# Where to buy?



## Arkantex (Jul 9, 2012)

So, I was just wondering how/where you all bought your herds? I have been talking with the guy that I bought my 10 acres from. He still owns 50 and isn't doing anything at all with it. So, I might be leasing it from him to run some animals on. Sounds like tons of fun, except I don't know where to go about buying livestock from?


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## crazyland (Jul 9, 2012)

What kind of livestock? What area are you in? Are you willing to travel? What fencing do you currently have? 

Of course we have people here selling livestock. Your local agricultural dept can help too. 
Distance may be an issue. Or not. 
Different fencing needed for certain animals. 
I'm sure after these simple questions we can help narrow things down.


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## autumnprairie (Jul 9, 2012)

all of my herd came from western ARK from Craigslist hope this helps there should be breeders near you to google buying goats in your area. sale barns are not really a good place but some auction places can be beware of sick animals and always look at their hooves


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## lilhill (Jul 10, 2012)

I have purchased mine from all over the country.  It just depends on the quality of goat (if you want goats) you are willing to shell out for.


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## Arkantex (Jul 10, 2012)

Well, crazyland, I have answers for your questions.
We live in west texas. Just north of midland/odessa.
We are willing to travel. If it will save us money.
We aren't really sure what kind of livestock. I am open to raising any/all edible livestock, cows, goats, sheep, pigs... My wife on the other hand, not so much. So, I figure we will probably start with cows. Not sure on what breed though. I have heard that longhorns can be raised out here strictly on pasture without supplements, but I have also heard that they aren't as tasty. I guess it will depent on what I can get and for how much $$$. We aren't trying to start up a huge business or anything. Just trying to supply our own meat and possibly milk.
The fencing situation is interresting as well. So, here is the story. The guy that i bought the land from originally owned 80 and his bother owns 80 to the north. He built a house on the front 20 and ran cattle on the full160 acres. Then when he got out of the cattle business and moved into town, he sold the front 20 with the house. That was 15-20 years ago. So I bought 10 of his remaining 60, but the whole 160 is fenced together with 4 strand barbed wire. So I would definitely have to put up some fencing. Open to ideas on that.


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## animalmom (Jul 11, 2012)

I'm in North Central Texas, about 2 hours SouthWest-ish of the Dallas/Fort Worth.  At one time we had someone running a herd of Texas longhorns on our property.  They seemed to do just fine with nothing but what grew native and lots of water.  This herd had a registered bull and if I think hard enough I might remember what it was.  The herd owner always claimed that the longhorn cows had an easier time birthing and more self-sufficient (would eat mesquite trees and cactus if they had to).  They seemed to do just fine.  

If your wife isn't all that thrilled with the idea of livestock, and you want to go ahead with your plans,  my advise would be to look at Nigerian Dwarf goats (which I sell) or mini-manchas or mini nubians or mini Alpines... the smaller dairy goat.  Our herd does real well with 4' welded wire fencing, 2" x 4".  The smaller size might bring her around to appreciating livestock.  They have great personalities, easy to handle, relatively easy to milk and a whole lot of fun. Most of the time  

If you are interested in seeing our ranch why don't you send me a message and we can arrange a tour.  Housing is simple, fencing is a whole lot simpler than for regular goats and cattle, and these little goats can serve both as dairy and meat if that is one of your considerations. 

AnimalMom


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jul 11, 2012)

*I just google searched for breeders of the particular animals I was looking for.

I also used Craigslist.

And I also got references from people in the area. 

It took me a good three months of searching to get my little herd of six together. *


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## Arkantex (Jul 11, 2012)

Well, it's not that she is against having livestock. It's that we are wanting to supply ourselves with meat and possibly milk. That way we would be raising all or at least the majority of our own meat. We have never eaten goat so she doesn't want to even think about them until we try some. We have some friends that we go to church with that raise meat goats. They said that they will give us a little to try next time the slaughter but they aren't sure when that will be.  We eat lamb on occasion. She likes it but doesn't want that to be all we eat meat wise because it has such a rich flavor.  This all brought me to the thought that we should start out with cows. We both love beef.

My ideal setup would be to have a little bit of all/most. I would love to eventually have 3-5 cows for milking and meat, 2 or 3 dual purpose goats, a couple sheep, a couple pigs, and my chickens.

I am a long way from that right now though. My thoughts are start with something small (we started with chickens), slowly add on as we have time/resources to accomodate.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jul 11, 2012)

you can go to fairs or shows and meet breeders, hang out at the barns

google search specific breeds that you are interested in to find farm websites  For example:  Long horns for sale texas

craigslist


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## animalmom (Jul 11, 2012)

Since you have chickens, who would love to take care of any table scraps you may have, may I suggest meat rabbits?  Easy to handle, fabulous lean meat, and easy care.  Rabbits want shade in Texas, will breed like, well like rabbits in the fall, winter and spring, and tend to just hang out during the summer.   Their droppings, rabbit berries, are good fertilizer which you can add immediately to your garden, or landscape plants.  Their berries are not "hot" like chicken droppings are.  Chicken poop is good fertilizer too, but you have to dry it out first.

Sounds like you are in a good position to look, plan, and figure out what you really want to do... like be organized.  Good luck with your planning and keep us posted!


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## that's*satyrical (Jul 11, 2012)

I found most of mine on craigslist. That being said I also made sure the goats were healthy/tested & looked for goats that originated from good lines. I got some really good deals on some really nice healthy goats. Even ended up with a second hand disbudder & some extra goat food & nutridrench for basically free. I did pay pretty close to common asking price for registered does for a couple of my goats that I got directly from the breeders.


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## currycomb (Jul 11, 2012)

how much traveling do you like to do? getting stock can hold you pretty close to home. we get day trips, if the weather co-operates. the horses and goats are easy. fill a bunch of water tanks, set out some round bales of hay, double check fence, ask a neighbor to look in on them. rabbits and chickens, not so much. rabbits need checked 2X a day minimum, eggs need gathered daily and refrigerated. now if you are milking a cow or goats, 2X a day to keep the milk production up. then you have the cats and dogs to care for. need to get these figured out before you get into a situation you don't like


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## Arkantex (Jul 11, 2012)

We take weekend trips often and I get 2 weeks of vacation a year. So, I guess you'd say we travel quite a bit. That being said, right now we have friends who will come check the chickens every day when we go out of. They keep the eggs as "payment". We also have alot of friends whose children we can pay to come take care of the daily chores while we are gone.


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## Arkantex (Jul 11, 2012)

Well good news and bad news. I found a local ranch that has longhorns. They are 100% pasture fed. They don't supplement at all. I got a call in to the Rancher and he answered alot of my questions. He doesn't sell cattle on a small basis. He said he sells them by the truck load... Literally. But, he did give me the number for another rancher who sells on a smaller scale. Thats the good news. 

So the bad news. I asked the rancher about what is the ratio out here as far as cows go out here in the west texas dryland. He said I would be able to run 1 longhorn  per 50-60 acres with no supplements. That got me kind of discouraged. I was really hoping that I could run at least 2. At least a bull and heifer. That way I can throw a calf into the freezer every once and a while. Or, get 2 heifers and pay for a bull to come by every once and a while. So, now I have a lot of thinking to do...


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## bonbean01 (Jul 11, 2012)

We started out small here...first with pharoh quails...just a few...got eggs...bought a little styrofoam incubator, hatched my first batch and made a brooder...got totally hooked...LOLOL...did several hundred chicks that way.  Then decided for the cost of the more expensive feed for them and the tiny eggs and small amount of meat, to quit doing quail and go to bantam chickens.  Meant extending the grow out pens and adding an outside area for them during the day.  

We were tied down with them and our two dogs anyway, so decided to look into sheep.  Talked to and spent time with hair sheep breeders in our area and slowly started up our little herd...lots of learning along the way.  Glad we did it slowly and we came to love these sheep and lambing time is amazing...loss of sleep, worry...and super adorable lambs!  Rather smitten we are by our little herd 

Now we have a large breed chicken, Rhode Island Reds and that meant we spent last winter turning the chicken pens into condos for added height, and doubling the fenced outside yard too.  Also fenced in a larger pasture area to be able to do rotational pasture grazing for the sheep...our little herd right now is at the maximum for our acres and is at 9...will have 7 of them due to lamb around January if all goes as planned.  

We did this slowly as you can see and have no regrets...there was much to learn every step of the way.  My advice is not rush into livestock in a big way to start with.  Takes some time to learn...money to have the equipment and medical supplies in line, and know if this is what you really want to do.  It is taking on a lifestyle that changes things.  For us, we love it...but it is not for everyone.

Have not taken a trip since starting our little farming adventure unless it is separate...me to Europe both times my daughter had her babies, me to Canada to visit my family, and my husband to Florida to visit his family.  Vacations together are just not happening and instead we have families come visit here and they love the animals, chickens, pond of catfish and this lifestyle.  

This is a joint venture, so I would also be sure that your wife is into it too.  Takes us both loving it to make this work.  We do this together, but if one of us is not able, it can be done by one person.

Good luck and hope you find what works for you!    p.s...hope I didn't bore you to tears...LOLOL...but thought maybe another person's adventure would be helpful


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## redtailgal (Jul 11, 2012)

Arkantex.........you have a guardian angel who wanted me to point something out to you.  She will remain un-named, but she is looking out for you.

I would hesitate to be so discouraged so quickly based on what that farmer told you.

How many cattle you can put on your land has may variables.  

Consider your land........well cared for and properly maintained land can sustain more cattle than poor land,

Consider your water table.......a low water table will lower the number of cattle you can sustain

and Consider the stock you purchase......solid well bred healthy stock that are adapted to the climate and conditions you will be putting them in will have a substantial affect on the amount of cattle you can sustain.

Dont drop your dream over one farmers negativity.


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## Arkantex (Jul 12, 2012)

Well thanks for the story bonbean. That is pretty much how I want to do it. A little here, a little there.  

redtail thanks for the incouragement. I talked to a co worker that does alot of work for some of the ranches in our area. He told me that I should be able to support 1 head of cattle per 16 acres or so. He said that that rancher's land is mostly sand hills with very little growing on it. So, he has to have a lot of land to support animals. Where as, my land and the land around me is alot better land. Plus it hasn't had animals on it in a long time. My c0o worker is going to take me over to the ranch that he does the most work on, which happens to be within 5 miles of me. He said that rancher will be able to give me better info on what I will need and what my land will support.


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## autumnprairie (Jul 12, 2012)

That is great news Arkantex


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## bonbean01 (Jul 12, 2012)

Hope this works out for you Arkantex...it really is a wonderful lifestyle!!!!  Sorry my story was so long...LOLOL.  Some of our city friends think we are nuts, but I notice they enjoy coming here for a vacation and really getting into it


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## Baymule (Jul 12, 2012)

Since livestock is all new to you, maybe you don't need to jump into breeding stock. Stick your foot in the water before you jump in. Get a feeder calf to butcher. The length of time you keep it before you butcher it will give you valuable experience and consideration whether or not you want animals that big. Small stock does have advantages. The young (kids, lambs) grow out quicker and the smaller size makes them easier to handle than say......a 2,000 pound bull. Go slow and don't get in over your head. Make livestock a positive experience rather than a stressed, "why did I do this?"


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