Animal Prices (as of 1/1/2010)

Breeding Sheep:

Sheep prices vary by whatever the farmer is selecting for. If you tell me what you want, I can give you a price. Breeding sheep start at $100 and note that, legally, any sheep being sold that leave the premises alive (except for going to a USDA butcher) are considered breeders and must be ear tagged. There is no fee for the tagging. It's just a legal thing but it will make them "blemished" as far as Orthodox Jewish and Islamic codes go. You will need to arrange for transportation by paying an animal transporter or bringing a large enough vehicle with some way of safely containing the animals.

Payment Policy Regarding Breeding Stock

Any payment would have to be in full prior to the animal leaving the farm, so if you wanted to pay with a check, we would have to confirm with our bank that the check had already cleared. We charge a $25 dollar per animal non-refundable deposit which is included in the final price of the animal (so it's not in addition to the quoted price) and that is good for 6 months from the time we receive the deposit. The deposit is only lost if the buyer fails to pick up the animals within the 6 month period.

What the deposit does is reserve the animal for up to 6 months so that we won't sell it to someone else in the meantime. We do not charge any boarding fees for animals waiting to be picked up, but if the animal gives birth in the meantime we reserve the right to keep or sell the progeny. It also means that barring major illness or other calamity we will have trapped the animal into one of our smaller paddocks for the alloted pick-up time so that there is a minimum of time and effort spent catching them at that point.

If a buyer does not wish to pay the deposit, then if someone else shows up in the meantime with payment, the animals will be sold on a first come first served basis. It also means that we will not expend the labor on catching the animal ahead of time and given the size of our pasture, that might easily take several hours.

We also reserve the right to charge an additional deposit or refuse sale if a buyer shedules a pick-up and then fails to show at the appointed time.

Slaughter Sheep:

$50 if you do it here all by yourself.
We help you catch them, and you do the butchering and processing using your own equipment. As a minimum you will want some sort of cooler, ice, storage bags (clean kitchen sized garbage bags AND zip seal bags no smaller than 1 gallon size), knives, (whatever you personally like for butchering). I also recommend some sort of clean butchering surface (like maybe a previously scrubbed tailgate) also several large bowls, something to drink (because it is tiring) and maybe some bandages, and stuff to clean up with.

$75 if you do it here with some help.
We help you catch them, and you do the butchering and processing using our equipment, (the hanging Gazebo, knives, rope, pulleys, source of water, cutting board, several large bowls). We will also dispose of any carcass parts that you might not want. You bring clean bags, cooler, ice.

$75 if you want us to deliver to one of the USDA butchers closest to us. Under Kentucky law, if you want meat but do not wish to butcher the animal yourself, we can only sell a whole animal to be butchered by a USDA Butcher. You arrange with them for butchering and shipping or pickup.

Foothills Country Meats
http://www.foothills-countrymeats.com
710 Virginia Avenue
Monticello, KY 42633
(606) 348-0966
Bluegrass Lamb and Goat LLC.
www.bluegrassfreshlambandgoat.com
3060 Cartersville Road
Paint Lick, KY 40461
(859) 925-2000
$250 if you want to do it here as a class.
You and up to two guests come here. We help you catch them, and you do the butchering and processing using our equipment, but we will stay there (up to four hours) and instruct you on the finer points of not getting the meat full of bone shards or offal. You bring a cooler and ice.

Pig Prices:
$50 : Due to health problems I can not assist in catching pigs. I can help you trap them into one of our paddocks, but catching them and putting them into a crate is up to you. Bring a crate, and strong rope (at least ten feet and at least 800 pound test line).

I can, as a free service, shoot one in the head and let you take it from there. See sheep prices as far as slaughtering facilities and offers go.