grownut do you mean they die in your area too?
CajuninKy I have to wonder what strains they have out your way and if that is the source of the problem.
MollyD
Horse Missing in the Phoenix Az Area
Opposite, sorry. Everyone is breeding to full if they don't have 'em already. Though with 2 straight summers without rain it has been really hard on all the livestock, especially the goats which are often pastured without too much high grazing.
It may be that they got into a weak gene pool and all bred into it. I think most of the goats here are bought and traded locally so that might well be the problem or simple inbreeding.
grownut last summer we had drought and that same problem. Mine get really high stuff to browse on since we live on wooded land. Those who only have pasture must have had it real rough since grass last year barely grew here.
CajuninKy that's probably what happened. There are certain bloodlines in my area and it's getting difficult finding 'brides' for two of my bucks cause almost everyone is a close relative of theirs. I will probably have to look down in Pa or even Virginia to find unrelated stock.
MollyD
Molls, (Huge liberties, I know, but my goat's name is Molly and SHE's trouble...) I'd send you my prize buck and get him registered if he were fatter and sassier. Name's Startrek and he's a hunk. Mostly Texas stock and mostly ennobled. The lady who bred dam and sire don't show, but she got hers from people who do.
Molly,
Prices here and there are driven by supply and demand. I mentioned .... I have 4-5 neighbors within a mile ... all with Boers. I'd estimate close to 150 Boers on all of the properties combined. I don't believe there's any difference in bloodline quality from there to here ... just more folks with more goats than the consumers are willing to pay and the sellors are satisfied with the prices they fetch. Realize too ... property taxes out your way are ..... 5-10 times more than here. My 20 acres with 5k sq ft of home and out buildings and 5 car garage has $2k in taxes annually. Costs of doing goat business here are less than half what they are out your way or in California. You no what they say about the 1st 3 most important factors in a successful business venture .... 1) location 2) location 3) location.
Kelly in Moxee
How right you are! My SIL lives in the next town over from us. She has 1 acre and a house w/ a detached oversized garage and she pays $4800 in taxes. We have 56 acres, house and numerous outbuildings and we are paying $2900! Around here it's the school taxes that push the taxes so high. The town I live in has ocean beach frontage(7 miles from me) so that's where alot of the town's taxes come from. If we didn't have the expensive beach houses, I would never be able to afford the taxes here nevermind have our animals.
This message was edited Sep 11, 2008 7:52 AM
grownut LOL my Paul calls me Moll most of the time too. I'm no trouble to him though I do give him some worry when I do stuff like yesterday when I fell in the chicken yard and hit my face on the ground. A little stiff today.
Kelly lots of goats here. I know of one farm with 800 of them. The guy I've bought most of mine from has more than 200. The place I got my best buck from has about 1000.
As for taxes we're not paying anywhere near what I'm reading here!! We've got 10 acres and a house with 2700 sq feet and our taxes are just under $1500. The goats that are getting the highest prices are coming out of Texas btw.
MollyD
Molly,
Texas has a reputation for low taxes ... so it doesn't look like taxes have much to do with the pricing of goats. I suppose property taxes ... vary less than what I'd thought. I'm inclined to believe the farmland properties in the east get tax breaks as much or more than we do. With as many goats as mentioned ... maybe the anticipated sales are not as great as supply would warrant ... so they're inflated. If the price drops ... odds are sales would increase.
Kelly
Can't say about your area Kelly but here goats sell.
I think the closer you get to a major metropolitan center the higher the taxes go. Down towards NYC they're much higher (and so are the property prices) than here.
I have no idea who gets the best farm breaks. I would have thought it would be fairly consistent on a federal level and some variations on a state level depending on how important it was to that state. NY is a dairy farming state even though many people think NYC represents the entire state! It's actually like a foreign land to those of us upstate ^_^
MollyD
The International Boer Goat Association is located there and there have been more shows and more concentrated activity for a much longer period of time than is true in other areas, I believe. (I could be wrong, but I think)They established the biggest reputations and bloodlines early on and so are getting the biggest money for their stock.
Right now here the registered nubians are not selling.. people are giving them away. I noticed the same with horses.. I keep seeing the horses on ebay.
The breeder I bought my kid from has 2 more and says I can have them if they don't sell at the auction.. she cannot over-winter them. I don't get it.. why breed them then? No not for the milk.. they don't use it.
I don't think Hay & Straw are to outragous yet.. $3.50 & $2.50 a bale.. not bad
grains not at a great price... but.. what the heck.. hopefully they can feed me .. somehow.
Molly & Fran,
I want to have a few goats here myself. The meat tastes enough like mutton to keep me happy. They are cute and I'd even like to have a milking goat. We have friends who own an Indian Restaurant (they're from India ... what a coincidence ... NOT). They have goat on the menu. I have half a goat ... maybe 30-40 lbs of cut meat in my freezer.
Kelly in Moxee
grownut the International Boer Goat Association is based in Arkansas, not NY. Until you mentioned it I had not heard of it. We belong to the American Boer Goat Association (all ours are registered through them) and they're based in Texas.
Isn't it delicious Kelly? We love it. Our favorite Pakistani restaurant closed and we were left without a source of goat dishes. Local Indian restaurants here don't serve it. Must be a regional thing I guess. Anyway we think goat is very tasty. We've also had goat sausage and that was wonderful and way leaner than pork or beef. Goat is a very lean meat so it's very healthy eating. Tonight we're having elk. This will be my first time preparing it so I'm going to use it in an Indian recipe. If I blow it the spices will hide my mistake ^_^
frans530 that is something that I have seen often with goats. Does this woman show goats? If so that could be why. In some breeds you are required to breed the does before a certain age or they are disqualified from being shown. I think that's a real dumb rule but there it is. If they're males ask her to fix them into wethers. Wethers make great pets! My Sammy (the weather) is a little love. Your little doe will love having other goats around and she will still be very affectionate towards you.
MollyD
no Molly, these are both girls, one is Stella sister the other is the same age but no relation. And yes they were showing. It has been a 4-H family with 7 children.. odd they have been showing for years but don't use the milk.. I only have 1 child at home and will be using the milk.
I tried the goat milk once but it must be an aquired taste. LOL I know it has much more fat content than most cow milk. I haven't eaten goat in quite a few years but it was good and I'd like to have it again.
CajuninKy the flavor of the milk is affected by many things. How clean the person who milked the goat is (washing the udders, clean environment as in NOT the barn, clean equipment) and if there is a buck on the premises he can't be anywhere near the does because his buck smell will get on them and into the milk. Also what the does eat has an impact on the flavor as well. That's why one person will love it and another will totally dislike it. They experienced the same thing under totally different circumstances.
frans530 all I can think of is maybe a milk allergy?
MollyD
no, they just don't want it.. really they have decided the animals are just to much work.. they ae getting rid of everything.. horses goats, chickens..
No I was referring to the fact they never bothered with the milk.
Hope they find decent homes for all those animals.
MollyD
thats what I meant.. they never wanted the milk.. I asked her why and she just turned her nose up like yukkk... I can't figure these people out.. they really do a good job, but ast like they never wanted to do it.. and their hands got dirty and now they just want to bathe.. so please remove the stuff from the barn so we can put our china back in place... lol
that is weird! Will you accept the two does? Sounds like you'll be doing a rescue if you take them. I did wonder when they told you one goat on it's own would be okay since that isn't anything a reputable seller would say but since it's a breed I haven't dealt with I thought maybe they knew something I didn't. Now I'm not so sure that it wasn't just a case of making a sale under any circumstances. At least they kept them all healthy so we'll be thankful for that much!
MollyD
The goat milk I tried was from the grocery in one of those vaccum packed cartons. And it was room temp. May have been much better if it was cold. But I have TMJ so I don't eat or drink anything very cold.
I meant Texas in that post, but you're right -Texarkana does not Texas make. Seems like so many shows are in Texas or Oklahoma though and not Arkansas.
Probably cause Texas has a huge number of Boer goats being raised there. Tons of goat farms.
MollyD
MissJestr,
Any news on your horse?
Jody
Sorry to chime in here so late- but I just moved from Phx last summer. What does your horse know (as in training), exactly how old is she, and what sort of people would you think she might be with? (I am thinking backyard types, but maybe she is giving lessons somewhere or rodeos?) I have lots of friends in the horse biz there still and they can keep an eye out for you.
I am really sorry about this- seems so unfair- and I am sure they 'sold' her, as if they were actually giving her away- they would have called you first.
Go to the new agencies if you can, and make sue when you talk to any authority, that you speak of her as a valuable breeding animal witha value of $___, that you want to recover.
Good luck to you!
Kathy
Oh, this makes me sick to my stomache to think of how awful people can be. I sure hope you get her back. I don't know horsefolks but you can bet I'll keep my ears opened.
You do so! Both Suzy and I, ahem!
MissJestr, have you heard anything new?
A Suzy who has horses? I know no Suzy that has horses :( And you live in Tn sweetheart, don't think it would do much good to LYK to keep your eyes peeled LOL I did forward the thread to Chris though, she's into horses, is even leasing a very sweet thing right now to teach kids to ride.
Suzy doesn't have horses anymore, but she sure did, as did Ms. JudyB ... who I know still has friends in the Dressage community. Dunno if Suzy keeps in touch with anyone, any mo' ... but I sure do!
lol And you already knew about this thread nit wit!
Yeah, but.... ... >grin< ....
Here is the latest, today papers will be filed in small claim court, for the value of 2500.00. This should compell her to name names or be liable for the amount. In talking to people this weekend at the fair, I found out this is not the first time she has been involved in a shady deal with a horse.
Now fast forward to a friends roping horse Gator. He bought Gator in good faith for a grand. This weekend he was in the lead line class with his grand daughter when a man came up and said that was his horse.. Seems Man A sold Gator to Man B with no contract. Man B left him in a stable and did not pay either the board bill or for the horse. The stable put a board lein on this horse and then sold it to Man C who inturn sold it to my friend. After Man C consulted an attorney, the recorse is Man A must sue Man B for the money of the horse, not my friend or Man C. He wont get the horse back, just any money that is owed on it. The Stables was in the right to sell cause of the lein and my friend gets to keep the horse.
Jes is an awesome western trail horse, can carry a flag and you can shoot off of her. She has the speed to run barrels, and loves to chase cows for team penning.
Thanks for all of your support, and I want to share a pix I snapped this weekend called Big Dreams which is what I have.... BIG DREAMS SHE WILL COME HOME
Lots of good thoughts she comes home to you!
Love the photo! Good luck with the horse!!!
Gosh, I sure hope so.... sure hope that woman gets a clue
Anything new?
Nope wheels of justice grind slow in this town. The court date is set for Dec...
Got my geilding home out of her, He was at a ranch for ground training, I am now going to finish the training and start the saddle training. Was up on him the other day and if I closed my eyes it was like being back on her. It gave me chill bumps. I swear when he runs it is his momma.
Good luck! Let us know how the court date goes.