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DOES: We have 30 select young does born in February - May 2009 for sale. These are fullblood, percentage and purebred does out of our SDK Hank, SDK Magic and a few from our SDK Loaded Up (WideLoad) . Call or email for pricing and to set up to see them.
BUCKS: We have just a few bucks left from our 2009 spring kidding crop for sale at this time.
We are also offering our SDK ALL TRICKED UP buck for sale. He has thrown some very showy kids and wethers. He is priced at $1,200.00
FOR
THOSE JUST GETTING STARTED:
We
get many calls for people that are just getting started and want “cheap”
goats. They tell us that they just want goats for the backyard and are looking
to pay maybe $50.00 for a goat. You may get a $50.00 goat from the stockyard,
but you will get what you pay for there. We have put a lot of time and effort
into our stock and will only sell goats off our place that still meet breed
standards and will do well for you whether you plan on just grazing them in
your backyard, or are looking to start a meat goat business. If you are just getting started you
don’t need to purchase 20 head.
Our advice:
- Start
with 5-10 younger does to breed – or 5 bred does
- If
you have never had livestock – 5 bred does after kidding season will tell
you if this is for you or not!
- Cost: The does will probably range from
$200 for younger does to $500 for bred does, depending upon which direction
you will be going (show/breeding stock, wether stock or just pasture
stock)
- Do
your homework and know which direction you want to go into. Look for structure and natural bone
and muscle in your does. Look
at teat structure, do not buy does that are more than two functional teats
on each side, or cluster teats.
Look for good bites.
Look for well balanced does, whose sires and dams have good
production in their backgrounds. It costs just as much to feed bad does as
it does to feed go od ones!
- Buy
the 5 or 10 does from one breeder.
Your chances of healthy goats and goats that will get along and have
strong immune systems are better when purchasing goats from one
breeder.
- Select
goats from a quality breeder.
Breeders that have strong management practices and thrive on
production not just show wins, will give you a better base for productive
goats.
- Know
what you are getting into. Cost of feed (grain and hay), minerals,
vaccinations, and management including vet expenses.
- Know
who/where a good vet is in your area.
When you get started, contact a vet in your area that you can
work with. It is better to get a management program started from the
beginning, and be able to call a vet when you have a problem and they know
you, rather than having to make that Sunday 4pm call, and not knowing them,
and them not knowing you.
- Have
good facilities. Even if you
are only going to raise them on pasture, have a good continuous water
source, have cover (and enough cover for every goat you have) to get out of
the sun, rain and wind. Have
good fences to keep them in and predators out.
- Have
a medicine kit ready, including, syringes, needles, penicillin, vitamin B,
probiotics, CD & T, iodine, rubber gloves for starters.
- A
buck? Do you need a buck to
start with? If you are
purchasing does younger than 9 months and don’t want to breed until they are
13-15 mos of age, you can start just with the does, and get them used to
your place before introducing the buck. That way you can review your stock,
learn a little more about them and then go out and purchase a buck that will
enhance your does into the direction that you want to go. Do you need to purchase the buck
from the same place that you did the does? Not necessarily. But be sure to keep the buck
isolated from the does for at least 30 days to be sure that you don’t bring
any disease or other health issues into your herd. If you start with bred does, then
you are already there, and we wouldn’t purchase a buck until you decide that
one of those in your herd won’t work. Of course, you don’t want to breed him
back to his dam, but you can make the decision from that point about
purchasing another buck and breed those does back at 5 to 6 months after
they have kidded.
HOW
DO YOU MARKET YOUR GOATS?
This
is something that we are asked constantly. This depends also on what type of
goats you are raising. Are you
raising just meat goats for meat?
Wether goats for those in the Fairs and CJLA Show Wethers? Breeding and Show Stock?
- BREEDING
& SHOW STOCK
- Attend
shows and get your show stock out there. Advertise in the show books and
get some wins under your be lt.
Talk to many different breeders and learn, meet and greet. Don’t be discouraged if you take
your stock out and don’t place well in the first shows. It takes time and effort, and the
competition is very tough.
- Get
involved in the Associations, in helping with the shows, and within the
fairs to help get the youth involved.
- Join
together with others to get sales going, talk to equipment and feed
distributors and basically get your name out
there.
- MEAT
GOATS AND WETHERS
- Attend
seminars like the BREEDER, LEADER & FEEDER seminars and learn about
the types of meat goats and wethers that the market is looking for.
- Get
yourself involved, learn about the shows and fairs in your area and
surrounding areas and what their weight limits are, what types of general
rules there are and how to get involved to let the youth know where you
are.
- Get
out to the fairs and watch and learn. Help support the youth at the
auctions, as an add on bidder, or helping to purchase their
projects
- Help
by donating prizes and or time at the shows.< /B>
- Help
out the fairs by offering to put up literature about goats in their
displays – on Meat Goats and Wethers.
- The
best advice though is to LEARN, LISTEN, And LEAD. If you know what the area needs
and what the kids are looking for, you can help by getting involved and
learning more, listening to what the judges say in the ring to enhance
your program, and become involved in either helping to put on seminars,
teaching the kids in your area by having an open house, and Leading them
to you!
- PASTURE
RAISED GOATS FOR MEAT OR BREEDING
- Many
of the livestock auction yards and meat markets are good places to sell
your stock. Advertising in
local ethnic markets will help bring people to you, and once you have them
coming, their friends will tell their friends and their friends will tell
their friends. You just need
to be sure to keep animals at all times of the year, so that they keep
coming back.
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