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RE: Make money breeding animals?

britboy — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:17:37 GMT

My opinion: The only way you can sustain a profit from horse breeding is by having something special, ie breeding from a mare that has achieved serious recognition. We live in Illinios now but our family has a 120 acre farm within the commuter belt of London, England. We used to breed good horses that had achieved at least to county level (counties in England are kind of like small states in US) and they sold good but when you look at the costs involved we found that the profits from the farm were increased by merely selling space to really rich people with spoilt children (or wives)

The farm is now totally over to livery, both full and half, we now profit from farrier visits (the farrier bills us for 30 horses and we on bill at profit). The hay, straw and chips have to be bought from us, at profit. We even charge hourly for riding arena access. We charge trainers to come to our farm to train all the little angels, etc, etc.

Oh, we also have 30 or so Chickens and sell all the "freerange" eggs to the liveries.

RE: Make money breeding animals?

Sue Weaver — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:31:20 GMT

colorblind7 (6/22/2008)

Thanks for the info. My goats are mixed breeds, the lady uses them for dairy and selling babies, she had about 80. She had purebreeds too but I of course was interested in the cheapest one that might turn out big enough to pack. She told me what they were, I forgot mostly. The bigger one is part nubian, and 1/4 alpine, and maybe something else... the smaller one I cant remember, but it had at least 3 breeds in it. She said it would be small. It's pure white, and looks at a glance to be like a baby dall sheep. The bigger one is brown, with the makings of an Alpine, stripe down the back and on it's lower sides, but has big floppy ears, real cute. I was just going to get one, but the lady said I need at least two.

I don't really plan on eating mine, but I'm thinking about getting more someday when I have more land. How much does a goat sell for just for meet when it's in that 80-100lb range? Do the different breeds taste any different? Thanks!

That's good advice--goats are always happiest when there are at least two to keep each other company.

Mixed breeds are good! Several of mine are mixed. Many packgoat enthusiasts mix breeds on purpose to bring out the best of several breeds.

The price of meat goats varies a lot from place to place, so it would be hard to say what they'd bring where you live. If you go to this Web page (www.goatconnection.com/usda_market.htm) and click on any of the USDA buying centers listed, you can view up-to-date market prices for that area. Keep in mind that prices are shown per 100 pounds, so for instance if a report reads (I'm getting this from the Springfield, Missouri report) "Kids 40-77 lbs 92.00-117.50", it means the kids weighed 40-77 lbs but the $92.00 to $117.50 would be for 100 pounds of goat, so you have to do some math to find out how much they sold per pound.

If you want good information on raising meat goats, check this out: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/meatgoat.html

Or, you can download the Penn State meat goat production course materials for free (without taking the course) at: http://bedford.extension.psu.edu/agriculture/goat/Goat%20Lessons.htm

There are lots of really useful goat resources online!

Sue

RE: Make money breeding animals?

colorblind7 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:54:33 GMT

RE: Make money breeding animals?

Sue Weaver — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:13:56 GMT

colorblind7 (6/21/2008)

I'm in Alaska and have been looking at goats for sale, I just bought two young wethers for pets, mowing my lawn, and the one that'll get big will be a pack goat perhaps. Seeing the above replies about meet goats going for up to 1200 dollars I've got to ask why? New to the goat thing... is that for some special breed, or enormously fat goat? And another poster said something like 400-800 or something. Does the breed or age matter, or is it mostly by the pound? I'm curious 'cause my two little wethers were just fifty dollars each, I couldn't image selling them for so much in just a couple years when they're big... (how long till a goat stops growing too?) And as far as all summer long is grass, dandelions, and other weeds in my lawn enough or do I need to supplement with timothy, alfalfa, or cob or something? I bought a bale of timothy and a bag of molasis cob just in case, and they like it, but don't have any reservations about grass and dandelions either. can I weed wack my tall weeds, dry them and bale them for winter food? I'm obviously quite the green horn here but I thought a couple goats would be fun, and potentially useful. Thanks!

Those $1200 goats are registered Boers and Kikos. People pay that kind of money for one (or more) of several reasons:

1) They're buying show goats. Show stock can bring really high prices. At the last (Boer goat) production sale I attended, a breeder sold a doe for $3800 and bucks sometimes bring much more than that.

2) They're very correct, very meaty bucks from fast-gaining bloodlines that people buy to breed to commercial does so that the does produce muscular, fast-gaining meat goat kids for market.

3) They breed replacement stock. In other words, they're producing the bucks in point #2 as well as high-end bucks and does for other breeders' breeding programs.

Meat goat kids are usually marketed at 60-80 pounds live weight (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what ethic group will be buying the finished meat), so the faster they reach that size the sooner they can go to market and the less money producers have in them, hence the desire for fast gains.

The biggest goats I've ever heard of were mature Boer bucks running about 300 pounds. The average, meaty Boer or Kiko buck is more in the 225-250 pound range. Your goats will probably be full height at 18 months or so, but they'll contine filling out until they're three or four years old.

What breed(s) are your wethers? You've picked great pets--I love my goats (and no, we don't sell any for meat)! I'm raising pack wethers too, in fact my two oldest are more or less in training now. They're 3 year olds, so they could have been trained a lot younger but I just haven't had the spare time. They are 3/4 Boer and 1/4 Nubian brothers, Salem and Shiloh. I also have a Sable wether, a Nubian wether, a 1/2 Boer and 1/2 Saanen wether, and a Boer-colored boy who was seized in an animal neglect case so I have no idea what his true background is.

Your goats should do okay on grass, weeds, and browse this summer--just watch them and if they start to lose weight, you'll need to buy them some hay or hay pellets to supplement what they're finding on their own. If you can get a loose (not a salt lick type) goat mineral for them, that would be really good too. Just put some in a box and let them nibble whatever they want. If you can't find goat mineral, a loose horse mineral will do.

You could cut and put up your own hay based on weeds, but it's a lot of work. You have to cut it and then turn it once a day for several days until it's totally dry before you can stack it, otherwise it will mold. And it probably won't be very nutritious. You'd be better off buying hay because they'd get more nutrition from that. Whatever you feed them, feed from a box of some sort so they don't walk on the hay or (especially) poop in it. Goats can be pretty messy and if hay gets dirty they will starve (literally!) rather than eat it.

Timothy is great for goats. Since you have wethers, avoid alfalfa if you can because feeding it is implicated in the formation of urinary calculi (stones in the bladder and urethra) and they can quickly lead to a particularly nasty and painful death. You can read more about it here:

Urinary Calculi in Sheep and Goats http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/urincalc.html

Urinary Calculi in Goats http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/urinarycalculi06.html

Also, if you can get good hay, don't feed them grain. Again, more about that in the above articles.

You might want to download the following 47-page .doc file to use as a goat-keeping reference. It's one of the best, basic goatkeeping guides I've seen and it revolves around using goats to graze brush:

Goats in the Woods Workbook www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/goatsinthewoods/technical_materials/workbook%20for%20practitioners.doc

I hope this helps!

Sue

RE: Make money breeding animals?

colorblind7 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:27:04 GMT

RE: Make money breeding animals?

gcwpapillon — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:56:45 GMT

I disagree, boar around here sell for $37-$75....I think that when it come sto breeding animals, that, to ensure you're not just a "mill" you should NEVER rely on that being your main income....I want to breed gypsy Vanners Because they are BEAUTIFUL!!!! and I love them, sure while researching them the price tag averages 25k+ But I also want to raise buffalo (they have super yummy meat!!!!), break/train horses, sell goat milk, and other dairy products, Sell veggies and fruit, gifts in a jar, pottery, photagraphs, hay, real maple syrup, honey....you see where I'm going. If you rely on just the horse, your goal is to breed and have babies, not the genetic, not even the look....more babies more money.....I'm pledged that WHEN i breed GV's I will not sell any stallions that don't match 100% to the regestry...I will geld them, which brings the price tag down to 10k...the if the mares aren't "worth breeding" I will not sell them unless they are spayed....I'm NEVER going to put a GV out there that is not a 100% match...

And NO, I'm not going to neglect the not perfect GV's. I want to also, someday, open a deal with some rescue, or auctions, where I get a misbehaved, wild horse and rehab. it and sell it and with the profit buy another misbehaved....see? I want to be someone who is a "last chance" saver!

RE: Make money breeding animals?

LisaMarie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:23:19 GMT

Hi Jessica,

I just read your post, and I can share with you what I/we do. I work full time managing our Farm/Ranch. We have angus cattle, Cashmere goats, Merino sheep and I raise and start Border Collies for the average Farm/Rancher. All my income comes from the livestock industry; it is what I LOVE.

How many aces you have will help you determine what you can raise. My first thought is Cashmere Goats. Range free Eggs and Roasting Hens. These can coexist together and can provide a sustainable environment for your land.

The Cashmeres are very very cute and do produce a good meat product. They do not have the muscling that some of the meat breeds do, but my locker goats sell from $1 - $1.50 a pound. This income I use of off set the cost of keeping the does and then once a year I harvest the fiber from them and this adds additional income from the animal. Cashmere fiber in a cloud can sell on the average (your area may allow you to go higher) for about $13.50 an ounce. You have your processing cost which can vary depending on who you use and how far you have to ship it to be processed, but I make about a 40% mark up on the fiber.

The chickens would allow you to produce a product everyone uses. If you plan on keeping our layers 2 years and replacing them, you can also produce a range free Roasting hen grown in a sustainable environment. You can start you first set of hens get them up and producing, then as they approach the year and a half mark (or sooner or later depending) their laying will begin to space out at this point I would start up my next set of hens so as your others finish and become your first corp of stew hens, you have others to slid right in and take over. You can build your market in a CSA fashion, where you market in and to your community. (there was a super story in the fall issue of Hobby Farm on Fall Speciality Poultry. This story it tells about building the market in your community.

This is just an idea but maybe it will help. Have a wonderful day,

RE: Make money breeding animals?

Sue Weaver — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:16:59 GMT

As someone who has spent decades trying to make money raising animals, I think I can give you an answer: it's a qualified maybe.

To do so you must find a niche and learn everything you possibly can about it before investing in breeding stock (changing breeds, bloodlines and so on midstream is very costly). Be sure to investigate marketing avenues up front.

Then, buy the most appropriate breeding stock that you can find. If you want to produce meat goat kids for the ethnic market, buy healthy, productive does that doesn't require a lot of input. If you want to raise Miniature Herefords, buy proven, well-conformed individuals of popular bloodlines.

To be cost-effective, you must to learn to do much of your routine vet work yourself--and you need to understand which parasites afflict your chosen species and establish an effective parasite control program.

Plan to promote your enterprize however it applies to the species and niche you've chosen. Advertising needn't cost a fortune; a really good business card (distribute them every place you go) and an attractive, well-maintained Web site go a long way toward inexpensive farm business promotion. If you're selling market kids, distribute tidbits of barbecued cabrito at the county fair and take a tasty chevon casserole to potluck suppers. If you're raising Friesian horses, buy a booth at your state's horse expo and be friendly--strike up conversations with passersby. Take a pair of cuddly Babydoll Southdown bottle lambs to your kids' school or to storytime at the library. Brainstorm! There are lots of ways to promote farm products without going bust.

And plan to persevere. Hobby farmers rarely strike it rich overnight. When raising livestock there is usually a huge learning curve. Be prepared to weather early losses while you absorb the ins and outs.

If you provide a quality product that's needed in your locale, you produce it cost-effectively, and you get the word out so buyers know what you have for sale, yes, you can make money raising livestock (or any other small farm product for that matter). Been there, done that; failed a few times and prospered in others. It all depends on how much time, energy and money you care to expend to do it right.

Sue

P.S.

For more inspiration, read all about:

RE: Make money breeding animals?

shetlandpony — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:42:02 GMT

We raise miniature horses and American Shetland ponies and crosses.

No matter what kind of animal you breed you have to love it. It is not a hobby it is a way of life! Find an animal you love and start researching. Breeding any animal can be both exhilirating and heart breaking.

Some years we make money and some we dont. But we also re invest everything we make back into our horses and facilities.

There is a way to raise animals with ethics and morals but it is the harder road. But in my opinion well worth it. In any kind of animal breeding reputation is everything.

You can view my sites at www.baxterspaintedpasture.com and www.americanshetlandpony.com

Go with what you love and are passionate about

Kay

RE: Make money breeding animals?

Mare Owner — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:13:41 GMT

If you are going to be a breeder of any kind of animal, you have to first like the animals and enjoy the work (and yes, it is a lot of work, no matter what animal). :) Farmers who don't make much money keep farming because they love farming, it is (or should be) the same with raising animals.

We raise beef cattle and quarter horses (and a few paint horses). We make a profit at the end of the year, but we aren't close to being rich. We raise them because we like them, and we make our programs work so we come out in the black at the end of the year.

Keep your inputs low. If you want to raise a grazing animal, you will save a LOT of money having lots of good pasture. Trucking in hay gets expensive fast. Learn how to do basic vet care and maintenance yourself. Some vaccinations can only be administered by a vet, but for livestock other vacc's can be bought/given by the owner. Start with GREAT seed stock. We have very few horses that ever need a dental float because they genetically have great mouths and don't need it. Same with the hooves, horses with excellent hooves don't have a lot of problems like tenderness/abscess/splitting, etc.

You have to decide what type of animal you want to raise, and who your customers will be, and then figure out from there how you can make it work.

RE: Make money breeding animals?

CORockyGal — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:43:58 GMT

I've been around horses most of my life, and have been raising gaited Rocky Mountain horses since 2001. Let me tell you, from the time you put into these guys, even with the prices you can get for some of these guys, it's almost impossible to make a good profit.

I'm down to a herd of 11 horses right now, down from 20 a few years ago, and do all of the feeding, lots of the vet work, all of the riding and training. Many people out there want a good, solid riding horse, and that takes lots of TIME to create. We've always had a hard time selling the younger stock. Now, I'm just breeding a couple of mares every other year, to improve my herd. I have a hard time making a profit (as my husband says, the way you make a million dollars in the horse business is to start with two!!). I love horses, which is why I'm in the business, but if I had to make a "real" living at it, I couldn't afford to do it. One of the biggest places I lose money is the fact that I really take care of preventative care: I worm the horses every two month, have the farrier trim/shoe every two months, give vaccines every year, and have the vet come out to float teeth every year. On top of this, you have the occasional big vet expense (horses getting kicked or cut up), or breeding expenses (we only AI our mares....easier than keeping a stallion around).

So, anyone who thinks they're gonna make big bucks in the horse business is misguided.

I'd suggest cattle or sheep.... at least people want to eat the meat! =)

Take care!

RE: Make money breeding animals?

love alpacas — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:30:54 GMT

I started raising alpacas about five years ago. We started out with two as pets, loved them and started selling them. They are easy animals to care for. The hardest thing about them might be doing the monthly worming if you decide to use injections and trimming toenails. Shearing is usually done by professional shearers that come through the states in the spring and go to area farms that you bring them too untill you get enough alpacas for them to come to your farm. We have had interest in people wanting to breed them to sell and using them as fiber animals to sell fiber and make yarn and clothing from their fiber and use them as pets. Contact me if you have any questions about alpacas.

Christa Wissler

Wissler Alpaca Farm

www.alpacanation.cpm/wisslerfarm.asp

www.alpacalove.blogspot.com

RE: Make money breeding animals?

sarahsboergoats — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:12:05 GMT

Here are a few examples of my BOER meat goats:

This is my buck.

this is my Boer doe. See how they're so big.

Milk Goats are great too. I just prefer Meat goats.

I would say Horses would be great because I LOVE HORSES! But they are a whole lot more work, eat a lot more, and the demand for horses has gone down.-At least that's what people tell me[But I myself have a desire to have a nice trail horse!

I used my Milk goats to raise a calf. I would milk the goat, put the milk in the bottle and then feed it to the calf. It's alot cheaper than buying milk replacer, besides milk replacer isn't as good for 'em!!

RE: Make money breeding animals?

sarahsboergoats — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:01:30 GMT

I agree Goats are the way to go!!!

I own 3 boer [meat goats], and am slowly breeding them into my 10 goat herd. Now, if you decide to go into the goat buisness, GET MEAT GOATS!! I've been selling Dairy Goats for 4 years and Finally decided to get into Meat goats.

Meat goats do alot better than Dairy goats:

1. Meat goats do alot better in cold weather.

2. They gain better.

3. they're cute!

4. Everybody wants to eat 'em!

I've got a neighbor that sold His Boer buck for $1,200!!

I'm waiting for my Nubian does to kid in March 2008.[They're bred to a Boer meat goat]

meat goats usually are from $350-$800.-i'd say the most Normal prices.

Meat goats are the WAY to go!!!

RE: Make money breeding animals?

PromisedLand — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:13:24 GMT

Care should be exercised in breeding animals for profit, so that the emphasis in marketing is on the end use of the animal - other than as future breeding stock.

We have six rescued llamas on our farm, and could have a great deal more if there were room, as a result of the llamas-for-profit campaign that took place in the 1990's.

Very similar to what is happening today with alpacas, the interest was in breeding, and selling breeding stock to others to begin breeding operations. Who is buying other than breeders? The market eventually becomes saturated, and the animals suffer. Llamas live 18-25 years, and are excellent trail companions for packing, livestock guardians, can produce exquisite fiber, pull carts, and be used as therapy animals. Had these traits been marketed as heavily as profit in breeding, there might still be a market today. Instead, there are sanctuaries and rescue organizations.

Raising animals is rewarding in more ways than financial, and yet we must be able to profit from the venture, but not to the detriment of the animals we raise. A good breeder leaves the animal better off, not just genetically, but situationally as well.

Your pointed question shows your concern, we're wishing you the best in your venture.

RE: Make money breeding animals?

RapidsWannabe12 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:42:12 GMT

I suppose horses. I mean, if you have good bloodlines and they're trained well...That's really the only thing: they have to be trained; not many people buy un-trained horses.

Also most any animal that can be sold for meat, like goats...

I hope you find what you like!

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RE: Make money breeding animals?

paullis — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 21:23:37 GMT

The next great livestock is goats and particularly for meat. There are many reasons why but suffice it to say that an investment in high quality meat goats such as Boers should put you at the forefront of this new industry. Goatworld.com has a menu pulldown that shows ethnic holidays where goat meat is eaten. It is huge and growing daily. We bred champion Shetland Sheepdogs for years and the money is probably better than livestock but I would suggest goats as the best livestock. It is the same routine, you must show and establish a name before you will get clients who want to use your bloodlines for breeding.

Make money breeding animals?

anemone — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:56:30 GMT

Hello,

I've always been fascinated by genetics and pedigree research, but I know in dogs, if you do it right, you don't make money. Only the puppy mills and disreputable breeders make money.

I'd be interested in the possibility of other animals, but I don't know them too well. Which animals can you actually make money from breeding? I sound like a puppy miller, I know, but I really am interested in the details of breeding quality stock, and was curious what other options are out there. Even the most fabulous breeders need to pay the bills.

A hobby farm is a dream of mine, but won't happen for a couple years, anyway. I'd appreciate any feedback on this regard.

Jessica