# Pricing Kids



## Bona Fide (Oct 9, 2007)

Hey - just wondering, how do you price your kids? I know theres a lot that goes into pricing a kid, more so than one would think off hand, but I would like to think that I would offer good prices to people on some nice stock, but at the same time, I don't want to give them away.
Any suggestions? I know it's all personal but having two breeds to boot, I know about what they're bringing in the area, I know what they're worth to me, but I also want buyers (the right buyers) when the time comes ...
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

I was wondering that too, since I've never sold anything animal wise except puppies before. =)


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Last yr someone tried to talk me way down and I dedided that I would rather put them in my own freezer than give them away.
If you run across the same thing price your animals a little high. There are some cultures where it is customary to wheel & deal.
I sold a yrlg Nubian doe to someone for $150, the lady asked me if I was sure as in she was probably worth more but I couln'dt very well go back on my word. I didn't tell her there had been a $50 deposit on her and that buyer had not picked her up 6 mos earlier nor had returned my calls. 
Someone else wanted an unreg buckling and I needed feed from her area so we traded...I paid for the feed and she hauled it. It was a great deal!
Someone bought a couple of weaned boys & a yrlg in one pkg, they talked me out of $10 but came back a few weeks later for another.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

As far as Nigerians go, I don't knwo how to price those, but with standard size dairy goats it depends upon the quality of the dam, conformation and milk production of the dam, and of course if the kids are purebred, american or grades. Kids out of my best does are around $250 and up, kids out of my first fresheners are $200, I don't sell bucks out of first fresheners, kids out of grades are $100 and up. I all depends. After I start showing next year my prices are going to go up.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I really think it all depends on the market in your area. I would never go lower than $300 on any of my doe kids. Unless they had a diqualifying fault, in which case they would be the price of a wether - $75. I myself price doe and buck kids the same, because I only sell the kids worthy of being her sires. I do not want to over charge on my kids either. But I have done alot of research on my bloodlines and have aquired goats from all over the country (literally). So just find out what works for you.


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## Pam B (Oct 15, 2007)

Around here if you want to sell a registered goat for pedigreed prices you'll have to sell at shows because the community will not pay those kind of prices. When I first got into goats I thought I wanted to have registered goats so I could get higher prices for the kids. After a few years of sending beautiful kids off to the auction because I couldn't sell them locally for the prices they should have brought, I finally decided that for my purposes it was better to not worry about pedigrees and registration.

My goats all would do well in the show ring (except for Freckles who is a whole breed of goat unto herself!) and they all are descended from prize winning stock. But I sell the kids to people who just want pets or milk goats for their family. I just raised my prices a little this year because of the rising cost of feeding them, but I'm still selling them for what people outside of my area consider to be ridiculously low prices. At least I'm selling them and not having to feed them until they are butchering size.

I get $60 for a buckling or wether kid and $80 for a doeling. I get $120 for an unproven yearling doe or buck and $150 for a doe in milk. I have Nubians.


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## DancinGoatGal (Oct 5, 2007)

I won't sell my registered Nigerians for under $200 - unless it's going to a really good home and they've bought goats from me before.

My prices raised a good bit this year because of the cost of feed! It got to be crazy..

http://www.geocities.com/muffin8990/bre ... ender.html shows what my price ranges are...

I can get most of those prices around here. Sometimes I go down a little, esp. if I think some one will give the goat a good home! 

I won't go under the following:
$50 for a wether
$125 for a Grade Doe
$100 for a grade buck out of one of my good grade does.
$175 for a Purebred or American Doe or Buck
Or $200 for a Nigierian doe or buck


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## fcnubian (Oct 23, 2007)

Well my show nubians are priced between $150-$300. 

They are purebreds ADGA reg. They are up to date on bose, cd/t, worming, and disbudded before leaving here. They are raised on CAE prevention so I or my mother is present for all births. 

When deciding the price the quality of an animal makes a big difference. 

I also own pet pygmys. They are priced $50-$75.


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

I price my kids according to bloodlines, eye color, conformation, horn status, show quality or pet quality, registration status. My animals are breeding stock and not sold for meat so I would charge differently for meat animals....like $1 per pound.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

My kids usually start at $150 for does without papers. Sometimes i will sell a doe for less, even if she has the breeding behind her but in my minds eye doesn't apear as nice as the other kids. For instance i had some great kids born this year. One set of triplet does. There were two that showed well. are very large flat boned dairy kids. The third kid although out of the same litter, is smaller shorter and boxy. For a long time she looked like a pygmy kid, and she is an alpine. I sold her to someone as a milking doe for future use. without papers. she has great milking lines behind her but i don't think she will make it in the ring. 

When people come to me looking for goats i ask them what the want it for. if i don't have what they want in their price range i try to direct them somewhere else. People around here don't seem to understand the quality of blood lines. I had one guy told me i was crazy for asking two hundred for a doe that was out of a buck whos dam was first place at nationals. 

I also had a lady tell me i was crazy for paying $700 for that buck. He made tremendous improvements in my herd. 

So as you see from other posts it all depends on your area your feelings the quality of stock you have and how little or how much you are willing to let them go for.

beth


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## jBlaze (Oct 9, 2007)

I think that your ability to advertise matters also. If you have a neat web-site or something else that gets more buyers looking, you can get that show price. If you only have the local paper and local folks wanting pets and milkers, thats the price you'll get. I really need a web-site! :wink: :lol:


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

yep you do!!!! thay are easy...if you need help, just post it on here and you will get all the help you need.


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## jBlaze (Oct 9, 2007)

mostly a time issue. I have a full time job and my youngest child is 9 months. Someday, maybe after the laundry gets folded... hahaha :lol:


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## fritzie (Oct 6, 2007)

all my kids are priced at $250 out of first freashners. then depending on the dams udder & show record they go up from there. my buck kids are priced the same way unless they are going with out papers or castrated.


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## debpnigerians (Oct 20, 2007)

My wethers go for $50, registered or not. All my Nigerians are NDGA/AGS registered, and doelings go for $200 to $300, bucks about the same although I will go a little lower on a buck from a first freshener. But if I wouldn't use him on one of my does, I usually won't sell him intact period. I say usually because there have been times when the car needed a new radiator and that buyer just insisted they wanted THAT goat, so .....!


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## moonspinner (Oct 5, 2007)

A myriad of factors could go into pricing. 
1) The market in various areas of the country can vary greatly. Check around and see what's comparable for the quality.
2) Bloodline of your goats including show winners and milk stars, reputation of certain pedigrees, etc. Some bloodlines are more in demand than others.
3) Accomplishments of sales animals in ring and in milk pail.
4) If adults what is their conformation like, any major defects, horned vs disbudded, etc. How are milkers attachments, capacity, etc. Kids can be tougher as they are more potential than anything. 
5) Other factors that can affect pricing are temperament (is the goat easy to handle or skittish), age, polled or not, blue eyed (some charge extra some don't), even color.


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## ksacres (Oct 30, 2007)

In my area we have two main factors:
TRULY high feed costs
VERY low demand (mainly due to feed cost factors)

My babies are priced between $75 and $150 now if they aren't pre-reserved I will change prices depending on individual quality. I NEVER change prices on reserved kids-I've had people do that to me, not cool.

Milkers generally start at $200, though I did sell one for $100 as a family milker because the quality just wasn't there-but she had a nicely attached, productive udder that would stand up to years of use-she just wasn't pretty! But I have culled everything out of my herd that I feel was of lesser quality and probably won't have any milkers that low.

Proven bucks start at $250, though I did sell one once to auction that I felt wasn't producing what I thought he should be.

**MOST IMPORTANT** Do not sell any buckling you wouldn't keep yourself, this is important because a buck has the potential to have a much greater influence on a herd- a buck can produce almost an unlimited number of kids in a year, a doe is limited to what her body can carry. Bucks are MORE than half your herd. This is also why you should start with the VERY best quality buck you can afford.


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## Graffogefarms (Oct 11, 2007)

*depends*

I think prices will depend on what you are doing, milk recorded, vaccninated, scrapies, CAE monitored will usually be more than those not? Goats are not abundant at the minute and the days of getting one for $50 I think are gone as people start realizing their value.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

> I think prices will depend on what you are doing, milk recorded, vaccninated, scrapies, CAE monitored will usually be more than those not?


Not necessarily(those things are usually practiced by most herds) genetics, lines, performance and show records also are going to vary into how much a goat is going to cost.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I would say that the price MOSTLY depends on genetics and how well your herd is doing in the show ring. There are not that many nigerian herds on test.


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## Graffogefarms (Oct 11, 2007)

*pricing*

So hypothetically speaking what would I expect to pay for a good doeling, from good milk lines, cae, scrapies, vaccinated against everything including Blue Tongue, and a good buckling as well? Dehorned. B


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

CAE prevention(and some do testing too), Scrapie ID and vaccinations are practiced by many herds. I don't know of any herds that test for BT.
Depending upon the lines(you're buying kids in this country to import to Ireland right?) you can expect to pay $300-$1000 for quality kids from great lines. 
In my experience, for does, I usually buy doe kids from first fresheners who have been bred to a well proven buck, or a buck with incredible and proven lines. For bucks, I always say don't be afraid to go all out on bucks. A buck IS your herd and your buck is going to be the main thing as far as influence goes. Research your lines, don't be afraid to pay $500-$1000 for a buck, he will be payed for in one kidding season.
Another thing I have done to save a little money is buying goats from people who buy goats from great lines, I have done this on several occasions and the animals are of course, equally nice as if you were to buy from a well known herd.
If you need any help with the LaMancha lines etc, let me know, I have studied them well and I can help you out.


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