All of our 2021 doelings and bucklings are sold.
If any buckling/ doeling doesn't meet our & your expectation at weaning, either another goat will be made available or a refund (your choice).
We sell our goats prior to performance testing. A successful performance tested goat is considerably higher priced, but improves your odds of getting a "quality" goat. As a goat ages, it is easier to predict future performance. Two goats can have the same pedigree, but very different performance. However, there is a lot of variation in what farms are labeling as "performance tested", so beware. A top 10% performer at one farm, may be in the bottom 10% on another farm...based on diet, worm exposure, etc. In our opinion, a performance tested animal must be subjected to harsh conditions (to evaluate thriftiness and parasite resistance) during the evaluation period, and be a top performer out of a significant sample size (i.e. large farm). We are not a large farm, but our goats must perform in harsh conditions or get culled. Babies that do not perform well are not registered. A farm can not evaluate thriftiness nor parasite resistance if the goats eat primarily top quality hay and/or do not graze close to the ground. Very few farms are conducting performance testing under harsh conditions. That's why so many individuals are buying goats, putting them in their native pastures and the goats struggle. Likewise, you can not evaluate mothering ability if you pen the mom in a stall to give birth. You can not evaluate her ability to raise kids and maintain body condition if you "pour the feed" to her during this period. There is no issue penning a mom and heavily feeding her or raising goats on fertilized winter forage, or ideal rotational grazing where grazing is always 6 inches or higher, but you can't call this "performance testing". Evaluation based solely on goat weight can also be very misleading. A farm feeding quality hay/ fertilized pasture and/or creep feed will have much higher ADG than a farm that utilizes native pasture and average hay. A top performing yearling raised on high quality hay, may not perform well when put only on native pasture. A Boer goat when fed high quality hay/ browse will almost always have a higher ADG. If the Boer goat is grazing 6 inches or higher, he too should not have worm issues. Worms become a issue when the goat eats within 6 inches of the ground (where the worms are located). However, the Kiko is superior when left to hustle for forage, compete with worms, etc. Sorry for the rant, but I'm seeing so much misleading information posted.
We sell our goats prior to performance testing. A successful performance tested goat is considerably higher priced, but improves your odds of getting a "quality" goat. As a goat ages, it is easier to predict future performance. Two goats can have the same pedigree, but very different performance. However, there is a lot of variation in what farms are labeling as "performance tested", so beware. A top 10% performer at one farm, may be in the bottom 10% on another farm...based on diet, worm exposure, etc. In our opinion, a performance tested animal must be subjected to harsh conditions (to evaluate thriftiness and parasite resistance) during the evaluation period, and be a top performer out of a significant sample size (i.e. large farm). We are not a large farm, but our goats must perform in harsh conditions or get culled. Babies that do not perform well are not registered. A farm can not evaluate thriftiness nor parasite resistance if the goats eat primarily top quality hay and/or do not graze close to the ground. Very few farms are conducting performance testing under harsh conditions. That's why so many individuals are buying goats, putting them in their native pastures and the goats struggle. Likewise, you can not evaluate mothering ability if you pen the mom in a stall to give birth. You can not evaluate her ability to raise kids and maintain body condition if you "pour the feed" to her during this period. There is no issue penning a mom and heavily feeding her or raising goats on fertilized winter forage, or ideal rotational grazing where grazing is always 6 inches or higher, but you can't call this "performance testing". Evaluation based solely on goat weight can also be very misleading. A farm feeding quality hay/ fertilized pasture and/or creep feed will have much higher ADG than a farm that utilizes native pasture and average hay. A top performing yearling raised on high quality hay, may not perform well when put only on native pasture. A Boer goat when fed high quality hay/ browse will almost always have a higher ADG. If the Boer goat is grazing 6 inches or higher, he too should not have worm issues. Worms become a issue when the goat eats within 6 inches of the ground (where the worms are located). However, the Kiko is superior when left to hustle for forage, compete with worms, etc. Sorry for the rant, but I'm seeing so much misleading information posted.