# Taking one to auction...



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Well....tomorrow it looks like I might be taking a buckling or two to auction... But darn it I feel sooo guilty!!! I have tried to find my boys homes. The one buckling is a pretty boy, maybe too pretty I guess! He's HUGE, kiko & boer, but he has the kiko look and most people around here seem to like the kiko does, but the boer look in their bucks.

I know we can't sell them all for pets or breeding.... but the good thing is at this sale people do come looking for goats for pets, breeding stock deals, as well as meat so maybe he'll get lucky.
He's 3 months old and weighs around 55lbs. I don't know if I'll get a good amount out of him though? That's my other worry....losing $$...He's been super easy maintenance, so I haven't had to put anything into him except lots of love and grain.

Anyway.....I keep telling myself we need to do this....but it's hard.

Did you feel guilty when you took your first kids to auction?


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## Dodge 'Em (Jan 13, 2011)

I still feel guilty! I need to take some this weekend, and I dread it so bad! I nearly cry when the killer buyer bids on them.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Yep, I think we all feel guilty. We raise thse little ones with love and wish that they could all find great loving homes, but have to face the fact they are livestock and it is really hard to seperate the two.....for me anyway.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I agree it is hard so that is why mine have not made it there yet but I know the time is going to come when I do have to take some. I have gone with my sister when she had goats and it was alot easier because I didn't know the goats that well so we would sit there and watch as they sold. I think when it is time for me to take mine I will drop them off and leave so I don't have to see them go to the meat buyer.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I too agree....sometimes it can come down to an auction sale.... and it is hard to do... I have been there in the past...  

Have you tried a low price on craigslist....of maybe what they are going for at auction or close to it?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much. I have tried lowering price and OBO, but there are so many 'boers' on Craigslist, and since he has more of a kiko look to him...
He's hard to get a good picture of because he is ALWAYS eating or 'up my butt' LOL My husband had to bribe him to try and stand for a picture and you see what good that did.









He's the biggest & youngest buckling we have. He's almost 3 1/2 months old and was weighed about 3 weeks ago at 50lbs.

We haven't had any offers for him, but the other buckling we advertised with him we had a lot of offers, and he went to a really nice home  He was our special baby though, we were all greatly attached to him. I've been distancing myself from the last two boys. I spend time loving on them every evening when I feed them, but otherwise I don't go out and play with them like I used too because I know that we have to sell them.

I started advertising him about 3 weeks ago.

BTW, I just realized..maybe I should have photographed his other side. I just noticed it looks like he has a lump on his neck! That is actually just hair, he's never had any bumps, lumps, etc.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

He is a nice looking guy....I myself see alot of boer in him.... I had FB boer that had the lighter colored heads as well....... :wink: 

what you do to get a decent pic of him... is to hold up the feed or stuff that you are feeding him...such as in that picture...high enough ...but low enough to get his head to a proper position....don't feed it to him....maybe just here and there....try to get plenty of shots that way....or tie his head level ...or to the position desired as he looks at the food........ Also hold up on the collar ...as if you are showing him...it will pull his neck less downward.... 

I also find having the camera ready at all times....and make a funny noise or sometimes that they perk up over.... those can be great shots...if captured at the right moment....

With the adds on craigslist... the adds get berried quickly...people just won't see them.....so they need to be resubmitted a new... to bring them up front at least weekly.... Maybe offer a bale of hay with purchase or something like that... to make the add more inviting to the buyer.... people like free things... :wink: :greengrin:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much for the help Pam  We'll see what happens with him  There is another sale in the third week of this month, so maybe we'll just get new pictures and try one more time. 
Noises don't work with them much anymore...I used to make silly noises all the time to get them to perk up that they are used to it now LOL!!! 

The other buckling might be sold, but trying to find out for sure. He's out of a kiko/boer, and looks more boer. They are both such sweeties, just love to be loved and hugged on. And they are best buddies too, always fun watching these two bully each other!


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## Dodge 'Em (Jan 13, 2011)

Have you tried the barter/trade part of craigslist...maybe for hay or something? I would post in other cities, also, in IN maybe tha is close to you? I have mine posted in Nashville and I have people calling from AL, east TN and Chattanooga. I re-post every few days. I think he is a nice little buck! Also advertise how hardy the Kiko is. Also put in key words at the bottom of the page like 4-H, Kiko, goat, billy, buck, whether, boer, nubian,.....any goat word that when they type it in, your ad will pull up, it doesnt matter if he isnt any of the key words, it just puts him in thier face and they might really like him.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I posted in the nearby city, Cincinnati and Louisville. I think we're going to try the auction today and see what happens. They dont sell a lot of goats there, and the times I have gone there just to look with a friend, goats have gotten into good homes, not just meat buyers. He's a real sweetie, but I know they all can't be bucks. Even with a better picture, I just don't know if he'll draw much attention  He's big and hanging out with does, and wants to breed..breed...breed and I'd rather him not be here and get hurt by the buck since he is so interested. Long story about what happened to the pen I had the boys in! It's called husband + his bright idea = now I'm short one pen!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good luck....hope it all works out.... :hug:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

It went really well yesterday, better than I thought it would go. He sold for a good price IMO If he were selling for meat, then we got $1.67 lb. for what he sold for.
The man that bought him bought him and some does, and he overheard me talking to another woman who had a doe in the same pen with him who was fullblooded boer and just the right age to start breeding, and we kind of joked that someone should buy my buckling and their doe and breed them... So anyway...this guy bought them both LOL
There were lots of goats there, a lot looked like dairy, they had some nice looking young boer wethers. I didn't see any sickly looking goats this time, just some that could use weight, and some were old. 
A woman brought her nubian wethers, they were soooo sooo cute! 
But there was this one little doe, guessing a pygmy mix, but I am probably way off...she was sooo sooo little, but weaned, and pure white. She kept sneaking out of the pen and following this little girl around! It was soooo cute, they put her in another pen and she was sticking her head through a hole in the wood gate looking for that little girl!
So the little girl's mom bought her for her! Sooooo stinking cute those two were! The girl already had her named, and nobody else bid on her because they knew how badly this little girl wanted her 

So it wasn't an awful experience. I admit, I was in tears after I dropped him off..I felt soooooo guilty! When we came back before he sold, he stood at the front of the pen so we could pet him. But then he went and hid in the back of the pen behind the boer doe ignoring us....so those final pats...he knew we were saying goodbye. 
I took it much easier after that, my kids aren't affected at all. Of course I miss my cry baby  I miss his pretty face, but at least whomever bought him might be using him for more than meat.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I am glad that it was a nice experience.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad you received a good price for him....congrats... :hi5: :thumb:


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## jodief100 (Jan 15, 2011)

I hope this does not come across as cold or harsh. I do not intend to be critical, just informative. 

I believe that anyone who is going to get involved in livestock, be it cows, goats or chickens, needs to understand and accept that the majority of the males are going to be eaten. There are only so many “pet homes” out there. I suspect (and have some evidence to support it) that most of the people buying a “low priced” male animal on Craigslist is going to eat it, even if they say otherwise. Selling them low on CL or other forums just takes away income from you and potentially other producers by setting the market price lower than what customer demand can command. 

I love my animals and I make sure they have comfortable happy, albeit short lives. 

Just for future reference:
I think you are close to Louisville, you could have gotten a much better price taking them to the Richmond sheep and goat graded sale. Bluegrass Stockyards, sale is the 2nd Monday of each month. Last month kids between 60 and 80 lbs sold for $2.23/lb, 45-60 lbs at $2.38/lb. Keep in mind there s a 99% chance the goats sold at this auction will be eaten.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I can't help getting attached!  We have some little rabbits that we're going to eat, and oh, I am dreading it.



> But there was this one little doe, guessing a pygmy mix, but I am probably way off...she was sooo sooo little, but weaned, and pure white. She kept sneaking out of the pen and following this little girl around! It was soooo cute, they put her in another pen and she was sticking her head through a hole in the wood gate looking for that little girl!
> So the little girl's mom bought her for her! Sooooo stinking cute those two were! The girl already had her named, and nobody else bid on her because they knew how badly this little girl wanted her


Love that story! I hope they live happily ever after!


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## Hidden Waters Farm (Oct 3, 2010)

We sold a little Saanen wether to a family with 6 kids. He is what we would call a "dub" meaning a little to no value defective goat and they gave us $50 for him. It really depends on the time of year and the goat itself. I know around here many people prefer disbudded or polled goats, so that's a factor. If they are really colorful or have a nice pattern they are always prefered over something solid and "boring" from a pet standpoint.


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## potentialfarm (Apr 11, 2011)

jodief100 said:


> I hope this does not come across as cold or harsh. I do not intend to be critical, just informative.
> 
> I believe that anyone who is going to get involved in livestock, be it cows, goats or chickens, needs to understand and accept that the majority of the males are going to be eaten.


Although many of us do very much understand this, if you love your animals, you still feel sad. The only meat we eat, is meat we raise ourselves. I just sold my pet wether to help buy a new herdsire. Guess where he went? Yep, it's difficult at times. That's life, and when I stop feeling sad about it, I'll need to stand back & take a good look at what I've become.


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## DRJ Ranch (Apr 3, 2010)

When I started raising getting in this with my family I told them exactly what was going to happen to any animal we raised that it could end up on our dinner table or some one else if it didn't meet the breeding standards we were heading for.

So far they don't mind helping me raise the animals they wont be there for when I put it down but after I skin it they don't mind helping with the butchering process.

as far as prices go at the start of the month I was able to get $3.00lb for 10 wethers that went between 90 and 100lbs. I'm grass feed and it does take me longer to get to weight but it also alot cheaper.


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

If you were closer and he was a wether I'd have to take him.... He reminded me so much of my wether! :sigh: Praying you can find him a good home!


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