% agree with Karen. Start small if you haven't owned goats before. They're are not the easiest livestock to care for and it can become extremely overwhelming if you start with too many too quick. I also would recommend starting with quality goats from a private breeder...making sure you at least start with CL, CAE, Johne's free goats. A weekly/monthly local type auction is not a good place at all to get your goats. If you wanted to find an auction...sometimes they'll have like herd dispersal type boer auctions...but a lot of the weekly/monthly livestock sale type auctions are where people dump their culls and disease is a big concern due to the high volume of livestock that goes through them. Sometimes you can find a good deal and find some good quality goats...but it's a huge gamble and risk.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Agreed, with Karen and KW. Mentioning the "what you want to do" is more of a broad here are some options and what you are willing to pay. I've seen quite a few nice Boers from tested herds around here (northern OR /southern WA) for 200-400 - for the price some are not willing to give papers (the 200) but they are healthy and tested.


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## ASTONs Dairy (Aug 14, 2012)

KW Farms said:


> I 100% agree with Karen. Start small if you haven't owned goats before. They're are not the easiest livestock to care for and it can become extremely overwhelming if you start with too many too quick. I also would recommend starting with quality goats from a private breeder...making sure you at least start with CL, CAE, Johne's free goats. A weekly/monthly local type auction is not a good place at all to get your goats. If you wanted to find an auction...sometimes they'll have like herd dispersal type boer auctions...but a lot of the weekly/monthly livestock sale type auctions are where people dump their culls and disease is a big concern due to the high volume of livestock that goes through them. Sometimes you can find a good deal and find some good quality goats...but it's a huge gamble and risk.


don't forget TB & Brucellosis, they are diseases that people get more easily than the others


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

TB is extremely rare in goats and not something the majority of goat raisers test for. Brucellosis as well is not common in the states and if you were to test, you'd probably be a dairy goat breeder since it's passed through the milk. And it really would only be a concern if your goats were to show poor health and/or raw milk was being consumed or sold...if I were a commercial meat producer...TB and Brucellosis are not something i'd be concerned about as long as the goats are healthy.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Check out this website and see if any of these breeders are near you.
http://www.cascadebga.org/id1.html


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