Goat Thread!

[cassie]

Thanks so much for all the info. What is CD/T?

Clostridium perfingens/tetanus. It is given to prevent tetanus and entertoxemia.

 

[henny1129]

Hello everyone! So last night we went to our breeders "customer appreciation goat roast". Basically it's a big goat cookout and it's a way for the breeder's family to say "thank you" to all their customers. (Normally they are a meat goat breeder selling lots of 4-H goats, which is why they had goat to eat. But we did buy our goats as pack goats from there. ) Anyways, I had never tried goat before and when I did it was SOO good! It's very lean which makes it better too because it's healthy. They had it cooked in many ways too; they had the loin of the goat, "pulled goat" (like pulled pork), meatballs but made with goat (so good!), and many more. It was a pleasant surprise to find how good goat is and next year if they have the goat roast again, I'll be excited to go! Just thought I'd share!

 

[waddles99]

Ive heard it was similar to beef. I know someone who raises goats for meat as well as beef cattle and they said the taste was pretty similar. I would never really be in the position to raise goats for slaughter, since I like raising for show.

 

[henny1129]

Ive heard it was similar to beef. I know someone who raises goats for meat as well as beef cattle and they said the taste was pretty similar. I would never really be in the position to raise goats for slaughter, since I like raising for show. 

It's a bit of a mix, it definitely tastes a lot like venison, a bit like beef, and then it's got it's own kinda taste. I too am not very interested in raising meat goats because I don't think I could do it and I would really like to get into breeding for correctness for a certain breed (most likely Boers).

 

[waddles99]

It's a bit of a mix, it definitely tastes a lot like venison, a bit like beef, and then it's got it's own kinda taste. I too am not very interested in raising meat goats because I don't think I could do it and I would really like to get into breeding for correctness for a certain breed (most likely Boers).

Exactly my kind of thought. I wouldn't really be interested in raising goats for slaughter, I am more into showing. In the future, I would like to raise Boers and get involved in ABGA sanctioned shows. Right now I just have one Boer, a wether, that I show in 4H shows. I am hoping to pick up a dapple buck next spring and a couple traditional does. A good dapple herd sire runs $2-$5k and traditional does run about $1-$2k. A worthwhile investment if you consider the cost of the offspring could pay for the parents in a couple years.

 

[henny1129]

Exactly my kind of thought. I wouldn't really be interested in raising goats for slaughter, I am more into showing. In the future, I would like to raise Boers and get involved in ABGA sanctioned shows. Right now I just have one Boer, a wether, that I show in 4H shows. I am hoping to pick up a dapple buck next spring and a couple traditional does. A good dapple herd sire runs $2-$5k and traditional does run about $1-$2k. A worthwhile investment if you consider the cost of the offspring could pay for the parents in a couple years. 

That would definitely be a good plan and I feel people are much more willing today to pay for good goats that are going to do well in shows. I would love to get a dapple doe (actually there's a really nice one for sale nearby us, but it's not the right time ) and possibly a traditional too. I'm not super interested in bucks right now, but maybe down the road if I start breeding a lot and it's not practical to use someone else's anymore.

 

[waddles99]

That would definitely be a good plan and I feel people are much more willing today to pay for good goats that are going to do well in shows. I would love to get a dapple doe (actually there's a really nice one for sale nearby us, but it's not the right time

) and possibly a traditional too. I'm not super interested in bucks right now, but maybe down the road if I start breeding a lot and it's not practical to use someone else's anymore.

Well to me, not breeding is a waste of money. When you buy a good doe with potential show-winning progeny, you are paying for not only the doe, but for the progeny as well. If you have a $2,000 doe and just let it die, thats wasted money. Instead, you could invest in a straw from a good top of the line buck for maybe $100 and then have twin $2,500 kids.

I know there are many many more expenses involved, obviously, and you have to subtract all that from the price of the kids. But seriously, if you already have the doe, just pay the cost of a straw and you'll have some nice offspring.

Of course, this is looking at it from an economical perspective, not a labor perspective. Obviously you dont just buy a straw and then everything happens. You have to know how to AI a doe, help her through kidding if need be, and care for the kids after they are born.

 

[henny1129]

Well to me, not breeding is a waste of money. When you buy a good doe with potential show-winning progeny, you are paying for not only the doe, but for the progeny as well. If you have a $2,000 doe and just let it die, thats wasted money. Instead, you could invest in a straw from a good top of the line buck for maybe $100 and then have twin $2,500 kids. 

I know there are many many more expenses involved, obviously, and you have to subtract all that from the price of the kids. But seriously, if you already have the doe, just pay the cost of a straw and you'll have some nice offspring. 

Of course, this is looking at it from an economical perspective, not a labor perspective. Obviously you dont just buy a straw and then everything happens. You have to know how to AI a doe, help her through kidding if need be, and care for the kids after they are born. 

I agree. And I think in the long run, if you have a nice doe and kids, you're going to make money. And if goats and breeding goats is your passion then you can have fun through the whole process.

 

[waddles99]

I agree. And I think in the long run, if you have a nice doe and kids, you're going to make money. And if goats and breeding goats is your passion then you can have fun through the whole process.

This was basically my train of thought when I decided that I was going to invest in high quality breeding stock. It costs the same amount to feed, care for, and vaccinate a $200 goat as it does a $2000 goat. A $200 goat might pay for itself in a year or two, and then make a tiny profit for years after. But a $2000 goat will pay for itself in a year and even net some, and then net a large amount after that first year with the cost of her kids. So not only do you do well in the show ring, you are able to break even and then make a decent something.

Here's a little math that I was working out:

-$200 doe - $100 cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $400 kid value = -$100 for year 1

-$100 year 1 cost - $100 for cost of AI - $200 year 2 care + $400 kid value = break even

-$100 cost of AI - $200 year 3 care + $400 kid value = $100 profit

And so on... let's say your doe has 5 kiddings after you break even. That's $500. Probably enough to pay for your labors. But with a $2000 doe....

-$2000 doe - $100 Cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $4000 kid value = $1700 profit year 1

-$100 cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $4000 kid value = $3700 profit year 2

And so on...

 

[henny1129]

This was basically my train of thought when I decided that I was going to invest in high quality breeding stock. It costs the same amount to feed, care for, and vaccinate a $200 goat as it does a $2000 goat. A $200 goat might pay for itself in a year or two, and then make a tiny profit for years after. But a $2000 goat will pay for itself in a year and even net some, and then net a large amount after that first year with the cost of her kids. So not only do you do well in the show ring, you are able to break even and then make a decent something.

Here's a little math that I was working out:

-$200 doe - $100 cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $400 kid value = -$100 for year 1

-$100 year 1 cost - $100 for cost of AI - $200 year 2 care + $400 kid value = break even

-$100 cost of AI - $200 year 3 care + $400 kid value = $100 profit

And so on... let's say your doe has 5 kiddings after you break even. That's $500. Probably enough to pay for your labors. But with a $2000 doe....

-$2000 doe - $100 Cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $4000 kid value = $1700 profit year 1

-$100 cost of AI - $200 year 1 care + $4000 kid value = $3700 profit year 2

And so on...

It's interesting to see this all worked out. It puts it all into perspective of the benefit of a more expensive goat.