# selling kid problems



## RPC (Aug 5, 2011)

Does anyone else have problems selling kids this time of year? I have a 3 month old boer buckling that is about 50-55 pounds and it seems like no one wants him. I think he could make a nice buck but right now I am thinking he will just go to the auction barn. I have no space to keep him and I want to get his mom bred. I am asking what I think is a fair price. I have him reduced to $125. He is a commercial buckling so he is not papered but I really thought he would have sold by now or atleast had some sort of offers on him. What am I doing wrong. Is it just the time of year?


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## ksalvagno (Aug 5, 2011)

I think part of it is time of year. My last kid took a couple months to sell. All the 4H kids have what they want and no one seems to be looking to buy goats. Maybe try some of the online livestock sales sites.


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## RPC (Aug 5, 2011)

OK I do have him on craigslist and in the free ad paper which is a paper in our surrounding area to sell things in.


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## smoky73 (Aug 5, 2011)

Not sure how things are on your state but the only time young kids sell in my area is around May when the Spanish want them for.  Cinco de mayo. All I have are unregistered goats and males are hard to sell outside of the auction house even when they have been banded. We usually end up waiting at least 8 months to a year for decent price. I could never get over $50 for a kid that size here.


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## freemotion (Aug 5, 2011)

You need to reach your ethnic population, whatever it is in your area, that values goat meat or pasture raised meat.  They are not likely reading the English ads.....find out how to advertise to the communities that would buy goats any time of year.  Maybe flyers or go into a restaurant or small business owned by......fill in the blanks.  I've had the migrant workers inquire about my goats and I just have a few dairy does!  They were buying rabbits next door for $10 for a live young rabbit.  

I was offered $150 for a dairy buckling about the size of yours by some Jamaicans that work with my dh.  I was keeping him for breeding and still the guys pestered dh about buying him.

There are buyers out there, just gotta find them and let them know you have a goat for them.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 5, 2011)

I have had terrible luck selling to the ethnic population in our area, they don't want to pay anything for them and they think if they offer to buy 3 they can get a great deal on them. One guy was trying to buy my entire year supply for a deal. He said, " we can work something out." I said, " why don't you come into the stockyards and bid on them." He said, " We can work a better deal than that."  I would rather take my chances at the stockyards than give them away on my farm.


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## Roll farms (Aug 5, 2011)

That's why I hate kidding past March...dairy kids are the only thing I have any luck selling past May.

I haven't been able to sell Shawnee or her boys and I'm asking 600$ less than I gave...


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 6, 2011)

yup, selling after May isn't easy around here either. Everyone seems to be thinking of starting herds or adding to their herds in the spring.


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## Ariel301 (Aug 8, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> I have had terrible luck selling to the ethnic population in our area, they don't want to pay anything for them and they think if they offer to buy 3 they can get a great deal on them. One guy was trying to buy my entire year supply for a deal. He said, " we can work something out." I said, " why don't you come into the stockyards and bid on them." He said, " We can work a better deal than that."  I would rather take my chances at the stockyards than give them away on my farm.


Yeah, the Hispanics here will buy them, but they don't want to pay more than $20 for a full sized goat (and it has to be really big and fat at that) and $5 for milk-fed kids. They were trying to offer $20 for $1000 champion milking does in full milk a few months ago, because they "looked really meaty and tender"  

It's pretty hard to sell male goats here any time of year (except in the fall to Muslims, but then they must be bucks with horns and no ear tags or tattoos). Females will go pretty well, but in the town I live in, no one wants to pay $100 for a pedigreed, registered doeling from a 2-gallon a day dam when they can buy a crossbred poor quality goat kid for $10 down the road, they just don't understand the difference in quality.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 8, 2011)

I just had someone call and want to buy my June commercial kids, so they can finish feeding them out.  He said he is having a heck of a time filling his orders. I am thinking I just might try to make a deal with them and unload them, since we are tight on space and these kids weren't my main kid crop they were some extras I bred to see how a new billy would do. I am going to keep 2 doelings out of the group to see how they grow out.

I had commented about $2 a pound live weight and I could weigh them accurately and he didn't say, no way. But I don't think a couple of them are more than 25lbs, They aren't growing the best on summer pasture on yearling dams, and I haven't been able to set-up my normal creep-feed zone, since my barn is slammed full of the kids fair projects. 

I told him they weren't anything to brag about. 

  I weaned my Feb. kids at 8 weeks at pretty much 40 to 55 lbs each and These are going to be 8 weeks and average 25lbs.

I am just gripping.   was hoping to get a little more money than that.


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## RPC (Aug 8, 2011)

I wish someone would even inquire about my buckling. I just want him gone. And not one person is interested. Well I take that back one lady said when she got the money she would come look at him 4 weeks ago. So i e-mailed her and she said she already got one but thanks anyway.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 9, 2011)

The market still seems to be pretty good around here, I took some 40 and 50lb kids into the stockyards around a month ago and got a steady $2 a pound for them, eventhough they were the bottom of my February kid crop, my left-over whethers that didn't sell for fair projects. 

We had 32 kids and we only ended up with 5 left that we couldn't sell off the farm. We just don't have room to keep feeding them out so at some point no matter how much or how little they weigh we take them into our local stockyard and move on with the next group. 


You all don't butcher any for yourselves?  My son was wanting us to butcher a couple this year, and I told him if I didn't sell the June kids, I would hold a couple to butcher, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. I will have to promise him one or two next time. and just decide for sure that I am keeping them back for him.


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 9, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> You all don't butcher any for yourselves?  My son was wanting us to butcher a couple this year, and I told him if I didn't sell the June kids, I would hold a couple to butcher, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. I will have to promise him one or two next time. and just decide for sure that I am keeping them back for him.


I think that's what we're going to have to do with our Oberhasli wether.  I had no luck selling him, so I banded him and I'd rather not sell him until his scrotum falls off. It's taking a while and I'm having to battle flies to keep it clean.  At this rate, it'd be better for me to feed him out and for us to eat him come fall.  There won't be much meat on him I'm guessing, but at least we'd get something out of it and won't have to feed him through winter.


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## ksalvagno (Aug 9, 2011)

RPC - do wethers sell better in your area? I made the decision that if any of my male kids didn't sell by 8 - 10 weeks old, then they get banded and sold as wethers. I just can't afford to keep a bunch of intact males around. I learned my lessons from alpacas that you don't hang onto a male as a breeding prospect even if he really is a good one. There are too many males out there and not enough need for breeding males. Needless to say, I did band some males that I really felt would have made great bucks but they sold like hotcakes as wethers.

I did also recently take a buck in to the processor that didn't sell. I needed to bring my buck count down to 3. So we will have some ground meat for the freezer. I have to admit that it was sort of hard to do since he was such a nice male (meaning very sweet personality and loved attention) but my males have gone into rut and the smell is becoming something else. I have Nigerians so it will be interesting to see how much meat I get back. But honestly, taking him to the processor is significantly cheaper than having the vet put him down and no matter how much meat it is, I'm getting something for the money I'm spending.


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## RPC (Aug 9, 2011)

Honestly this is my first male I am selling so I don't know if a wether would sell better or not. We just started 2 years ago with 2 does and the kids were shown in 4-H. That is the sole reason we have them is for my nieces to show them. I do know that at the sale barn the bucks sell better then the wethers.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 9, 2011)

RPC said:
			
		

> Honestly this is my first male I am selling so I don't know if a wether would sell better or not. We just started 2 years ago with 2 does and the kids were shown in 4-H. That is the sole reason we have them is for my nieces to show them. I do know that at the sale barn the bucks sell better then the wethers.


I would think you are better leaving him intact, gives you more opportunities in the market, can always castrate him if someone wants it done.


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## RPC (Aug 9, 2011)

That was what I was thinking.....Plus for some reason the ethnic community at the auction likes them intact. So what is a good weight range for market?


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## jodief100 (Aug 10, 2011)

I get the best prices at 45-60 lbs.  60-80 is slightly less.  Over 80 and it drops considerably.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 10, 2011)

The best price per lb seems to be 45 to 60 lbs, like jodie said, then 60 to 80 maybe a little less per lb, and finally the 80 to 100 range, still a little less than the other two groups. I guess the question would be do you get so much less per pound that it isn't worth growing them out past 60 or 80 lbs. We have been shooting for around a 70lb market kid. 
I think they have been bringing around 120 over here.  But the 50lb kids bring a pretty steady 100, so I don't know if it is worth keeping them longer and finishing out another 20lbs for a difference of $20.


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## Roll farms (Aug 10, 2011)

A big, smelly, full-on rut buck, for some goofy reason, sells high at the auction I go to.  I had a black-headed commercial buck I took several years ago and he was the high-selling goat for the year, they told me.  $220.00.  (Typically a goat goes for 20-75$)

I suspect someone bought him for breeding rather than meat, but some ethnicities do love a 'pre seasoned' meat... 

I took a big Nub x Alpine buck someone dumped off here while I was gone....yeah, in w/ all my PB DOES!!  ....and he went for $150.00.

But I think around 60# would be good for this guy you have for your best return.  
Now...is it worth dumping $20.00 more feed into him to reach that weight *or* go ahead and take him, sell him for less, but be out less in feed...?


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 10, 2011)

The full sized bucks at our auction are consistantly bringing 180 to 240 or so, depending on how thick muscled they are,and I would bet most of them are going to slaughter.   Even the boer does that had any kind of good finish on them were going for 150 each. As long as they had finish and no limp or obvious visual health problem. 
It is almost always worth my efforts just to take our commercial stuff into the stock yard and take a chance on price. I am often surprised at how well they are doing. 

Last year I sold show whethers to a couple kids for $100 each and then a couple weeks later took in some left over kids at around the same size, maybe 60 lbs and got $110 to $125 for them.  This year no one got show whethers for $100. 

We were thinking of trying to hold 3 or so nice looking bucklings from our next set of kids and then keep them  through the winter and try to sell them in the late winter/ early spring as 10 months to a year. Old enough to be ready to breed. I figured I would have to ask $250 for it to be worth my time. I am always getting calls from people wanting breeding age commercial bucks. The problem is, will they be willing to pay the $250 to make it worth my time to take care of them for an extra 6 to 8 months.


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## manybirds (Aug 10, 2011)

RPC said:
			
		

> Does anyone else have problems selling kids this time of year? I have a 3 month old boer buckling that is about 50-55 pounds and it seems like no one wants him. I think he could make a nice buck but right now I am thinking he will just go to the auction barn. I have no space to keep him and I want to get his mom bred. I am asking what I think is a fair price. I have him reduced to $125. He is a commercial buckling so he is not papered but I really thought he would have sold by now or atleast had some sort of offers on him. What am I doing wrong. Is it just the time of year?


he would go alot better if her where castrated and dehorned. Not many people want a nonpapered buck. Not to be rude but all bucks should be papered with good blood lines and good type to be left a buck.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 10, 2011)

manybirds said:
			
		

> RPC said:
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Sorry, totally disagree with that, there are lots of commercial farms looking for non-papered breeding bucks. Not everyone is looking to pay high dollar and the best of the best. 
 And I have yet to see any dehorned meat goats around our area.  And there are lots of them.

What I see mostly from commercial farms is they don't want to take the time to winter them and feed them out until they are old enough to breed. A 10 month old commercial buck, old enough to breed, sells fast around here. Doesn't even have to be all that special, just healthy and some muscle on him.


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## Birchhatchery (Aug 10, 2011)

when the ethnic group buys goats do they care on breed or do they just buy goats to buy them just asking im thinking of getting some does but dont no what breed to get yet eveyone around has boars i currently have a pygmy buck and 2 weathers and ideas


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## RPC (Aug 10, 2011)

Now remember I am new to this so I don't know a ton but it seems around here people don't dehorn their meat bucks except for a few breeders. When I go to the auction to sell our cattle we/I normally watch the goats sell. Not to buy just to watch. The bucks normally sell better then the wethers and the boers and other meat breeds sell better then the dairy or mini breeds. 
The main reason we started breeding boers was because they did not have to be dehorned plus if you get big into showing for like ABGA you are not supposed to dehorn them. I have decided at this time not to register my goats because 1) we only show at the county fair and that is why we have them. At our fair none of the goats have to be registered. It is to teach my nieces responsibility and for them to save money for college. 2) Since I pay for everything and I don't have the best job I can't afford the registry membership and registering all the goats. Maybe if my nieces get more into it down the road and want to start doing all the shows I will change that and save the money and start registering everyone. 
I guess we will see what next spring brings and if I have an easier time selling kids. If I do not then i will not be adding anymore does to the herd and we might even sell a few more so we have just enough for 4-H. I just need to get this buckling sold one way or another. I don't have space to winter him and sell him next spring because he is to small and my buck too big for me to keep them together.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 10, 2011)

Birchhatchery said:
			
		

> when the ethnic group buys goats do they care on breed or do they just buy goats to buy them just asking im thinking of getting some does but dont no what breed to get yet eveyone around has boars i currently have a pygmy buck and 2 weathers and ideas


I would say they will buy  what is available, but they now the markets and are looking for as good a quality as they can find.


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## jodief100 (Aug 11, 2011)

I have sold everything from cull does to dairy wethers to boer bucks to the ethnic groups.  All they seem to care about is weight, muscling and NO FAT!  A thin dairy wether will sell for more per lb than a fat boer around here.  Diffferent groups like different things.  I know a Jamacian family that wants older stinky bucks and Latino familys that want little 25 lb kids. I love my SE asian customers.  They don't care as long as they are at least 40 lbs, no fat and not too skinny.   

At the auction even pigmys and dairy wethers sell for $1.50-$1.75 per lb.  Meat goats sell for more.  They seperate them by size and body condition and sell in groups.  

I do know that Gamal at Halal Farms USA will buy anything except pigmy and angora.  He told me pigmys smell funny and the angoras are too messy when cleaning.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 11, 2011)

We were selling to a gentlemen from india and he wanted them well muscled, but for sure didn't want any fat on them.  He would rather have less muscling than any fat.


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## manybirds (Aug 11, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> manybirds said:
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I don't have experiance with meat goats sorry. I just thought a pet might sell better. I know with dairy goats as a good responsible breeder you castrate it unless it is a purebred papered goat (unless your keeping it for yourself to breed)


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## Spitchtara (Aug 16, 2011)

I found my goats online in the livestock section of orlando4sale.com, but they have other cities available at the top, not just Orlando. I am definitely going there to list mine when it's time to sell. Sometimes I go there just to look at pics of all the cute animals


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## elieugene6 (Aug 17, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I think that's what we're going to have to do with our Oberhasli wether.  I had no luck selling him, so I banded him and I'd rather not sell him until his scrotum falls off. It's taking a while and I'm having to battle flies to keep it clean.  At this rate, it'd be better for me to feed him out and for us to eat him come fall.  There won't be much meat on him I'm guessing, but at least we'd get something out of it and won't have to feed him through winter.


Wow, I wish you were near me.  I want to start breeding oberhaslis and can't find any in my area.  I love the breed!


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Aug 17, 2011)

We have people of various ethnicities stopping about once every week or three to offer to buy my buck.  He's big and stinky and easily visible from the road.  I keep telling them to stop back by when they see babies but everybody wants the big stinky one.


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## Birchhatchery (Aug 22, 2011)

do you find that bucks sell eaiser than weathers cuz why go threw the trouble of banding kids when i could sell bucks in a year


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 22, 2011)

Birchhatchery said:
			
		

> do you find that bucks sell eaiser than weathers cuz why go threw the trouble of banding kids when i could sell bucks in a year


If you don't mind seperating and keeping bucks, then it is no big deal. But keeping a pen or field full of bucks contained and under control can be a fencing challenge. The stronger buck(s) will also bother the smaller bucks and cause them not to do as well. I have NOT noticed this when feeding out a group of whethers. You have to be on time for weaning and really pay attention to the maturity of the bucks, so there aren't accidental breedings. 


as far as bucks selling better than whethers, It would depend on you ethnic population and what they are looking for. It doesn't seem to matter for our area, They all sell about the same as far as meat goats go for slaughter.


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## RPC (Aug 22, 2011)

Well I finally sold him but got less then I wanted. But for what I would get at market and then take out money spent on gas. I ended up doing better then I would at market. He went to a nice farm and will be used as a buck next year. He is just starting out with his young son. He has been researching goats for 3 years and has finally decided to take the plunge last week and bought 2. He said as soon as he had them 1 day he was already looking for more. So with my buck he has 3 and he has 4 does bought at another farm after they are weaned.


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## Roll farms (Aug 22, 2011)

Sold for less than you wanted is better than spending more $ on feed and keeping longer, in the long run....at least IMHO.

Congrats on the sale!


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## RPC (Aug 22, 2011)

That's what I thought too. So I agreed and let him go. Thanks I am happy he is gone because I didn't have space for him. But I sure miss him.


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## Birchhatchery (Aug 23, 2011)

what ethnic groups perfer bucks?


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## jodief100 (Aug 23, 2011)

Birchhatchery said:
			
		

> what ethnic groups perfer bucks?


In my experience, Muslums and Jamacians.  Muslums like young bucks and Jamacians like old ones.


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## Birchhatchery (Aug 23, 2011)

we have alot of hispanic and latino race here thats about all i no of and a few others but that makes up the most


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Aug 23, 2011)

In my experience, and your mileage may vary, the Hispanic crew wants the milk fed kids, the Middle Easterners want the younger males but entirely intact, the Islanders want the stinky older males also intact.  I've actually had someone tell me that it was "bad" to eat a doe. 

And I have seen everything from tiny Nigi's on up butchered for meat.


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## Birchhatchery (Aug 23, 2011)

i was thinkin of doin a cross between a brown pygmy buck and a boer doe


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