For someone who wants to privately own some exotic ungulates on their property, what is the best ratio to start out with (males/females). I know that exotics can be expensive and was thinking in terms of Tragelaphines (Spiral Horned Antelopes). What is the best and least expensive starting ratio for a group. Does it depend on the particular species?
I see you live in the USA, so i dont know about any laws. And do you only want antelopes or also deers? Deers are a great way to start, like Rangifer tarandus f. domestica, or Dama dama. And do you live in a place where there are overall high tempatures?
If you want something more exotic-er then the ones mentioned above why not blackbucks? also this sort of sounds like a fantasy zoo discussion
Planning on living in a somewhat modest climate but neither too hot or cold for my dream house, preferably in the Carolinas region. I like cervids. My favorite is Eld's Deer (Rucervus eldii) and my second would be Sambar (Rusa unicolor). Not a fan of Blackbuck, however I do like Nilgai (Bosephalus tragocamelus).
I would prefer Chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) to Blackbuck because the females are closer in color to the male, but I don't know if there are any in the USA.
I dont know if Nilgais are easy to obtain in the USA, maybe they are with breeders or on exotic animal sites. Also wouldnt know about chinkaras, ive never actually seen them. A simple exotic woud be a muntjac. Because of small size and overall interesting animal, its honestly a good beginner.
FYI - Most of the Southern states won't let you import cervids. Fear of brucellosis and CWD decimating the whitetail herds. I don't know North Carolina specifically. I know several who have gone Cattle < Bison < Eland. I would suggest visiting Dave Bright in Limestone TN. He has about 20 ungulate species - Sable, Kudu, Bongo, Addax, Giraffe, Nyala, Oryx, various Gazelles, Zebra etc.
I think that purchasing cost of your starting group will be at least one order of magnitude lower that construction cost for a decent stable and pens, so you shouldn´t dwell so much what is cheapest. Tragelaphines: Most zoos start with 1.2 - 1.4 group. Females are less panicky when they are not alone. Adult males usually don´t tolerate other adult males in the same pen unless it´s bachelor herd and kept away from females. You could start with 1-1 too but then it´s best to keep male separate and let him to female only under supervision. Eland is by far the most easy and "hard" species of that group. I can recommend it for beginner. Keeping them is not different from keeping domestic cattle. They just need much higher fence because they like to jump.
Most exotic antelope are not all the expensive. Addax start out around $2000 I've seen scimitar Oryx for $1000 Black buck $200-$500 for average stock You can get a trophy sized eland bull for $5000 Antelope are much easier to get than deer because you don't have to deal with all the expensive fencing, testing, and permits. Antelope for the most part are unrestricted. There are plenty of antelope that can adapt to even freezing temps. I'd start with 1 bull and maybe 2-3 females.
