Is there any breeders or stockers that would be willing to PM me and answer some questions I have. I'm going to do a lot of research online but I want to hear some info from some professionals before I even mention my crazy idea to the wife... I gotta get all my ducks in a row with that woman.. she basically needs a well thought out, facts based PowerPoint presentation. I'm more of a rambling man

Hold onto her for dear life, she'll keep you out of trouble.

I know that's the truth. Her combination of good looks and intelligence is a force to be reckoned with though. Sometimes I wish she was just pretty, so I could win an argument every once in a while

WT or Exotics?

That is why she is your "better half"

I was thinking exotics STX. My initial thought was fallow and Rams just to get my feet wet, then I started reading about Fallow deer and it seems like they are a lot easier to maintain than a lot of other breeds and have less health issues.. Now these are just articles I'm reading, that's the reason I asked y'all for help. I wanted to hear from someone who had some evidenced based information. This isn't a get rich plan, I just love hunting, love animals, and have always wanted to have some connection to the business..

First you have to think about what you want to do. Do you want to do this to try to make money or do it for fun? If you want to try to make money then it will take more of your time and more money to get started. Making money in the exotic business is not easy. What ever type of exotic you think you want to do will take a long time before it becomes profitable if it ever does. If you are doing it for fun it doesn't matter how much you loose. But if you want to make it profitable. Read up all you can on the animal. See how long it takes for that animal to bring the amount of money it takes to make it profitable. See how hard it is to get to that age. See what it costs to get them to that age. See what type of facilities it takes to work those animals. And if you do decide to do it buy the best animals you can afford to get started. Good luck on what ever you decide.

Thanks Don

Also think about who you will sell to. You have to a place to go to with your overstock. Bucks/males are an easy sell if they are out of trophy stock or are trophy class. Now the female side, what are you going to do with them? Both eat a lot. If you are selling young stockers then you are going to be turning them fast. If you are holding them to trophy class to get more money then it is going to take more feed. How many acres are you going to dedicate to raising exotics? The more acres the less feed you will have to pour out of a bag, the less acres the more you will have to dig into your wallet. Common exotics are cheap for a reason. If I were ever going to get into raising an exotic I would pick something that is not as common or a bit rarer that would bring more money for both males and females. Something that is not raised by a lot of people but there is a market for them. You will pay much more for your breeding stock to start but can recoop your money invested on fencing, feed and labor possibly sooner.
Also think about predators and where you live now. Dogs are just as bad as coyotes if you do not live in a rural area with very few neighbors. What type of habitat do you have? Brush, trees, native grass, improved pasture? Lot of exotics are grazers and do well on improved grass like coastal or klein. Water available?
Like Don posted, how will you work them or capture them? Dart gun? Capture facility? How will you deliver or pick up animals? Do you own a trailer?
Lot of expenses that add up very quickly when starting from scratch.

I'm working towards doing the same thing. I havee 68 acres and I'm clearing my property line 30 feet on either side with my neighbors blessing so nothing will fall on my fence. Once I get that done, my fence will have a predator wire at the bottom to keep coyotes out. I'm actually leaning towards digging a 2 foot trench and burying the wire with a foot sticking up that will overlap my 8 foot fence. I own a riding trencher, so that's actually really easy for me to do. I will use either 12 foot T posts and 15 foot pipe that I will pound into the ground so it's plenty deeper then the trench.

For animals, I'm still researching and talking to people. Everyone says fallow are the easiest, but unless you get really good stock, and let them get massive, there isn't any money in them because they are so common. Same with Axis. I have a friend with bongo, urial and markhor. Those should all bring good money when they mature. They tried just about all the other species and have now settled on focusing on this these three.

I also read in a book about the Noah Arc syndrome. I want two of everything, but after reading about that, realized that I need to focus on just a few, or even just one species if I want to be profitable at it. If I can get out of my timber ag exception and into livestock selling exotics, then I'll be happy. I have no illusions of making money at it.

Yeah that is kind of why I am leaning towards fallow right now, they are low maintenance and inexpensive.. If I am successful with raising and breeding them I could try more a rare exotic down the road. I really just want to have animals to be responsible for, take care of, and admire from a distance... Im just in the planning/ dreaming stage right now. I brought it up to my wife today and after she asked me 20 questions and I had 20 logical well thought out answers she seemed pretty open to the idea, so we shall see where it goes... I do have one question, how hard is it to get permits to own/ breed exotics? I've been searching but no luck

Many years ago I use to purchase good quality 2 to 3 year old male stockers every year from good breeders. Then I provided this stock with the best feed and care possible. Under my plan I always had 20 trophy animals each year.

I already had built a good relationship with several ranches through other ventures and they knew I was a man of my word. They purchased my trophy stock every year for about 15 years. I had fun and made some extra $$$$. Then I sold my place. ENJOY

I talked to a game warden and he said as long as the animals are not native to Texas, they are considered livestock. I didn't go into detail beyond that. I know that if you raise certain endangered animals that there are some rules that you have to follow. But I think they apply more towards hunting them, then raising them. For fallow deer, there are no rules that I know of other then you still need a valid hunting license if you shoot one. I don't know if that applies if you slaughter one for meet like you would a beef cow.

Have you looked into fencing yet? Are you going to do it yourself? I was just looking on Craigslist in the Tyler area to price pipe. I saw several adds for 2 7/8s drill stem pipe in 31 foot lengths for a buck a foot. Guy in Athens seems to have a lot of it too.

Hewitts near Gilmer is where everyone I've talked to locally goes to get their rolls of fence. I'm told he has the best prices. McCoys also sells it special order. They have prices on their website, but sometimes when you talk to the guy who does the ordering, you can get a better price just by asking. This website has listed 8 foot fence for $330 on their facebook page. http://fixedknothighfence.com/fixed-knot-fencing/

I'm enjoying the research and trying to learn all I can while clearing my fence line. The one thing that I'm struggling with is how to catch and hold them when I want to sell them. There are plenty of images online when I search for it, but committing to one without ever actually doing it has me hesitating on committing to any specific design. I don't want to dart them, and I don't want to drop a net on them either. Protable traps don't make any sense for my small acreage. I'll have a barn with feed that I hope they all come to daily. If not, I'm going to design a way to herd them into a funnel that leads to solid walls with a roof.

EDdieWalker I looked into fencing and I think I am going to have someone do it because want to done right and professionally.. I don't have the know how ar the tools to do it and though I could read a book and figure it out, I'm not willing to gamble losing animals on maybe getting it right. I've also read in a few different articles that with Fallow, which I think I'm probably gonna go with at first, you don't need any higher than a 6 ft game fence. im sure some can jump higher but from what I read they are pretty content with staying confined as long as they have companionship and food. I don't know if I should just get 8 foot anyway incase I decide to get other species down the road, most likely will. As far as catching and holding man I don't know, when you find out a good plan let me know. I know darting is hard on them for a few different reasons but the pin they are going to be in isn't going to be huge so I won't be chasing them all day trying to dart them so overheating won't be an issue. I think just getting the tranquilizer mix and amount correct will be my make or break. Keep in touch we may be able to share some info as we work through this plan.

I think that if you price out the difference between a 6 foot fence and an 8 foot fence, it's not that big of a savings. Then you are also limiting yourself on what you can do in the future. I've learned that you can never predict what you will be doing or wanting to do a year from now, so you might as well max it out and be able to handle whatever you may want in the future. Who knows, maybe somebody will have something you really want at a fantastic price, but your fence is too low?

I feel that man, 8 ft is the way to go for my situation

8' tall wire for fencing will be cheaper than 6' since it is used more. One piece wire is much better than 2 piece wire. D&D in Seguin has always had the best pricing on fencing materials east of San Antonio. West of SA, Uvalco in Uvalde is hard to beat. Both carry pipe also. Many animals can clear an 8' fence if they want to or are pushed. I have had trappers tell me they had Axis deer jumping out of a portable trap when they shut the gate via remote. The trap was 8' tall and said it looked like Axis popcorn when they started jumping the 8' tall trap getting out.
Capture facilities are great but get expensive build and when built wrong can be a death trap. Just because and animal seems docile in the pasture does not mean it will be the same way when you shut the gate on them in an alley way or catch pen. Each species is different and handles stress differently. Some animals can be worked during the day and others have to be worked at night. Most catch pens have a dark holding pen area. Those work the best. Animals come in from daylight and settle down in the darkness. Much easier to work. The downside of catch pens is that you catch the whole group you have in the alley way when you close the gate. If you are only needing 3 of 25 you have, you will be stressing the whole group to get the 3 you need. Darting is one way to selectively catch each animal you want. It is not something you just start doing. The darting is not as hard on the animal as the stress of catching them in a catch pen can be. In order to purchase the drugs to dart with you would need a working relationship with a Vet.

What Ranchman said is true. Building a catch area will be different for the different species of animals. You have to take into consideration the lively hood of the animal and even more importantly your safety. Like he said animals in a pen are not the same animal as they were in the pasture. Sheep will hurt you. Any antlered animal will hurt you. Tame bottle fed males will hurt you ether in a pen or pasture. Any large animal will hurt you. Darting is like he said the best way of handling wild animals. Xylazine as the sedative and tolazoline as the reversal is very good. I have not killed any in a long time. There is another one which is supposidly fool proof called BAM. But it is very expensive. Or you can get a Vet. or game trader to do it. But you are going to have to add about $100 to your animal.

Thanks, that's real interesting and helpful. I'll have to reconsider darting animals and then just building a holding pen that I can load them into a trailer with once they are sold. It sure makes my life a lot easier not trying to figure out how to handle a variety of species, but and small, and who to get them where I want them.

What about doing vet work on them? Is it still easier to dart them? I have been thinking I needed squeeze chutes, one big, and one small. Now I'm thinking that I'm over thinking this.

Hopefully you won't have to do any work on them. About the only time you would is if you need to trim hoofs or if they are hurt. Parasite control can be done with feed. If you are in an area without rock then you may have to trim hoofs. Get animals that will do good in your area without having to work on them. And most important is remember. Animals can hurt or even kill you. I have no idea how much experience you have with them. Never turn your back on them. I am not trying to scare you. Think this out real good before you do anything.

Don K interesting post, so are you saying that all shots that need to be administered can be handled through feed or some are just not necessary? I know parasite control is a big issue to the animals health and I believe there were some other vet related shots that needed to be administered on a yearly basis. I don't want to spend a fortune on unnecessary things but I want a healthy herd. My wife asked me this morning, " why do you have to administer shots, they don't need them in the wild". My only answer was to combat possible health issues but it was something to think about anyway.

Worming pellets, mixing wormer with food, blocks that have wormer and as a last resort putting wormer in a dart. As far as giving shots put the medicine in a dart if you can't catch the animal. If it is something more serious you are going to have to catch the animal anyway. The less you mess with most animals the better off you are. Don't get too many animals at one time and normally you don't have to mess with them. My Ibex are fairly gentle. I don't do anything with them I don't see a need to. When you start messing with them too much something is going to happen. They are going to get wild, get hurt or hurt you.

As always great points by the experts. This is just my experience. I spent a lot of time around my game. Feed, filling water troughs or just watching and enjoying. i personally feed them each day. I would vary feed locations from near the house to the other side of the pasture. Sometimes I fed them in the catch pen. If it ever became difficult to get them to enter the catch pen for food. They did not eat. I'd close the gate. They need to eat when I feed them was my rule. There were always the difficult ones but they always seemed to come around. Sometimes I started just outside the catch pen gate. Then at the opening then 10 feet inside etc..... I never captured them every time just to get them use to catch pen. I would go through this feeding process (capture pen) about 4 times a year. By the forth time. They were calmer. I even sometimes parked my trailer in the pasture and feed around and in the trailer.
This may be a stupid suggestion but it worked well for me. They never became pets but they knew where they got dinner... When it came time for capture.... There was never a capture day more like a slow capture period over a few days. Like I said I'm no expert it was a hobby and I never pushed. Now go back and read the previous post.... Those gentleman know their business .
I had a small place 40 acres. Nothing on a larger scale.
Note.... Predator control is another issue that needs to be considered before building your fence. Considered real hard. Because a pack of coyotes can cause serious problems in just one night. A friend of mine lost a whole years crop on fawns.....

Well fed and not overstocked herds are healthy and do not not need much from you. Keep the numbers in check for what the habitat/pasture will support and you won't have any issues. A simple cross fence to rotate pastures is a bonus. Rest one while grazing the other can really be a bonus on keeping internal parasites down. Daily checks of your herd can make you aware of potential issues from just a glance at individual animals. Lot of medications can be administered thru feed or water if or when they are needed. Any time you catch or tranquilize an animal is the best time to worm or medicate them.
Buying healthy animals private treaty will keep your health issues to a minimum vs. buying animals at an auction or sale barn. Buying from a reputable ranch will make a huge difference. Not just in healthy animals but what they do to keep their herd healthy. Never seen a ranch that was not willing to answer your questions about what to do or when to do it. Make a trip before hand to inspect the herd and operation. I tended to shy away from any animal at a ranch that was already in a capture facility. I would always question how long it had been held in the facility or did they just buy it to flip for a profit?
Moving them with feed in and out of pastures is a great way to work them on a regular basis like SheepHunter posted. I did something similar when catching numbers of a Red Sheep in a catch pen instead of one at a time with a dart gun. Docile Red Sheep in a pasture become airborne missiles in a trap/catch pen. I learned quickly to work them at nighttime only.
Like SheepHunter posted also and others have said is control of predators. Like I posted above not just predators but wild or neighbors dogs can be an even worse problem. One thing also to consider is vultures/buzzards or Cara Cara's on newborn fawns. I have seen ranches that had a buzzard roost close to there pens and loose as many or more fawns than with coyotes.
Also shade and water. Shade can be added but shade trees are better. If you have antlered animals then consider what they will do to those trees when rubbing velvet off or in the rut. A lot of males can kill trees over a few years. That is something many do not consider till they notice most of their trees are now dead. Pond water is great as long as it is not stagnate or nasty mudhole type water. Water supplied from a trough is best but antler males will tear up floats or water lines hooking to floats. Fresh clean water is important.

I'm going to print this out and read it again when I get closer to getting my fence up.

Currently I'm leaning towards trenching down 2 feet and burying 3 foot field fence in there. The stuff that I looked at is 12.5 gauge with 10 gauge tops and bottoms. It goes from smaller spacing up to 6x6 spacing at the top. My thought is to bury it upside down so the smaller spacing is above ground, making it harder for anything to get through it. Then I will install my 8 foot fence a few inches off the ground, with both fences overlapping for what I'm guessing will be 8 to ten inches.

Since the T posts and pipe wouldn't have any strength in the trench, I would have to go with 12 foot t posts, or just use all pipe. There are multiple locations posting on craigslist with drill stem pipe for a buck a foot, down to $25 a section and up. If I cut a length of drill stem pipe in half, I would have 4 feet in solid ground, two feet in the trench and 9 feet above ground. My plan is to pound them in using the Man Saver Post Driver. http://www.rohrermfg.com/

I've watched the videos and read the reviews. My soil is red clay. No rocks, and in the spring, it's pretty soft. Easy to pound in t posts by hand. During the heat of summer, it's like concrete and not a good time to even try something like that.

I've also thought about stapling the predator wire flat on the ground outside my fence and hog clipping it together. My thinking is that stapling should work and be a lot easier to do. I just hate the thought of giving up that much land. It's probably close to 4,000 feet.

I have a natural gas line right away as my property line on two sides that is mowed a few times a year by my neighbor. It's 50 feet wide, so there is no chance of ever having anything grow on the fence, or fall on it. I'm removing all the trees on my side at least 30 feet, but a lot of it is now 50 feet. On another property line with my neighbor, he has allowed me to remove the trees on his side of the line 50 feet so he can have a road down to the creek there. Once he has that road, nothing will grow there close to my fence. Along the creek, I'll have to move my fence in away from the creek 50 feet or more depending on the bend of the creek and maintaining a reasonably straight line as much as possible.

I will not have any sharp inside corners. I will probably build 4 H braces for corners, but they wont really be H's because I want two cross members. It will form a round corner so it's easy to mow, and also hard for anything to climb up.

My pond is 4.5 acres. Grass grows great hear, but I'm also leaving multiple wooded areas alone that are several acres in size. I want them to be able to have cover from the elements in there, to be able to eat the leaves if they want them, and for bucks to polish and sharpen their horns. Trees are like weeds here and if I don't keep the pasture mowed, trees take over in just one year.

My barn will have several stalls for holding animals and it's where I will have my feed stations. I'm thinking several so the animals can spread out and eat, and none of them can become territorial towards the others. I will probably pour concrete there and do a rough job just to help with the hoofs. That will also keep the area clean and cut down on parasites.

I have five horses and the only area that it gets nasty is at the barn where they get fed every night. It's easy to clean, but it's all concentrated at that one place. I'm thinking with exotics, it will be the same way. I also want to have shelter for them if they decide to use it.

I believe that I've been talked out of handling animals. Thank you. Darting them is making more and more sense.