If I started to purchase animals to put on land, is it better to buy mature animals or start with the younger ones that are from good genes? Talking about exotics or whitetail

I would say a mixture of both.....

It's good to have a variety so that a pecking order can be established. I definitely would not buy all mature animals, because there will be LOTS of fighting.

For instance, if you want to buy some Axis to start your own breeding herd.....you might buy 1 four year old buck, 1 three year old buck, 2 two year old bucks, 2 yearling bucks, and a dozen or so does of various ages.

By the way, I have access to great whitetail, and MANY species of exotics. Feel free to send me a PM or give me a call if you have questions.

Depends on your situation. Money wise buying young stockers is the cheapest way into it. But it is also the biggest risk and you can not really tell what you are getting at that age. If you are looking to raise trophy whitetails then stick with whitetails only. They do not mix well with exotics. I have been there and done that. I have seen guys regret putting exotics on a place when they see the quality of whitetails they have after a couple of years. Research it and talk to as many people as you can before you jump off into it. If you are going to supplemental feed mixing species will get very expensive as some of the exotics will do nothing but sit at a feeder and homestead it. When buying whitetails you need to look at the area they are coming from and see how they have done when released into the wild on ranches with surival rates and how did the fair antler wise in the wild.

Very good advice Ranchman.

It really is species specific. I personally like to get breeder groups of 1 male with a couple females at least one fully mature, and the others ready to breed by the time I put them on the ranch. Then I'll supplement the herd with some yearling animals, and look to buy a second male from different stock.

Genetics are huge with small groups, if it's a species you want to get serious about, it's worth spending the $$ to get a good 3-4 year old breeder that already clearly shows the traits he's going to have. Otherwise, if you do start with yearlings and end up with a marginal male, swap him out quick.

I would add that with some species it's REALLY hard to tell if you're getting pure bred animals at a young age. Most of the sheep & goats will readily cross within their respective families, and it's really tough to distinguish the species until maturity on many of them.

It first depends on what your goals are.

1)Breeding/live sales
2)Hunts
3)Both.

Sooner or later, you will have to choose one of those three. or just fill your own freezer and enjoy a nice hefty feed bill.

From there, yes, genetics matter and even more so with whitetail I think. And I would agree with Txnrog about the maturity of many exotics and even so with whitetail.

Thank you guys for the info. I'm looking to sell hunts, and just doing a little research and getting feedback.

If your just selling hunts, then I would say it depends on the volume you want to do, and the size of the place and location to determine what species you want to put out there.

From there it would determine if you need both males and females of the species on the ranch to keep with the carrying capacity of the land. They exotics will compete very much so with your whitetails. If you have the means, keep them seperate on two different sections if you want to raise big whitetail bucks.

If your just doing hunts, then, start with more mature animals and very, very few does.

Give me a call. I can help set you up and give you some ideas.
830-263-1139.