We are raising registered quality Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, with an emphasis on correct conformation, health, and milk production. (Cuteness and wonderful dispositions are just added bonuses.)
A non-refundable deposit of 25% of the price per goat is required to hold an animal. That deposit will hold an animal for the new buyer for 2 weeks while transportation arrangements are made. I hate to have to say deposits are non-refundable as it sounds so harsh and cold, but due to the actions of some people in the past, that is the policy we have had to put in place. Obviously, it is nothing personal toward any new buyer.
Deposits can be made through PayPal to [email protected]. If payment is made through PayPal, I ask that the “friends & family” option be checked when sending payment so that a PayPal transaction fee is not taken out of the amount due to us. If the buyer does not wish to use the “friends & family” option then they will need to include the PayPal transaction fee In Addition to the amount to be sent to us. The PayPal transaction fee is .029 times the amount being paid to us.
If Paypal is not an option, we can discuss payment by check.
For the health and well being of our goats, we will not sell one goat alone unless the buyer already has goats. Ideally, our goats would leave the ranch in pairs, with a buddy they know, to help ease the stresses of transportation and moving into a new herd. Preference will be given to homes that buy more than one animal at a time for that very reason, most especially when it involves kids that will be transported out of state.
It is the buyer’s responsibility to handle all transport arrangements, to cover the cost of all shipping and associated costs; including Veterinary Health Certificates (CVI,) any tests each state may require for entry, along with any and all other expenses incurred with transporting the animal. If shipping out of the state of California, it is the buyer’s responsibility to find out the requirements for a goat to enter their state. Some tests take a week or more and results have to be back before the animal can ship, so please plan accordingly.
Our veterinarian charges a $60 ranch call fee to come to our place. The CVI is $65 for one goat, so the total for a CVI for one goat is $125 minimum. If more than one goat is shipping to the same new owner, it is only $8.00 per additional goat after the first one (on the same CVI form.) Required additional tests are, of course, an additional fee. In some cases, we can work it out to transport the goat to the vet somewhere on her route to get the CVI and avoid having to pay the ranch call fee. I ask for gas money and some compensation for time but it has always been less than the $60, so that option can save the new buyer some money.
Biosecurity is a concern when shipping animals but there are some very good ground transport options available and we are happy to make recommendations if asked. We ask that the buyer communicate with us via Email (or Facebook,) prior to booking transport, because just as we can recommend some reputable transporters, there are also some transporters that we do NOT want our goats to travel with.
If the transporter can not pick up the goat here at our ranch then I am willing to work with transporters, to drive to meet them on the day and at whatever time they need me to, but out of fairness, I do ask that the buyer cover gas costs and something for my time. In each case it has been a 4 – 6 hour drive to get goats to the major interstate to meet them on their route, so I had to take unpaid time off of work and depending on what time I was to meet them, I had to pay someone to feed and milk my herd while I was gone. The time has varied from leaving here at 2:30 in the morning to meeting them late at night.
All of our goats are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA.) We are pleased to say that this even includes all 2021 doe kids, despite the ADGA disaster this year. Much of our breeding stock is also dual registered with the American Goat Society. Registration papers with the proper signed transfers will be mailed to the new owner. We do not send original signed registration papers with third party transporters. New owner is responsible for transfer fees after purchasing a goat from us.
We understand that sometimes the animal can not be picked up within the 2 week period, we are willing to discuss the possibility of boarding the animal. If arrangements are agreed upon for an animal to stay past the 2 week period, board fees are $6.00 per day for kids or non-milking animals, and $12.00 per day for milking does, up to a maximum of 30 days. Animals must be picked up within 30 days of the initial deposit.
If the animal is not picked up on the agreed upon day and there has been no communication to make other arrangements, the deposit and all fees paid will be forfeited, and the animal will be offered to another buyer. Please notify us at least 24 hours ahead of time if transportation plans are not going to work out for any reason.
All goats must be paid in full before they leave our property. Full payment may be made through PayPal with the friends & family option, by check sent 2 weeks prior to pick up or cash at the time of pick up. Full payment must have cleared before the goat is allowed to leave. All sales are final.
If you buy a Sonview Ranch goat, we ask for the courtesy of first right of refusal. This means that if you decide to sell that Sonview Ranch goat at any point after buying it, that you let us know and we would have first option to buy the goat back. While we are not obliged to buy the goat back, it is proper etiquette to offer the goat back to the seller/breeder first.
Much time, care and expense is invested into our goats to make sure they are healthy, up to date on vaccinations, deworming and hoof trimming prior to leaving our ranch. Once an animal leaves our care and leaves our property, we do NOT guarantee its health. We have no control over the care, well being, health nor safety of any animal once it leaves. It is stressful for animals to leave their known environment and stressful to integrate into a new herd. Obviously stress has negative effects and can lead to illness, internal parasite numbers increasing drastically and in rare cases, death can occur. We are not responsible for anything that happens to an animal once it leaves our ranch and do not offer any guarantees of any kind for health or safety once an animal leaves our property.
All adult animals on our property are tested annually for CAE, CL & Johne’s, well after our show season is over since I understand that there are risks associated with showing so I monitor my herd each and every year. Any additional testing or a vet exam can be arranged at the buyer’s expense.
Registered Sonview Ranch goats we offer for sale are guaranteed to be free from physical defects that would disqualify them from the show ring (with the exception of measuring over height. See following paragraph) as well as genetic or congenital defects that render them unbreedable. If this were ever to occur, we would offer an equitable replacement from the current available sales list or the buyer could choose an available kid of similar value from the following year’s sales list, after providing written proof of the condition from a licensed veterinarian. In addition to this, it is our ongoing policy that goats that do not meet our standards for show or breeding are sold strictly as pets, without registration papers. This is reflected in their price and clearly communicated when we offer them for sale. Breeding goats is unpredictable. One can breed the best to the best and end up with a pet quality goat. Sometimes faults do not show up until the animal matures. Sometimes certain animals or certain genetics do not cross well together. It is all a gamble, even with research and knowledge. No breeder can guarantee what the result of any particular breeding will be nor what any particular breeding animal will produce, including us.
We do not guarantee height.
Buck height is quite controversial in Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats and there are strong opinions surrounding the issue. Over the years, some of the best bucks we have been fortunate enough to buy have gone over height, but we have never had a doe go over height, no matter who her sire was, which has also been the experience of several well known and highly respected herds who have been breeding for decades longer than I have. I do want to be clear that I am talking about using bucks who grew over height, including those with a high dorsal process that put them over height but they came from generations of does who were under the doe height limit, so the bucks’ dams were not over height. Over height does are a completely different matter and as I said, I have never had a doe I bred go over height since 2010 when I started breeding Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats.
Thank you for your interest in our herd and for reading through our sales policy. It has become necessary in this day and age, which is quite unfortunate. We have tried to be very clear and upfront in an effect to communicate clearly in hopes of avoiding misunderstandings later on. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can clarify anything for you.