** ALL hauling/shipping fees are the full obligation and responsibility of the Purchaser regardless of who arranges the transportation. ** 

Methods of Shipping

Ground hauling - livestock haulers

Ship by Air

Preferred method - Pick the goats up yourself

GROUND HAULING

Ground hauling is done by livestock haulers who haul animals with semi-trucks and large livestock trailers. They go out only when they have full loads or sometimes partial loads which they fill up on their way to their destination.

This method is the cheapest, but the most stressful on the animals.

Anyone who has arranged hauling for a few goats knows how difficult, frustrating and time consuming it can be. It is especially more so when one wants to limit the animals exposure to disease.

Arranging hauling is the responsibility of the Purchaser -

However as a courtesy we at Riding Mountain Treasures can arrange hauling for you with a hauler that we have used for 10+ years. 

*This hauler has clean trailers and takes care of the animals in his care and treats them nicely!

* He is a cattle hauler and hauls very few goats and sheep thus substantially reducing the risk of exposure to disease. Putting your breeding stock on with haulers who specifically haul goats and sheep is exposing your animals to all sorts of highly contagious diseases. It is rare to find a cattle hauler willing to haul goats as I have been told time after time by them that "they (the goats) are more of a pain than they are worth and not worth their time."

* If we have several sales of goats going to the same area the goats can be combined and taken on the same load. The larger the number of goats going to a certain area reduces the cost of the hauling fees that the hauler charges per goat. Charges are then split by all the Purchasers depending on the number of goats they have gotten delivered.

* Using this hauler Saves us time - in that we meet one hauler; once to go east and once to go west and we are done. It also saves you more money, in that we will not charge you for transport fees even though it is a 2 hour drive one way for us.

Once the load is arranged and the Buyer's goat/s are not on with that load because of the Buyer's actions or the Buyer canceling, another load WILL NOT be arranged by the Seller. It will then be the Buyer's responsibility to arrange transportation or pick the goats up. Board will then be charged at a daily rate (per goat), starting and including the day that the goat/s were to leave. Any veterinary fees, dewormings, etc., will also be charged to the Buyer. The board and any veterinary costs, dewormings, etc. are to be paid BEFORE the goat/s leave the Seller's property.  

* If I do not know whether or not you will be on the other end to meet the hauler I will not put the goat/s on with that load. This will be considered the fault of the Buyer. 

Once the goat/s leave the Sellers' possession and go on with a livestock hauler, airline - (regardless of who arranges the transportation) or are picked up the goat/s are now the sole responsibility of the BUYER. Seller is not responsible for any injuries or deaths.

KIDS WILL NOT BE PUT ON WITH A LIVESTOCK HAULER UNTIL THEY REACH 4 MONTHS OF AGE - NO EXCEPTIONS!

You are free to find a hauler on your own if you so choose and are also free to pick the goats up at our farm when they are ready to go. 
That choice is yours.

* When using your own hauler we reserve the right to refuse to put the goats on with a hauler if we have any safety or animal care concerns. This is for the safety of your animals.

* When contracting your own hauler that we have to meet away from our farm, we have transport fees that we charge that you are responsible for depending on the distance we have to travel. 

Check out your haulers. Check to make sure that they are safe and look after their animals well. Ask around and see if anyone has had any problems with them. If the hauler that you contracted is found to be unsafe or unsuitable to us and  we  refuse to put them on with that hauler you are still responsible for our transportation costs to meet that hauler.

* It is extremely time consuming and difficult to get away to meet these individual haulers and they must be arranged as close as possible to our area and at a time that we are able to get away from the farm.

AIR SHIPPING

* Is the quickest and the least stressful on the animals.

* Depending on the number of animals to be shipped it could be more expensive or cheaper than picking them up yourself.

* Special crates are required by the air line and are to be paid for by the Purchaser.

* We are 4 hours one way to the nearest airport - which is Winnipeg. So there will be transport fees that we charge to get them there. Depending on when the flight leaves there may also be a hotel stay for one person.

NOTICE

Because of what happened with a Purchaser in 2008 I want to make it clear that I DO NOT control the Livestock Hauler. He is an INDEPENDENT hauler - has absolutely NOTHING to do with me other than me contacting him and telling him how many goats I have to go out and where they need to go. 

He schedules and arranges his OWN loads to go to certain Provinces. These loads have to be full or nearly full BEFORE he will go out. I have no influence on WHEN he goes out. He can and does CANCEL loads - especially when other people cancel the animals that were to be on that load or because of bad weather - this is not the fault of the hauler nor is it my fault. 

The Hauler gives me TENTATIVE DATES and those dates I pass on to you because they *COULD* be the day he leaves. It is by no means a for sure date and I tell you that it is a tentative date. Sometimes he calls in the early morning for us to have the goats there as soon as possible and there is NO TIME to try and get a hold of all the Purchasers before the goats get put on the truck. Telling you the tentative date at least gives you some warning that it could happen on such and such a day.

I am NOT responsible for what ANY hauler does.

Arranging transportation for your animals is a COURTESY and it is not a job that I enjoy doing. It is stressful trying to please everyone - especially when it is expected that the hauler will deliver to their doorstep, even though they were told right at the start that they would have to drive and meet the hauler where the hauler asks them to. 

Meeting along the highway somewhere close to them when the hauler has a full load of animals isn't an option either. The goats are usually on the top with a full load of animals on the bottom which have to be unloaded first in order to get to the goats.

This cattle hauler is doing YOU a favor by hauling these goats at a reasonable cost. He really takes care of the animals and has a genuine concern for their well being.

I am doing YOU a favor by making and paying for the numerous phone calls to the hauler that is needed in order to arrange the transportation of your goats, as well as delivering them to the hauler FREE of charge.

When dealing with Livestock Haulers there will ALWAYS be DELAYS - doesn't matter who the hauler is. It is totally unfair and unreasonable to blame me for it. If you don't like the time that it takes for this hauler to arrange a load - then you are most welcome to arrange the transportation yourself with another hauler or pick the goats up yourself.