Expensive Goats: When $1000 + $1500 is not $2500
Goats can really vary in price and quality, there are some quite expensive goats out there. It is hard to make money at goats and few do. New goat breeders sometimes spend a lot of money on their initial herd members. They then become frustrated when they can’t make that money back with their first litters. There are a few reason for that.
Two nice goats don’t always create other nice goats
Mixing two beautiful goats doesn’t always produce another beautiful goat, genetics are complicated. Long time breeders will breed for consistency and understand how their different lines mesh. They do line breeding (intentional inbreeding to limit some of the genetic diversity) to bring similar genetics together to have greater consistency.
Perhaps the two nice goats are from different herds and have very different genetics, that outcross (breeding two very unrelated goats) is a big unknown. Rather than trying to sell the kid for someone else to prove it is a good cross you might have to prove it yourself. That is to have a chance to receive the same price you paid for the parents.
That goats’ parents aren’t proven
Not always but usually the expensive goats that have brought in are kids. Maybe their dam won Nationals or set a milk production record or their sire has a bunch of amazing kids. All these things suggest those expensive goats might be really nice, but they have not yet shown that they are nice.
Occasionally it might be possible to buy older proven goats instead, but generally this is the exception rather than the rule. If you have this opportunity it can be a huge boost to your herd. We were fortunate to be able to bring in CH Night Heron Farm JB Katniss after she had already finished her championship.
To hope of getting the price you paid for the offspring of your fancy purchased goats you will need to prove them in some way. Proven means participating in a Performance Program (milk test, linear appraisals and/or showing). Here’s the thing, doing this isn’t cheap if you enjoy it perfect but as a way to make money it probably won’t balance out.
Some people buy for farm names
The other final thing which can be a bit more controversial is some people buy for herd names. This is true in any of those breeds, but I think especially in the Nigerian Dwarf breed. Maybe you yourself bought from well known farm names.
Your offspring will have your herd name. Their parents will have the fancy herd names, but not the kids themself. It takes years to gain attention for a new herd name. The other thing to consider is there are herds that consistency win in the show ring, are high on the Elite List or appear in other ways. Not every goat they breed is at that top level.
Still buy good stock
If you can afford excellent stock, you should still go and buy it. This post is a warning that you can’t expect to make your money back quickly. Simply expensive goats may or may not be worth it depending on your herd goals. Start with the best genetics you can, just don’t believe you can make your money back immediately. You may never.
Katniss a proven doe we were able to bring in