Bongo Cow for sale

EddieWalker · May 9, 2015

One of my goals in life is to breed and sell exotic hoof stock. For the size of the animal, there is a lot more money to be made doing this then cattle or anything else out there that I'm aware of. You just need to get the animals that people are willing to pay top dollar for. This way outside my price range, but if you could get a breeding pair going, the money would be significant long term.

1 BONGO COW - Listing # 5796

A friend raises ibex and he gets $2,000 for the babies with the prices jumping into the tens of thousands of dollars for mature rams.

Eddie

texasjohn · May 9, 2015

As I am sure you know, any time something's "value" rises above it's eating value, then it's worth what some *** fool will pay for it, as my grandfather said.

Yet, these value bubbles are always around in something...cats, dogs, tigers, cows, horses, sheep, goats, bongos, black tulips, stocks, etc..

These bubbles seem to work for some...the plan seems to be to get in early, get your stock quantities up asap, then sell out fast when the bubble tops, just before it bursts when the number of animals available exceed the demand.

I wish you all the best with your endeavors ... and well understand the problem of small acreage not being able to support a high volume of animals, thus the allure of "high value" livestock. The small print at the bottom of the auction quietly reminds us of the risks of owning something "live".

*ALL SALES AS IS, WHERE IS. NO GUARANTEE AGAINST SICKNESS, ACCIDENT OR DEATH. WE ACT AS AGENTS ONLY. REMOVAL SHALL BE AT THE EXPENSE, LIABILITY AND RISK OF THE PURCHASER.

These problems are always there,with any livestock, but hit the producer hardest when quantities are very small...it's always your "best" bull which gets hit by lightening, or ....

turnkey4099 · May 9, 2015

texasjohn said:
As I am sure you know, any time something's "value" rises above it's eating value, then it's worth what some *** fool will pay for it, as my grandfather said.

Yet, these value bubbles are always around in something...cats, dogs, tigers, cows, horses, sheep, goats, bongos, black tulips, stocks, etc..

These bubbles seem to work for some...the plan seems to be to get in early, get your stock quantities up asap, then sell out fast when the bubble tops, just before it bursts when the number of animals available exceed the demand.

I wish you all the best with your endeavors ... and well understand the problem of small acreage not being able to support a high volume of animals, thus the allure of "high value" livestock. The small print at the bottom of the auction quietly reminds us of the risks of owning something "live".

*ALL SALES AS IS, WHERE IS. NO GUARANTEE AGAINST SICKNESS, ACCIDENT OR DEATH. WE ACT AS AGENTS ONLY. REMOVAL SHALL BE AT THE EXPENSE, LIABILITY AND RISK OF THE PURCHASER.

These problems are always there,with any livestock, but hit the producer hardest when quantities are very small...it's always your "best" bull which gets hit by lightening, or ....

I have friends that bought into the LLama craze years ago. Their mistake was to buy in just before the bubble burst. They still have those expensive pasture ornaments and haven't made a dime off them.

Harry K

dave1949 · May 9, 2015

turnkey4099 said:
I have friends that bought into the LLama craze years ago. Their mistake was to buy in just before the bubble burst. They still have those expensive pasture ornaments and haven't made a dime off them.

Harry K

I looked into the Alpaca craze years ago. Man, once they had your address all sorts of promotional flyers came. It was obvious that it worked like a Ponzi scheme in many ways--get in at the beginning and get out before the bubble breaks as John mentioned. Eventually, like your friends, someone ends up holding the bag. One angle they pushed very hard was the tax advantages of a hobby farm operating loss offsetting regular income--but check with your accountant. :laughing:

I don't know anything about the exotic animal business. Maybe it's a good idea or not.

Creamer · May 10, 2015

I had some friends who had a hobby farm with a few income sources that worked as a tax shelter for a few years but they found out you have to make a profit sometime or the IRS will rule it a hobby and bye-bye deduction and it may be somewhat retroactive. The IRS is usually a few years back on its audits.

DFB · May 10, 2015

I have neighbor who has been hobby farming in retirement and buys hay from the orchards side business.

First it was Australian Lowline Angus which once when he realized that was too costly an endeavor for him decided to switch over to raising the colorful Icelandic sheep, original Norwegian heritage like him

which he intended to sell also as breed stock to others.

So he searched all around New England and NYS for animals to start his flock. (I think Vermont has more breeders than most states.)

Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America - Breeders Listing

Anyhow now that he has a successful breeding program going he says...

"Nobody wants to buy any"

EddieWalker · May 10, 2015

I never thought of it that way. Here in Texas, exotic hunts are almost as popular as whitetail deer hunting. There are the basics that people come here to hunt, and then their are the super exotics. I'm wanting to raise a few of each. First, because I want to see them and be able to take pictures of them. Second, as their numbers increase, I want an animal that I can sell quickly with a stable market price. They say the oil boom is fueling some of the crazy prices people are paying for the super exotics, but for the more common ones, the prices have been steadily rising for decades.

A guy posted a kudu bull for sale and got offers up to $16,000. I've seen ibex and urials go over $20,000. Zebra are $3,000 and most of your African animals sell for that or quite a bit more. Blackbuck are such prolific breeders that you can get then young for a couple of grand and sell a fair ram for $1,500 in two years, or wait another year and get $2,000. A friend of a friend raises fallow. He has some of the best genetics around and he sells four bucks per year at $10,000 each with a two year waiting list.

I'll have 60 acres under fence, with a good portion of it being wooded. I don't want to lose all my trees, so the amount of grass I'll have available for cattle would be severally limited. I've spent the winter researching goats, but have come to the conclusion that they are more of a way to get the ag exemption without making any money. That is what has led me to the path that I'm currently heading.

Eddie