Hey guys...does anyone have experience buying kids from out of state and having them shipped?
For instance, without having seen the farm & the goats how would you know to trust these folks to send you a healthy goat? Or maybe I should say, can anyone recommend a breeder who ships who would not send an unhealthy goat :)
Thanks
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Well, I think it seems clear that this is out of my price range. I spent quite a bit of gas money on my last goat buying adventure...and with the time and exhaustion I wondered if it wouldn't just make more sense to have them shipped. And then I could cherry pick my herd based on genetics and health testing instead of who is within my radius for driving.
But I have found two Nubian breeders under 3 hours from here who are honest & confident about their herd's health. They've done CAE testing and are willing to screen for the rest for me-- one of them even seems to understand about small ruminant dewormer resistnace!! Hooray because most people in these parts deworm every month or something like that.
So circumstances plus my rediculous attachment to Miyagi seem to point toward getting one nubian doe just for him :)
Thanks everyoen for your experience & input.
I attached the Delta shipping price list. A couple months ago, I was able to ship two kids in an intermediate crate, and they shipped around $288 each, so if you're going to get one kid from a farm, you might as well get two. I sent three different crates, and the price was similar for each. As you can see from the attachment, it is based on weight. And the buyers got lucky that they didn't actually weigh the crates at the airport. If they had, it probably would have been the $350 price. The man at the airport just assumed they were under 50 pounds. I ship COD, so the buyers pay for the shipping when they pick up the kids at the airport. Even if they had paid the $350, it still would have been a better deal than paying for shipping one kid in a crate. An intermediate crate costs $70 around here, but you can use it over and over again. My vet is up to $51 for a health cert, but that is the total amount for all the goats in the shipment, so again, gets cheaper if you ship more goats. And I don't charge for taking the goats to the airport in the little city 50 miles away, but if I have to go to OHare, it's $30 because it's farther and a much bigger pain.
If you are going to go to the expense of shipping kids, you should do it with an established breeder that has a good reputation and has experience shipping. And it goes without saying that the kids should have really great genetics behind him/her for several generations.
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Exactly, Shannon, you can bet if I ever spend that kinda money for it , there will be some bloodlines like who'da' thought on that plane!
I guess since you are familiar then you can see why we were good with right under $800 for 9 yearlings huh? I think it was 1200 miles, and I was a nervous wreck waiting and praying for their safe arrival. Especially since the driver spent way to long getting them here. If your gonna haul livestock ya gotta know how to move them and that is why I am thinking of setting the hubby up in business doing hauling for the small livestock. He did haul cattle, even real expensive show cows, so he would be a great person to shuffle all the spring kids around the country. That was one of the most memorable moments of my life when my driver came in with my girls, whew!
Margaret,
On my last goat buying expedition I drove about 6 hrs round trip, planning to buy two bucklings and one of them was a Painted Feather buckling. (I was not AT Painted Feather but another farm who had purchased a buckling from them). I was so excited to have that little buckling, but when I got there he was not healthy so I passed on him. I was so disappointed! His pedigree would have been the best in my herd and I would be thrilled to bred a buck like that to my two papered does.
So I consoled myself with trying to plan a trip to go back up there and get a buckling from them, esp considering Miyagi's circumstances. They also breed mini-nubians so I hope they might have a doe I could get on the same trip? Then all my troubles would be solved...
I have worked up extended pedigrees on a couple of the Painted Feather breeding animals to figure out whose kids I really want, and there are some really great genetics there as far as my newbie self can tell.
I just thought that maybe if you go to N. Fl. later I might have something you wanted and could meet you over there. I do have some REALLY nice goats.
Don't worry there is always someone with something and it will work out in due time!
Obviously you have seen those bucks. So, I can say that Yella Fella is really cute and has some real nice features but his back is so short. But, that Pistol, if I lived there I would probably wind up getting him. He looks real nice and has great herd names behind him but I don't know the specific goats there. That price is unreal.
Actually I am planning to get a new buck out of a Gypsy Moon buck myself in a few months. I have a breeding picked out that I plan to get one from if she has just what I am looking for and this will be my blue eyes since I have none yet. He is spectacular and so is mom. This breeder is actually working on breeding Quality blue eyes not just blue eyes. She does not have a lot of them but the ones she has have been being bred for quality for many years and are bred up well already, though she works towards improving continually and that is what I want. I do like and want some of them but I understand most of them are not such good quality so I am being very careful about my blue eyes whenever I do get them.
Yea, we figured 8oo was good for 9 of them!
Well, let me re-phrase, yes I need a buck now-- Penny is due to be bred, Miyagi is out of commission and Chuck Norris is too young...nothing would make me happier than to go buy one of those adult bucks that is for sale, but alas, it is not to be says hubby. Gotta keep him happy!!
And I very much appreciate your help & will appreciate it even more once I get this da-- book finished & puppy has been placed. I train dogs as my other "job" and she is my summer gig. My husband and I had a pretty remarkable courtship & marriage so far culminating in our dreams coming true on this farm. Every time we tell the story to people they cry. And I have written fiction for fun since I was literally a kid, so it seemed like we should try to make a book out of it. If we can publish it, it will go to benefit our nonprofit organization. The beginning stages of the nonprofit are our two rescue ponies who are doing Equine Facilitated Mental Health treatment for troubled teens with a MSW we know. She comes here to our farm and uses them. Technically this service dog is also part of the nonprofit, but we are waiting for the 501c3 to come back so have been unable to do any fundraising yet. The SD is a pyschiatric dog for a woman with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from violent crime and childhood abuse. But I digress. There is more about all of that on our website if you are interested:
bluestarfarmftmyers.weebly.com/
So you shipped nine goats for $800? If it were 100-150 per goat I think I could swing it, but not from these $600-800 per goat farms.
I don't know anyone who goes to N Florida
Sorry, I was trying to help, cause I figured you were trying to find one because of Miyagi. I won't tell you anything other than that you already know where to go apparently! I sure wish I were that close for that price.
You have my ears perked over the service dog in training thing, that's for sure. Am I understanding you correctly that you and your hubby wrote a book together. That is so cool. What kindI had my 9 doelings/yearlings shipped from New Mexico to Alabama and it was right at $800 but I believe we were very fortunate about that. The breeder says that she gets great prices and did not expect it to be so much but hubby says that was very good. Fuel is just so high these days. If the drivers can get extra cargo or have a sure load back sometimes it is not so bad.
Fact is it is expensive. Do you or any one you know (that might transfer for you) go to North Florida any. So maybe you could do a in between pickup or something?
I am needing a buck but not yet :( So if it is really great please don't tell me I'll just drive myself crazy not being able to buy him lol. I need two bucks I can use so I can keep back daughters I like- but my second buck at this time is the famous Miyagi-who-sired-the-six-pound-baby and I am not going to breed him again to my little does. I know there are some nice bucks for sale around here right now but they'll probably be sold before I am able to buy.
I am fostering a Service-Dog-In-Training puppy until the beginning of Oct- I have no energy for goat-buying day trips while I have this extra dog. & hubby said no more goats until I finish editing our book that we wrote. So, looking to add on in the fall. Am thinking of going up to Painted Feather, they have some good milk genetics in their herd. They are CAE neg which is about as good as it gets around here, but I really would prefer a herd that was also CL and Johnes tested neg.
Frankly, I have no idea what it costs to ship a goat cross country and it may be out of my price range. 2-300 is about what I could spend for the goat itself.
What I want is the following: a buck with the best milk genetics I can afford, I don't care about show wins unless it has to do with milk production.
Also I am interested in a mini nubian doe, same thing, criteria are milk & health testing.
Are you looking for a buck? If you are I found something that I would check out only 2 hours from you! I am fixing to start researching the lines while I wait to hear from you ( if I can stay awake-been up all night "birthin' babies" 6 new dachshund puppies) but these guys have very well known herd names behind them and are priced to steal! I like except one is to short bodied and I don't know if it's an age thing?! The other I really like so far.
YES, I have.
I don't believe the ranch I bought mine from would and there are plenty out there. There are always SLIM risk at best even if you go to a farm because there is always that time frame, even if narrow, in which a problem has begun but not revealed itself.
That said tell me what you want to buy and how soon and are you thinking air travel or land. I will see if I can help you narrow the field some. Oh, if you want to give me a price range for your purchase and or shipment that will help a lot, if not we can still get a good idea.
Punta Gorda is a ways off and probably is a hard place to do this to. Not everyone runs by there once a month ah?
The ranch I bought my 9 yearling does from has shipped to almost everywhere. I plan to ship myself and will hopefully even have our own small shipping services because my hubby is after all a licensed commercial driver who spent years as an owner/operator hauling cattle, so we know the shipping side of the ordeal also.
So tell me what ya looking for!