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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 18:31:18 GMT
Wife and I will be taking off to speak with a local breeder and look at some of his kids. I've been mulling this adventure over for about a year and a half, and now is the time to move forward. I have spoken to this gentleman over the phone a couple of times, and I know of another person who has started their herd with him that speaks highly of him. He seems very knowledgable as he is communicating the same kind of information that you would find here, or over at the "other" site. Having done so much research, I pretty much know the questions to ask, especially as it relates to a clean herd or not, and whether he tests on a regular basis. Still going with Kiko's. They stimulated my interest early on, so we will see how it goes. Gonna start small. Probably three or four total. Not sure I want a buck yet, as it depends on whether he is willing to provide stud service, as least for the first time around. Might even go with a boer buck, who knows? I'm buying purebred does for sure. First priority is brush clearing, with a close second of building a good herd, and a bit of eating and selling. I hope to get some pics of potentials to show you all. Michael
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Post by shellymay on Mar 17, 2017 19:00:22 GMT
@macmad, I think this is gonna be great, very responsible of you to find a good breeder and clean stock, I will enjoy following your new adventure with you and wife, Kiko's are a great choice
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 19:10:02 GMT
@macmad , I think this is gonna be great, very responsible of you to find a good breeder and clean stock, I will enjoy following your new adventure with you and wife, Kiko's are a great choice Thanks shellymay. We are excited to be adding our next animals to the farm.
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Post by here to stay on Mar 17, 2017 21:37:08 GMT
Be prepared to laugh a lot- even when irritated. They are funny, entertaining creatures.
They have a few serious possible medical issues that are very important but on the whole, once you get to the point of recognizing them early, goats are pretty easy. And fun.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 1:43:10 GMT
Had a very good meeting with the breeder, and we looked at a good number of does. We decided to pick two purebreds out a group of near yearlings. He had a pretty big number of February births as well that would be available in May.
His herd has been tested quite a few time. He has been into goats for 10 years. The sale is contingent on being disease free and another inspection at pickup.
I decided to forgo the purchase of a buck at this time. The seller offered to provide stud service at the time of our choosing. When, and if, I chose to go with a buck of my own, I will be able to pick a descendant of one of his other bucks.
Quick question. From my research, I believe his cost for the purebreds at 350.00 seems to be inline. What do you think? Unfortunately I didn't get any pics this time. As such you might not be able to comment intelligently on the cost. It seems fair for registered purebreds.
I have spent a couple of long phone calls with this gentleman before going out to his farm to meet him and see his Kiko's. He has already moved into a mentor role before I even had a chance to formally ask him.
Boy did he ever have a large crop of beautiful kids.
Michael
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Post by shellymay on Mar 18, 2017 3:06:41 GMT
I sell my yearling registered ewe lambs for $350.00 Both yours and mine are hair breeds and meat animals, so even though yours are goats and mine are sheep I think his price is fair, again we are talking yearlings, not like they were just weaned
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 12:30:44 GMT
Yep. These are yearlings. Getting excited. The wife really enjoyed watching the younger ones scampering around.
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Post by farmchix on Mar 18, 2017 13:09:19 GMT
Congrats! Hubs wants goats. I know nothing about goats. I don't usually like the gamey taste of goat milk cheese. If I thought we could find one that produced "ungamey" milk, I would cave....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 21:23:56 GMT
These are meat goats so the milk will only be to nurse the kids. 😜
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2017 21:34:18 GMT
Small change in plans. I am getting three instead of two. Gonna go take a look at a working male Pyr that is 2.5 years old later this evening. I have been studying up on this for a looooong time, but still quite nervous for some reason. Maybe it is nervous excitement, ya that's it, nervous excitement. LOL
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Post by shellymay on Mar 28, 2017 12:03:35 GMT
That is great @macmad, three is a nice number to start out with Also very responsible of you to find an older dog, got one question though.....Are the goats that your purchasing dog broke? are they with dog/dogs now? Just so stinking happy for you.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2017 3:08:56 GMT
Yes, the girls have been with livestock guardian dogs their entire life. I'm not going to be getting one of the two dogs the owner was selling as they want to keep them together. I understand the value in that, but I don't have enough money for both dogs at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 16:53:49 GMT
I had a good time this AM ordering a bunch of stuff for the goat project.
2 fence chargers t post insulators wire hoof clippers premier 1 net fencing deep cycle battery portable solar charger other miscellany
Glad I created a business entity for the farm. Gonna have some nice loses to claim for the next three-years or so. LOL
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Post by here to stay on Apr 4, 2017 22:13:17 GMT
@macmad, I have a couple of rolls of the net fencing and love them. I got one with the lighter weight step one and then the heavier posts. The heavier posts are well worth the expense.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 21:42:08 GMT
UPDATE: Brought the goats home this past Saturday. Helped the seller to micro-chip them, as well as a preventative worming (although FAMCHA was pretty decent. Gonna have my work cut out for me taming them down a bit, so at least I can get some collar and lead training in. I plan on moving them back and forth from permanent paddock and brush clearing areas in the morning and evening. The white on is Snow White, the cream is Tinker Bell, and the brown one is Ariel.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 21:42:37 GMT
Whoa. Those pictures are big. I will resize from here on out.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 21:52:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 21:53:25 GMT
I haven't finished the batten on the board, but I will be ripping them later this week. I also built an elevated area inside for them. Will also be making the pallet hay feeder this evening, although I don't think they will be eating much hay at this point.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 16:53:49 GMT
Interesting fact. My goats are far less wary of my 4-wheeler than they are of me. Crazy girls.
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Post by shellymay on Apr 16, 2017 2:55:17 GMT
The girls look great, and you just wait, won't be long and they will know who has the feed bucket, then they will be hollering at you and for you, cherish these not so sure about you days now as it will change all two soon
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 13:34:10 GMT
The girls look great, and you just wait, won't be long and they will know who has the feed bucket, then they will be hollering at you and for you, cherish these not so sure about you days now as it will change all two soon 🤗 They have already started to soften up a bit.
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Post by here to stay on Apr 16, 2017 14:14:16 GMT
One of the things I love about my goats is that they are very patient as long as I'm following the pattern.
At my place the horses get fed first as 2000 lbs of agitated animals need attention. The goatie girls don't mind. Until I change my routine, for example going back to the house to get something I forgot. Then they call louder and louder as I walk away WITHOUT FEEDING THEM. As soon as I return to the pattern they are fine waiting again.
As I said- goats are a hoot.
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