My neighbour called yesterday morning to see if I wanted to go to a
local livestock auction with him. He has been thinking of getting some
critters to raise and wanted to see what was available and what kind of
prices he will have to pay. It sounded interesting so I went, and what
an experience it was.

The auction had started at 10 am and we didn't get there until 11, in
time to see them selling off things like odd lots of dog food and cat
food. Then they started selling the rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.
They took an hour break before the sheep, goats and calves.

I could not believe how cheap they were. There was one sheep that was
sold by the pound and everything else was sold per piece. The auctioneer
started off asking for $2 per pound for the 170 lb. sheep, then dropped
it to $1, the 50 cents. It ended up going for 47 cents. The (70lb) lamb
sold for $45. Hell. I have paid almost $50 for a good sized leg of lamb.
You would get two of those on this lamb, plus the shoulders, racks and
everything else. They sold 8 calves for $40-50 each.

I almost came home with some kid goats. They were so cute. They were so
young they still had umbilical cords hanging down and they were jumping
and cavorting about. Some of them sold for $1. Hell, I was going to
start bidding on how much they could pay me to take one. At $1 a piece
it would probably not even pay for the cost of gas to bring them to the
auction.

The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
larger enclosure. That is probably a good thing because I later
realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
real pain in the neck.

On Mar 25, 10:28*am, Dave Smith > wrote:
> My neighbour called yesterday morning to see if I wanted to go to a
> local livestock auction with him. *He has been thinking of getting some
> critters to raise and wanted to see what was available and what kind of
> prices he will have to pay. *It sounded interesting so I went, and what
> an experience it was.
>
> The auction had started at 10 am and we didn't get there until 11, in
> time to see them selling off things like odd lots of dog food and cat
> food. Then they started selling the rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.
> They took an hour break before the sheep, goats and calves.
>
> I could not believe how cheap they were. There was one sheep that was
> sold by the pound and everything else was sold per piece. The auctioneer
> started off asking for $2 per pound for the 170 lb. sheep, then dropped
> it to $1, the 50 cents. *It ended up going for 47 cents. The (70lb) lamb
> sold for $45. Hell. I have paid almost $50 for a good sized leg of lamb.
> You would get two of those on this lamb, plus the shoulders, racks and
> everything else. *They sold 8 calves for $40-50 *each.
>
> I almost came home with some kid goats. They were so cute. They were so
> young they still had umbilical cords hanging down and they were jumping
> and cavorting about. Some of them sold for $1. Hell, I was going to
> start bidding on how much they could pay me to take one. At $1 a piece
> it would probably not even pay for the cost of gas to bring them to the
> auction.
>
> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
> nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
> square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
> larger enclosure. *That is probably a good thing because I later
> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
> real pain in the neck.

That sounds like a cool day. How many calves did your friend buy?
We've threatened to get a couple and name them rump roast and
sirloin!!!
There are so many people here in DE that have 10 - 15 goats and I
wonder why? Milk? sell for meat? Cheese? We have 2 acres that could
use clearing by goats, hmmmmmmmm, wonder how the Jack Russell
terrorista and the Greyhound would do with them?? Could be quite a
zoo!!
Nan In DE

Dave Smith wrote:

<snipped for space>

Sounds like you had a good day... and yes, those auctions are
interesting to say the least. But please bear in mind that although the
prices sound cheap, you'd have to slaughter any livestock you bought
there yourself - or if your local municipality rules and regulations
don't allow that, you'd have to (pay?) somebody else to do the
slaughtering for you... Not to mention the feed costs that you'll incur
until as time as the slaughtering takes place.

> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I
> had nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It
> is 16' square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence
> for a
> larger enclosure. That is probably a good thing because I later
> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
> real pain in the neck.

Too darn true.

IME, goats are quite good 'escape artists' if you don't have a really
strong pen - and they'll eat almost any vegetation they see. I've seen
the damage caused when some goats 'got loose' and wandered into a
friend's garden... you don't wanna know.

We actually have a rather large bona fide goat pen on our property -
built by the previous owners. Trust me, Alcatraz could take some
security tips from that pen ;-)

However, we don't use it as such because we eventually decided against
keeping goats ourselves - but Dad did some building alterations and
turned the feed storeroom contained therein into a coop for our
chickens to sleep in at night... By day the hens scratch around happily
in the yard part of the pen; keeps (most) predators out. <g>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> I could not believe how cheap they were. There was one sheep that was
> sold by the pound and everything else was sold per piece. The auctioneer
> started off asking for $2 per pound for the 170 lb. sheep, then dropped
> it to $1, the 50 cents. It ended up going for 47 cents. The (70lb) lamb
> sold for $45. Hell. I have paid almost $50 for a good sized leg of lamb.
> You would get two of those on this lamb, plus the shoulders, racks and
> everything else. They sold 8 calves for $40-50 each.

The few times I've looked at the prices of farm animals,
I too have been amazed. Farming is a tough way to make
an income, and sometimes you don't even make that.

I wonder why prices are so low. It must be competition.
Too much meat chasing too few buyers.

On the other hand, butchering must be a pretty good
living. Raw material is cheap, finished goods are
expensive, and costs are pretty low. Refrigeration
is probably the biggest cost after raw materials.

> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
> nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
> square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
> larger enclosure. That is probably a good thing because I later
> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
> real pain in the neck.

You were lucky to get out of the auction without buying
anything. You shouldn't go to one of these auctions
without bringing your wife. :-)

Nan wrote:
>
>>
>> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
>> nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
>> square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
>> larger enclosure. That is probably a good thing because I later
>> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
>> real pain in the neck.
>
> That sounds like a cool day. How many calves did your friend buy?


None. He wants to get some chickens, but he wants to get some breed of
them that lays low cholesterol eggs. We just went to see what sort of
stuff is available.



> We've threatened to get a couple and name them rump roast and
> sirloin!!!
> There are so many people here in DE that have 10 - 15 goats and I
> wonder why? Milk? sell for meat? Cheese? We have 2 acres that could
> use clearing by goats, hmmmmmmmm, wonder how the Jack Russell
> terrorista and the Greyhound would do with them?? Could be quite a
> zoo!!

I think Jack Russells get along fine with livestock. they are quite
popular in horse stables. A friend of mine bred them and had barn full
of horses. My Belgium Shepherd loves horses and goats. I often take him
along with me to my riding lessons. He goes to see the goats first and
then checks out all the horses. They all seem to like him too.

ChattyCathy wrote:
> Dave Smith wrote:
>
> <snipped for space>
>
> Sounds like you had a good day... and yes, those auctions are
> interesting to say the least. But please bear in mind that although the
> prices sound cheap, you'd have to slaughter any livestock you bought
> there yourself - or if your local municipality rules and regulations
> don't allow that, you'd have to (pay?) somebody else to do the
> slaughtering for you... Not to mention the feed costs that you'll incur
> until as time as the slaughtering takes place.

There are places around that slaughter and butcher. It costs, but not a
lot. There is even a place where you can take chickens and other fowl
for slaughter and dressing. If you can get a small lamb you can use it
for a lawn mower for a few weeks while it fattens up. I am not a bog fan
of goat, but they are cheap to feed, and at a buck a piece you don't
have a lot invested. If you slaughter them young, as lambs are, there is
not a lot of money involved.



> IME, goats are quite good 'escape artists' if you don't have a really
> strong pen - and they'll eat almost any vegetation they see. I've seen
> the damage caused when some goats 'got loose' and wandered into a
> friend's garden... you don't wanna know.

That is right. I have a friend whose pigs got out and destroyed a
neighbour's nice garden.


> We actually have a rather large bona fide goat pen on our property -
> built by the previous owners. Trust me, Alcatraz could take some
> security tips from that pen ;-)

Yep. They can climb up and eventually break down a sturdy wire fence.
The guy behind me had three buffalo that escaped. They knocked the fence
right down.



>
> However, we don't use it as such because we eventually decided against
> keeping goats ourselves - but Dad did some building alterations and
> turned the feed storeroom contained therein into a coop for our
> chickens to sleep in at night... By day the hens scratch around happily
> in the yard part of the pen; keeps (most) predators out. <g>

My neighbour wants to get some chickens to free range. His biggest worry
will be the coyotes that are quite plentiful around her. The guy who
lived there before used to have free range chickens. One night he was
out mowing his back lawn. The chickens were out there enjoying all the
bugs uncovered by the mowing. The neighbour on the other side alerted
him to a coyote who was hiding behind his wood pile watching him and the
chickens.

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
>
> You were lucky to get out of the auction without buying
> anything. You shouldn't go to one of these auctions
> without bringing your wife. :-)


I don't know how much I could get for her :-)

Dave Smith wrote:

>
> My neighbour wants to get some chickens to free range. His biggest
> worry will be the coyotes that are quite plentiful around her. The guy
> who lived there before used to have free range chickens. One night he
> was out mowing his back lawn. The chickens were out there enjoying all
> the bugs uncovered by the mowing. The neighbour on the other side
> alerted him to a coyote who was hiding behind his wood pile watching
> him and the chickens.

We don't have coyotes 'round here, (thank goodness) but the little pesks
we have to worry about are the mongooses. These little critters can get
through the goat fence - as I discovered to my disgust; they are as
agile as monkeys and as slippery as snakes - and twice as smart. But
they're so cute and are only trying to feed their young - so we don't
try to trap/kill them, we've just 'mongoose-proofed' the coop. Seems to
work (so far).
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Dave Smith wrote:

> Mark Thorson wrote:
>>
>>
>> You were lucky to get out of the auction without buying
>> anything. You shouldn't go to one of these auctions
>> without bringing your wife. :-)
>
>
> I don't know how much I could get for her :-)

<snork>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

ChattyCathy wrote:
> Dave Smith wrote:
>
>
> We don't have coyotes 'round here, (thank goodness) but the little pesks
> we have to worry about are the mongooses. These little critters can get
> through the goat fence - as I discovered to my disgust; they are as
> agile as monkeys and as slippery as snakes - and twice as smart. But
> they're so cute and are only trying to feed their young - so we don't
> try to trap/kill them, we've just 'mongoose-proofed' the coop. Seems to
> work (so far).


Coyotes are a major threat to free range fowl. Once the are in a pen
they are generally safe from them. However, we also have foxes, skunks
and weasels. Fortunately, we don't have many skunks here, but there are
some. They are more interested in the eggs, and they can burrow under a
fence. Foxes can be pretty crafty. But those damned little weasels are
small enough to get through anything, and they just love to kill. A fox
may kill a chicken and run off with it for a meal, but a weasel will
kill everything just for fun.

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:28:11 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>My neighbour called yesterday morning to see if I wanted to go to a
>local livestock auction with him. He has been thinking of getting some
>critters to raise and wanted to see what was available and what kind of
>prices he will have to pay. It sounded interesting so I went, and what
>an experience it was.
>
>The auction had started at 10 am and we didn't get there until 11, in
>time to see them selling off things like odd lots of dog food and cat
>food. Then they started selling the rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.
>They took an hour break before the sheep, goats and calves.
>
>I could not believe how cheap they were. There was one sheep that was
>sold by the pound and everything else was sold per piece. The auctioneer
>started off asking for $2 per pound for the 170 lb. sheep, then dropped
>it to $1, the 50 cents. It ended up going for 47 cents. The (70lb) lamb
>sold for $45. Hell. I have paid almost $50 for a good sized leg of lamb.
>You would get two of those on this lamb, plus the shoulders, racks and
>everything else. They sold 8 calves for $40-50 each.
>

Talk about livestock selling cheaply, here's one for you.
Back in the 80's and early 90's we raised sheep and had a flock of
about 50 breeding ewes and a couple of rams. Lamb prices were slowly
falling in our usual market so we decided to take one lamb of about 45
lbs. to an auction in a different area to test their prices. We didn't
stick around for the sale, just had them mail the cheque and when it
arrived I could hardly believe it. That 45 lb. lamb sold for $5.00 but
after the auction commission, insurance and OSMA fees were deducted I
received a cheque for the grand total of Zero Dollars & 66 cents! I
still have the cheque right here so I hope it didn't screw up their
bookkeeping too much.
It was just a few months after that when we called a drover, shipped
all the animals and took a job in town.

Ross.

On Mar 25, 9:28*am, Dave Smith > wrote:
> My neighbour called yesterday morning to see if I wanted to go to a
> local livestock auction with him. *He has been thinking of getting some
> critters to raise and wanted to see what was available and what kind of
> prices he will have to pay. *It sounded interesting so I went, and what
> an experience it was.
>
> The auction had started at 10 am and we didn't get there until 11, in
> time to see them selling off things like odd lots of dog food and cat
> food. Then they started selling the rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.
> They took an hour break before the sheep, goats and calves.
>
> I could not believe how cheap they were. There was one sheep that was
> sold by the pound and everything else was sold per piece. The auctioneer
> started off asking for $2 per pound for the 170 lb. sheep, then dropped
> it to $1, the 50 cents. *It ended up going for 47 cents. The (70lb) lamb
> sold for $45. Hell. I have paid almost $50 for a good sized leg of lamb.
> You would get two of those on this lamb, plus the shoulders, racks and
> everything else. *They sold 8 calves for $40-50 *each.
>
> I almost came home with some kid goats. They were so cute. They were so
> young they still had umbilical cords hanging down and they were jumping
> and cavorting about. Some of them sold for $1. Hell, I was going to
> start bidding on how much they could pay me to take one. At $1 a piece
> it would probably not even pay for the cost of gas to bring them to the
> auction.
>
> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
> nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
> square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
> larger enclosure. *That is probably a good thing because I later
> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
> real pain in the neck.

I've never tried the ol' kid boiled in its mother's milk, but it must
be really yummy. Why else would God have to tell people three times
not to do it:
Exodus 23:19 and 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21

Perhaps it's like fornication. If it wasn't so much fun, they
wouldn't have to keep tellin' you not to do it.

--Bryan

On Mar 25, 12:42*pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> Nan wrote:
>
> >> The only thing that stopped me from getting one is that I thought I had
> >> nowhere to put them. I had forgotten all about my dog kennel. It is 16'
> >> square and could easily hold 2-3 until I could put up a fence for a
> >> larger enclosure. *That is probably a good thing because I later
> >> realized that, as cute as they are, they turn into goats and can be a
> >> real pain in the neck.
>
> > That sounds like a cool day. *How many calves did your friend buy?
>
> None. He wants to get some chickens, but he wants to get some breed of
> them that lays low cholesterol eggs. *
>
I'd like to raise some of those boneless chickens, but not the
boneless and skinless variety. I like the skin.

Hey, anyone have a good "kid boiled in its mother's milk" recipe?

--Bryan

In article
>,
Bobo Bonobo® > wrote:


> Hey, anyone have a good "kid boiled in its mother's milk" recipe?

I was going to make a joke, asking if your son has been misbehaving, but
your sense of humor is a little uncertain.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Dan Abel wrote:
> In article
> >,
> Bobo Bonobo® > wrote:
>
>
>
>> Hey, anyone have a good "kid boiled in its mother's milk" recipe?
>>
>
> I was going to make a joke, asking if your son has been misbehaving, but
> your sense of humor is a little uncertain.

I'm glad I was not drinking anything when I read this. <g>


Becca