Goat Shopping in Abulug
This week, Rebecca was out in the province and the menagerie around the house just got bigger! Her mama’s birthday was last week and she wanted goats, so we have 11 new members of her “extended family”, which includes pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, and dogs. Here’s a picture of the old homestead…
The house in Abulug
What do you do with goats? Outside of the fact that they eat anything (Even crab shells!), they are a natural way for clearing weeds, brush, just about anything. They are eaten (grilled, stewed, or made into adobo) and can be milked. We are thinking about trying to make cheese… Could be interesting. Now, last year, I was asked to buy some goats, which never happened. Good thing, too. I grew up in the city. Cow, turkey, chicken, cats, goats… They all look the same to me. I said, don’t let me buy them, because you may end up with something that isn’t necessarily a goat. How do you buy a goat? Well, several options. First, in Abulug, just like pigs, guys in trucks will offer them for sale while driving around. There were not any trucks that day. Or, you could go to the market and someone may be selling goats. Rebecca’s mother didn’t like the goat flesh on display. So, eventually, Rebecca and her mother were told about these goats for sale by an individual farmer. They bought 11, one of which was given away to another family member. One of the goats was pregnant, so there also 11 at the house now. How much does a goat cost? Well, depending on size, from 1,500 to 2,000. We bought a lot of them, though, so we ended up with all of them for 1,500 each.
Scouting a location for the pen
They are stubborn animals
Guess it's not a bad life... Eat, sleep, and @#$%^
There was goat hanky panky going on... Little goats in the future?
So, that is how you shop for goats in the Cagayan Valley. We are pig shopping next week, probably for 5 of them. Cost is around 2,500 each for pigs just weaned. We were shopping for a carabao, but the prices are really high right now, because of two reasons:
1. The harvest is over, so people have money.
2. With the price of fuel, carabaos are an alternative to running a tractor.
A carabao is aroung 50,000 for a grown one… and no one is selling up there right now. We are waiting until the school break when folks need some money. Becky and I have a deal… I’ll pay for the carabao, but I get to name him…. I am thinking “Slappy” or “Uterus”…. Good carabao names. Will post pics when we actually buy it.
Congrats on the new family, John!
Hello John,
My problem is that over time , I get emotionally attach to all of my animals and I can’t bear the thought of killing them for own consumption.Selling is usually the one and only option.Of course,farm life won’t support most of us, but its a wonderful way to improve ones health , longevity , family life, spiritual growth and peace of mind.Its truly a wonderful way to relieve stress.To quote Confucius ” Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated” Good luck John.
John,
Your stories really sound like a version of “Swiss Family Robinson,” Abulug style. Your life there sounds very idyllic. And to read about farm animals being peddled around town in a truck! Wow! I never heard of that. And I lived in the Philippines for a few good years. I grew up there, actually. Though, like you, I’ve been confined to more urban areas. Then and now…
As to this carabao’s name, I’m intrigued. Uterus? Will it come with an IUD? Just kidding…
So what happens if it’s a male carabao. Does Rebecca get to name it with a male body part?? Let me guess what it might be… Oh no, never mind, I’m prim and proper so I won’t say it. LOL.
I’m looking forward to the carabao picture and with you/Rebecca riding on it. The goats? You might become the local chapter for Heifer Int’l.
-a Filipina reader
I’m fascinated by the pictures and something caught my attention. How do you keep these goats “safe” within your property so that they don’t wander away and get stolen? Do they have to be tied up (all the time?) to a tree or something?
I noticed a noose around their necks… So their life of leisure is limited by how long their rope is?? Just curious. I would like to think they have more freedom to roam the big expanse of the land. But that might not be practical, huh?
Bob… Thanks!
Julius… Yeah, eating the animals named always makes me a bit queasy too…
Ecstasy… Hmmmmm…. Never thought of the male possibility on the carabao name. Becky wants a female (I think because of the milk). The trucks were new to me, too. Sort of like a little travelling market. They come by to all the farms about once a day. I think it is a great idea. Most of the farms don’t have a truck to bring the pigs to market there. The guys with the truck will also take the pigs / goats to the abbatoir for you for a fee, and even to the ladies that will cook it into lechon for you. More like a service. The goats are now in a pen. The pictures were taken while they were being unloaded.
i have read many of the posts on your website with much intrest. i reciently bought my fiancees coconut farm to keep her from losing it, and now have learned we need a carabao, to help us with harvestring and making copra from our coconuts ahnd getting it to market. being among the uninitiated, to farming this is all new to me but i like it. my fiancee wants me to name the carabao, after i buy it ofcourse haha. and, i being rather large, at 6′2″, and over 100kg, thought of the name babe for babe the blue ox alongside paul bunnion. as the native 100% pure carabao look kind of blue grey to me. i look forward to all this new way of life, but i have had little luck finding a reasonably priced carabao. as i have learned from posts here and on other similar websites, it seems usually the middle man in the selling process drives the cost more than anyone else in the process. sometimes getting from 60 to 80% of the final selling price as sheer profit, while the original seller, who raised the animal, gets less than 20% of what the animal is sold for. id like to find a poor farmer whos raised the carabao and deserves more and pay him 60% of the price the middle man usually charges and allow him to eat better for his labors, by making 3 times what he normally would, and at the same time allow myself that same luxury. i like this website and enjoy reading the posts here. the story about not being abvle to erat the named animals as theyve become pets not food, reminds me of the chickens we named as kids and were horrified to see them on the table after dad had gone out in the yard to find our evening meal. and id come home from school to have difficulty locating my pet chicken.im sure ill have the same problem once again, being on a farm after spending most my life off one.
Pedro: I like the name “Babe”… very appropriate. For the carabao, it is best to go into town on market day and ask around…Small town and everyone knows everyone else’s business. Sounds like your wife is a good judge of the animals, though.