# what's the "average" price for does/doelings/bucks?



## Vickir73 (Jun 29, 2012)

I know there is going to be a lot of opinions on the pricing and a lot of it will depend on what type of breed/age (I'm going to assume we are only talking about registered animals); however, I'm looking for just an idea of how much I should expect to pay for an animal.  I'm assuming a doeling is under a year old, a yearling is between 1-2 years, but never bred, and a doe is anything that has had kids and is in milk (or dry).  A buck, I'm not sure of the age differences.

Since I'm just learning, is there a big price difference in "SQ" animals and have a history in the ring and animals that are registered but have no show history? i.e. if a breeder's wants $200 for a doeling that comes from a line that has had good results in the ring and another breeder wants $200 but has never shown any of their animals is this acceptable?  I know a lot of it just depends what I want the animal for, but if I just want a great back yard milker should I be looking for a different price than if I wanted a great milker that was going to do good (hopefully) in the ring too?  Is $200 a good price for a week old doe, but it should be more for a 6 month old doe? or is $200 a good price for a 6 month old?


I've been researching different breeder's website (and breeds to determine what I want to buy next) and here's the prices I've been seeing - doelings (around 3 months old) $200; does (in milk) $550; bucks $100-200.  

I've been in the chicken world long enough to be able to know what's reasonable and what's not - but with the goats I'm clueless and want to (try to anyway) not let myself get "taken" so any guidance in this area would be great.  I know we might all be willing to pay a little extra for one we feel in love with or had been looking for for a long time, but I was hoping for an idea of when I should run away screaming because the price is just ludicrous or when I should start asking more pointed questions because the price is too low.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 29, 2012)

If they are nice goats then $200 is good. Registered stock at $200  is a good price for the kind of goats you want. Something like a Boer or Kiko would cost you more, but most dairy goats are not as costly. I would take them at $200.


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## SarahFair (Jun 29, 2012)

Around here a reg. nubian can go for about $350 a pop. 
If I was just milking and not into showing I would go for a unregistered good tempermented goat over a fancy brat for $200...


I call a female goat a doe and a goat under 8 months a doeling


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 29, 2012)

*Around here registered from show & milking lines are as follows:

A bottle baby doe is anywhere from $200 to $400. 

A yearling unbred is $300-$500.

And a doe in milk is $400-$800.

Pretty standard prices as I have found out from months of researching the local breeders.*


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## mama24 (Jun 29, 2012)

Registered goats are very expensive here. I have been looking for some purebred Saanens, but all I can find are registered, which I don't care about, but you won't pay less than $500 for a registered full-grown young doe, whether she's in milk or not. Other breeds seem to be a little less. Alpines are also expensive here. I buy mixed breed goats b/c I don't care about papers, etc, as long as they are good milkers. My best milker is a yearling first freshener that I paid $125 for already bred mid-winter. She is half Saanen, half Boer, and gives me about a gallon of milk a day. I paid the same for my 50% Kiko doe, but purebred Kikos go for a heck of a lot more! I also think I got a discount b/c I'm friends with the guy I bought them from. Most mixed breed yearlings like I got go more for like $150-175. You won't pay less than $175 for a purebred bottle buckling/doeling here, sometimes cheaper, as little as $125, but I suspect there is something wrong when I see one going that cheap. I just bought 2 twin doelings today for $75 each. They are only 7 weeks old but their mom was weaning them already and they're eating well. I hope they do alright. I might make my good milker nurse them twice a day while I'm milking till they get a bit bigger. Their mom was a purebred registered Alpine, and their dad is a purebred registered Saanen. I don't think they're currently registered, but they could be, anyway. She bought them from a big goat dairy. Since the babies are mixed, I got them cheap. That's the average price here for mixed breed weanlings.


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## lilhill (Jun 30, 2012)

When  you are purchasing registered goats,  you are purchasing genetics.  Even if their parents have been shown and did well in the show ring, there is no guarantee that the kids will be that next Grand Champion doe or buck.  The same can be said for milk lines.  Their sire and dam and grand sire and grand dam and all the way back for 5 generations may be loaded with milk stars, but there is no guarantee that the kid(s) will produce like that.  So the genetic package is what you get and that's why in the goat circles, some kids cost much more than others.  They have the genetic POTENTIAL to do as well as their sire and dam, and that depends on how the kids are maintained.  If they are thrown out on pasture and not given good feed, good hay, routine maintenance, etc., then they probably won't meet those expectations.

It costs just as much to feed and maintain an unregistered/grade goat as it does to feed a registered one and their kids sell for more than unregistered/pet quality animals.


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