sales.policy

Thank you for visiting Sweet Gum Minis. Below I will cover all aspects of purchasing a goat at our farm from deposits and payment to shipping and disease testing. Thanks for reading!

General Information

Goats are social herd animals who do not do well when alone. If you are new to goats and are considering just getting one please reconsider. Goats who are kept alone cry non-stop and are depressed. For this reason we will not sell goats by themselves unless you currently have goats. Goats often do well as companions for other livestock so they can be a horse etc companion too. Please know your horses disposition towards goats before purchasing a goat or goats. Thank you for understanding.

All information given on animals is accurate and truthful to the best of our acknowledge. We will not deign any information about any goats on our farm. If a goat has a disqualifying trait that will be noted specifically in their description and will be reflected in their price.

Please note that there will be no refunds of deposits period. We can however, transfer it to another kid or adult currently available or in the future.

Deposits

Deposits are not taken on breeding(s). Deposits are for kids or goats until their pick-up is arranged. Deposits are $50 for bucks or does and $25 for wethers per goat. Deposits are not refundable, but can be transferred to another kid or towards the purchase of another goat, your choice. Should the kid die or become unsuitable for sale then deposits will be refunded in full to you or can be transferred to another kid, your choice. If you have any questions about deposits or purchases email us.

We do accept paypal if you wish to send the deposit by paypal. Please include a 3.5% service charge on all credit card and echeck forms of payment through paypal.

Waiting List

If you would like to reserve a kid please email us with the dam's name and what you are reserving. (Example, a blue-eyed doe kid from Nimue or a Polled buck kid from Anna etc.) Your name will be taken down in order by first come first serve. Once kids are born from that breeding you will be notified of the kids birth and availabilty. If you're second in line for a kid you will be notified that the kid is born, but the person ahead of you will have first choice on reserving. As with all goats at our farm, breeder reserves all rights to retain any kid to our herd.

We will notify those on the waiting list within 24 hours of birth of the newborn kids. You have 3 days to notify us whether you want the kids or not or the next on the list will be given the option to buy the kid. Deposits are required as soon as you confirm to buy a kid. Please send payment to:

Ashley Capps

119 W. King St.

Easley, SC 29640

Payment

We DO NOT accept checks at pick-up! This is not negotiable, bring cash or please have the goat paid for before pick-up. We will however, accept checks for deposits and we will take checks for full payment so long as they have had time to clear before pick-up is arranged. If you wish to pay by check please contact us and arrange a time frame. We do accept paypal, money orders and of course cash. If you pay by paypal we require an additional 4% off the total price to cover paypal fees. We want all parties involved to be happy with their purchase. Just drop us a line at admin@sweetgumminis.com with any questions. Also, if you need a health certificate, please let us know and add an additional $10 to the total price. Thank you!

Pricing

I price each kid individually but by a basic price scale. Doelings start out at $300 and depending on dam, sire and personal merit the price may go up. I will occasionally have a kid who may be lower than the set price. Reason maybe an extra small kid or one I determine is pet quality. Most first freshener doelings will be $300. Bucklings start out at $100. Buck kids whom we would not be comfortable using on our own breeding program will not be left intact. Also regardless of quality, any buckling not sold by 8 weeks of age will be neutered unless we choose to retain him ourselves. Buck kids sold will come from dam's with very nice mammary systems. Each buckling will be evaluated before we put our name on him.

Occasionally we also may have unregistered kids available. This is due to accidental breedings where the sire is unknown or undetermined. If we feel it is worth DNA testing we will, but otherwise the kids will be petted out instead. Those kids will be much less expensive due to the fact that they will not have papers. They are no less quality animals though. Should still be excellent milkers and productive herdsires for unregistered herds. Doelings will be around $100-150 depending on color etc. Bucks will be $75-100.

Pet wethers are $75 each or $125 for 2. Pet wether reservations will be taken but please bare in mind that bucklings being quality enough to be sold as bucks will remain for sale until all buck sales are exhausted. We will not wether an excellent quality buck for pet wether sales. This said, with many does being first fresheners and not proven as well as the lack of homes for all the bucks born, there will be a large selection of wethers available. Email for pictures of available wethers during kidding season.

Prices are honored to those who have paid a deposit. Prices are subject to change on any or all goats for sale at any time until a deposit is received. People reserving kids on the breeding schedule also lock in their kid's price before birth.

Returns

I have decided not to accept returns for any reason. If it is medically necessary I can take the animal back into quarantine until a new home is found, but we have decided not to accept returns due to the fact that we do not know where they go or how they're treated nor what they maybe exposed to once they leave. So all sales are final once an animal leaves. Thank you for understanding this. Questions or comments, just email us.

Kid Care

Kid Care Schedule
Updated: 8-10-08 We are gradually working our way to pulling all kids for bottle rearing. At this time we are not aiming to practice strict CAE prevention on upcoming births. We will determine whether we will for 2009 closer to kidding time in 2009. We are doing this to ensure health, friendliness with our kids and milk production with our does. We have found that milking a doe and bottle raising the kids leads to super friendly babies who are available for pick-up sooner and easier for the kids to adjust to change. It also helps us with maintaining a show herd and nice even, heavily productive udders on our does. Thank you for reading!
Before Birth
    I have not missed a birth yet. I stall all my does in a "kidding stall" at least a week, normally 2 weeks before birth at night only. During the day they're out with the rest of the herd and I can watch them from the window for signs. I check the ligaments of my does faithfully. This method of detecting pending birth has never failed me. The ligaments will drop and disappear. It will feel like you can touch your finger tip to thumb around her spine. Best way to notice it, would be to get use to feeling for them daily on your does. I check at least twice, often more times a day. If she's a skittish doe then I only get to check twice. Once in the AM when they eat their breakfast grain before being turned out and last in the evening at their dinner when they come up for the night.
    I have a baby monitor and video camera in my barn to listen and watch the does with. I use to use the baby monitor souly to know when my does were close. Now I have a video camera installed and can watch as well as listen. I have found the video camera to be priceless. It saves me the million trips to the barn to see who's pawing, or who's grunting. I have found most of the time, that its another doe making all the noise. So the camera was a wonderful investment and one I can't live without anymore. I still use the baby monitor for nights while I sleep so that if a doe starts pushing I can hear her.
-Birth
All kid's dams will be vaccinated with Bar-Vac CD/T and give and given a selenium dose a month before their due date. This is a good booster for kids. We have both vaccinated and not vaccinated but I have found personally in my herd that kids thrive if their dams do receive the vaccine and selenium before kidding. So we do all does now.
Iodine the naval
Squirt of Nutri-Drench
     We observe every kid nursing on their own before we take a much needed break from the birth-fun. Many times we've been in the barn for hours by the time the kids arrive.
1-2 weeks
Disbudded and tattooed
     I have found that kids seem to bounce back faster if we disbud earlier and do both procedures at once. If we wait till about 3 weeks to disbud it involves more burning, and if we tattoo at a later time it only makes the kids a little skittish. So in order to keep them friendly and outgoing to us we do them early.
4 weeks

1st deworming with Ivermec, Safeguard or Valbazen.
Sulmet (for Coccidia, 5 day treatment) ~ I have discovered that doing this as a preventative therapy does more harm than good. Kids I have treated without symptoms end up having a rougher time and lead to more treatments later. Kids who DO NOT receive the preventative therapy actually thrive and grow out better. If a kid needs treatment for diarrhea we automatically start them on Sulmet or Scour Halt and have found excellent results with this.

6 weeks

Hoof trim

1st Bar-Vac CD/T booster
8 weeks

2nd deworming
2nd Bar-Vac CD/T booster

     All horned kids will be disbudded and this is not negotiable. We will not leave horns on kids so please do not ask. All registered kids will be tattooed with our herd tattoos before leaving as well. Bucklings intended to be wethers will be neutered at approximately 8 weeks of age.
     Bottle raised kids are available for pick-up by those familiar with bottle raising kids earlier than weaning. Those willing to take kids on bottle can pick them up around 5-6 weeks of age. Otherwise kids will be available at 8 weeks of age for their new homes. It is up to the new owner whether to continue on to 10 or 12 weeks on the bottle or wean earlier.
     We reserve the right to retain any kid born here to our herd. This does include any kids who may already have deposits or paid in full. Though we do not anticipate ever having this situation though. We reserve the right to refuse a sale for any reason at any time and all funds paid for the goat refunded. We have heard stories of scams and bad buyers so we are including these for those reasons.

Pick-up

All money due for goat(s) must be paid on or before pick-up. If you are paying off the goat(s) at pick-up bring cash. We do not accept checks at pick-up. No exceptions!

Kids are to be picked up before or by weaning. Weaning generally takes place between 8-12 weeks of age depending on each goat's individual needs. We are switching to bottle raising so kids maybe available sooner than previously. Inquire for details.

Adult goats are to be picked-up by date made in email/phone arrangements. If previous arrangements are not made, then boarding fees of $1 a day may apply. Should 60 days pass without written or verbal contact then all moneys paid will be forfeited and the goat will be either put back up for sale or kept by seller's discretion.

Please address any and all concerns you might have at pick-up with the goat(s) you're purchasing. Do not wait till you have the goat home to email with questions or complaints. Goats will not be accepted back under these terms. We are happy to work things out in person.

Shipping

We do ship kids. In most cases two can be shipping together in the same crate saving you a second shipping fee so be sure to ask about multiples. Please call the airline you wish to use in advance to verify if you are planning to ship two together. ALL fees and expenses incurred for the flight including, vet health certificate, any testing your state requires, crate for shipping and other supplies are the buyers expense. We will be happy to drop your kid(s) off at the airport ready for their trip after all arrangements and payments are made. No kids will be shipped if only partially paid for or by COD so do not ask. A rough cost for supplies is $35 for vet health certificate, $15-20 per test requested, $55+ crate and the flight averages around $150-250 depending on airline, number of kids, destination and other factors. (All prices and conditions mentioned above are subject to change so please verify costs before submitting payment.)
Since we plan to show don't hesitate to ask if we maybe attending a show and we can deliver kids or adults that are for sale for no extra cost to a show. The shows we anticipate attending for 2007 are mainly in GA, SC and NC but others maybe added later.

Registration

All kids are sold with applications for the AGS, ADGA & NDGA at time of sale. Here at Sweet Gum Minis all of our Nigerian Dwarfs are registered with the AGS (American Goat Society). Many of our does are dual and some are triple registered with the NDGA (Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association) and/or ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association). All of our bucks are triple registered with the AGS, ADGA & NDGA. Kids who require DNA typing will have this preformed before being sold. In that case the goat will have its registration already provided at time of sale.

From now on we are going to name all our kids born here. This is mainly for my records and name usage. If you would like to name your kid please email us and let us know and send in the name as soon as possible.

Disease Testing

When we do our disease testing we include ALL animals here. That can be bucks here on loan, unregistered goats, goats sold, everything! We do not skip ANY animal for testing. We test all animals on our property 6 months and older. The reason we do not test under 6 months is because the test is not accurate due to the young stock not building antibodies therefore they'll return negative either way. So we test all animals over 6 months of age. Which will include our young stock's sires and dams. On occasion we enlist our vet's help to pull blood. We have had them out to show us how to do it. We sometimes pull it ourselves. Depends on what tests we're pulling for. We've gotten pretty good at pulling blood thanks to our wonderful vet!

*March 2007 1st CAE test NEGATIVE by Washington State.
*May 2008 CAE all tested NEGATIVE by Washington State.

Guarantee

All kids are guaranteed healthy and free of any known health problems upon leaving the farm. We abide by the rules set forth by the American Dairy Goat Association as seen here on this page under section XIX Recommended Trade Practices For Members. http://www.adga.org/2004-trade-practice.html#98

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