Best animal to get into as business?

[goodolboy]

We started with Sufolks. Just to put meat in the freezer. We found that the high maintance of this breed was too much for us to have a large flock with full time jobs. That's the main reason we settled on the Katahdins. The wool breeds definately produce the bigger lambs, they were just going to be too much trouble for us.

I do agree that the better the stock, the higher the price you'll get. We don't band any of our ram lambs, we have found over the years that they will put on wieght allittle faster if you leave them intact. Also some people want the lambs intact for slaughter. The last two years in a row, we have had the highest price for our lambs at New Holland for the week we took them. So the better stock has payed off for us.

 

[that's*satyrical]

20kids brings up a good point. It is probably also dependent on the area. You might want to research what the demand is for in your area right now.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Growth rate and multiple births for anmials that have more than one offspring is very genetic. So do your homework. One could argue a good feeding program is also an influence, but first you have to have genetics that can produce. I have read that sheep especially can be very heavily influinced by genetics when it comes to the number of lambs. I was reading report about a farm that was culling heavy and were consistantly getting triplets on their sheep.

 

[goodolboy]

Yea, I would have to agree. Genetics and flushing a ewe before you put the rams in is a big factor to muliple births.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Growth rate and multiple births for animals that have more than one offspring is very genetic. So do your homework. One could argue a good feeding program is also an influence, but first you have to have genetics that can produce.

x2 and very true

 

[Fluffygal]

20kids brings up a good point. It is probably also dependent on the area. You might want to research what the demand is for in your area right now.

This is a key point in any business being started up. Location is important as much as knowing what is the goods you want to provide will get in your local market.
Is your market able to support the goods you are offering?
With Internet a lot of small businesses also make profit selling on line. Finding good reputable shippers is important for on line business. Going this route you need to research what the overall average is for the products/animals you will be offering, what the laws are that affect the logistics of moving your goods to your customer.

With the economy not so great anymore most folks are concerned with the value they are getting for their money. Is the purchase worth their hard earned cash?
These days it is hard for small businesses to get going but still doable. Statistically it takes 3 to 5 years to build a business and this is based on before the economy went south.

Also, keep in mind that should you want to add dairy in your farm future that Raw Milk is illegal in many US states to sell. Any food products made with raw milk are also treated as illegal. The USDA is geared toward big factory farms and push pasterization big time. I got into goats because I am moving toward healthier life style and want to raise my own food for family. I want raw milk but only way to get it is by having my own dairy goat.

I live north of Houston, TX and the main goat for sale in my are are the Boars for meat. This breed ranges in price depending on whether the stock is registered, pure but unregistered, or mixed. The second most popular goats I see are the small breeds such as NDs and Pygmies that work well for folks with limited space. Prices on goats range from $50.00 to over $400.00.

The area I live in is very diverse with many different kinds of ethnic and national groups due to alot of the big Global / International companies in and around Houston. So there is a very diverse market place here.

This area is still doing good due to the Oil Industry. If anything happens to that we will be in the same boat as folks up north.