Nigerian Dwarf Doe Questions

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Hello!!! as you can tell from the title, i have some questions about Nigerian Dwarf does. I've done tons of research but i'm still laking in some more specific detailed answers. I will be getting one Nigerian Dwarf this summer, i currently have two pygmy wethers. I'll be going a farm to breed the doe once i get her.

First, I read from countless articles that a Nigerian Dwarf (Let's go with "DW" for short) produces two cups of milk in the morning and again at night. Although i don't think i'll be milking her at night. is this information correct?

2nd, is it true they only have to be eight months old to breed?! seems a little too young to be breeding. Any suggestions on how long I should wait to breed the doe?

3rd, I hear the doe can milk up to two years after breeding, but how long do they usually have until they stop milking? i realize it depends on the goat, but i was hoping i could get an idea of how long until she'll stop milking. Is two years dramatically rare?

4th, I read they have a butterfat percentage of 6-10%. Is this true? Is this a good percentage? I know the higher it is the better, for making soup and cheese etc, but is it better to drink if it's thinner? and, is the butterfat gross to drink, like pulp in orange juice, or is it "one with the milk"?

5th, What are some good tips on weaning the "kids"? And, how do i introduce the kids to hay and grain, and whats to stop them from continuing to drink their mothers milk and not be interested in hay/grain?

~Added question
-I just read that sometimes it can be dangerous for a small breed doe to breed with a big billy... Is this true, and are NGs too small to breed with larger billys such as Fainting/Alpine/Saanen etc....???


~2nd Added question
on one of my pygmy wethers i found tons of dandruff on his stomach this morning... Is this part of the shedding process? it's gotten warmer lately, so their shedding. I was grooming his fur when i discovered it. Anyone know why this happened or how i can fix it? i tried brushing it all out but it just keeps uncovering more of the dandruff flakes. Also, they where all on his tummy, not on his back..



(Here's a picture, they look like mites or lice in the picture, but i got one and looked closely, it's flaky.)

Thank you for any feedback at all! Even if you couldn't answer them all!!
Any Advice/Answers Are Appreciated! (yes i realize i made a sentence with all the words starting with "A".

Praise anyone who can help me.

 

[cassie]

Hello!!! as you can tell from the title, i have some questions about Nigerian Dwarf does. I've done tons of research but i'm still laking in some more specific detailed answers. I will be getting one Nigerian Dwarf this summer, i currently have two pygmy wethers. I'll be going a farm to breed the doe once i get her.

First, I read from countless articles that a Nigerian Dwarf (Let's go with "DW" for short) produces two cups of milk in the morning and again at night. Although i don't think i'll be milking her at night. is this information correct?

2nd, is it true they only have to be eight months old to breed?! seems a little too young to be breeding. Any suggestions on how long I should wait to breed the doe?

3rd, I hear the doe can milk up to two years after breeding, but how long do they usually have until they stop milking? i realize it depends on the goat, but i was hoping i could get an idea of how long until she'll stop milking. Is two years dramatically rare?

4th, I read they have a butterfat percentage of 6-10%. Is this true? Is this a good percentage? I know the higher it is the better, for making soup and cheese etc, but is it better to drink if it's thinner? and, is the butterfat gross to drink, like pulp in orange juice, or is it "one with the milk"?

5th, What are some good tips on weaning the "kids"? And, how do i introduce the kids to hay and grain, and whats to stop them from continuing to drink their mothers milk and not be interested in hay/grain?


Thank you for any feedback at all! Even if you couldn't answer them all!!
Any Advice/Answers Are Appreciated! (yes i realize i made a sentence with all the words starting with "A".

Praise anyone who can help me.

I cant' help you with how much they milk. I suggest you contact the American Dairy Goat Association adga.org and ask for a list of ND dwarf breeders near you and call them up and ask them.

Eight months is not too young to breed if the doeling has been well fed and cared for. It is not unusual for commercial goat dairymen to breed doelings to freshen at about a year of age.

Two years is not all that unusual for a doe to milk, but I don't think you can count on it. If the goat is bred to be a good producer with a long lactation, she may well milk two years without being bred. You just have to try and see.

The butterfat is "one with the milk". Personally, I like a high butterfat milk to drink, which is why I had Jersey cows, but some people like a milk that is lower in fat. It is a matter of personal choice.

To introduce kids to hay and grain, you just have it available to them. Since it sounds like you will be running the kids with the doe, you can build a little creep that the kids can get into but the doe can't. They will start nibbling hay and grain when they are ready. Mine were usually at least sampling hay and grain by about two weeks of age or so and it didn't matter how much milk they were getting.. BTW, if the kids are running with the doe you may not have any milk for yourself until they are weaned.

As for weaning the kids, you can just wean them. Any time after eight or ten weeks is fine. If you want, you can just separate the kids from the doe during the day and put them back with her at night (or the reverse) for a few days.

Hope this helps.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Ok i think i will contact them. Also,
I think i will wait until a year, just to make sure she's healthy enough and fully grown. I'd hate for her kids to be unhealthy because she bred too early.
I will be selling the kids when their old enough to be weaned so i worried about them dying or getting sick once they went to their forever home, such a relief they should do just fine.
And, phew, thank you so much, i'd worried about getting her, and having gross chunks in her milk, but thats a relief. (I imagine i'll like high percentage of butterfat, too) Is 6-10% high for goats?
Thank you so much!!! You helped me tons!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cassie]

Yes, 6 to 10% butterfat is high for goats. That sounds more like on a par with sheep. That said, I really don't know much about Nigerians. My experience has been with full sized dairy goats. Butterfat for them runs about 3.5% on an average with Nubians in the 4% to 5% range. I know that mini goats and Boers have a higher fat milk than the average dairy goat but as to the actual butterfat percentage I have no idea.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Ok i think i will contact them. Also,
I think i will wait until a year, just to make sure she's healthy enough and fully grown. I'd hate for her kids to be unhealthy because she bred too early.
I will be selling the kids when their old enough to be weaned so i worried about them dying or getting sick once they went to their forever home, such a relief they should do just fine.
And, phew, thank you so much, i'd worried about getting her, and having gross chunks in her milk, but thats a relief. (I imagine i'll like high percentage of butterfat, too) Is 6-10% high for goats?
Thank you so much!!! You helped me tons!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi there - I don't have any goats yet, but I've been researching them as a homestead dairy animal.

I don't think you have to worry about "chunky" milk with a ND...some people say that goat's milk is naturally "homogenized", which means no clumps and difficulty making cream without a cream separator. Per The Dairy Research & Information Center (UC Davis): "Two misconceptions about goat's milk are associated with the fat globule size. First, it is often claimed that goat's milk is naturally homogenized. This statement is derived from the observations that milkfat from the goat does not cream quickly. This slow creaming was attributed to the belief fat globules in goat milkfat are very much smaller than those found milk. However, the size of the fat globules, on an average is only smaller than those found in cow's milkfat. The apparent reason for creaming is the lack of a protein (agglutenating euglobulins) which individual fat globules to cluster and rise. This protein is found in cow's milk. Creaming at higher temperatures, where the rate of clustering is not as dependent on the protein, is probably somewhat related to the fat globule size. Secondly, it is often proposed that the apparent "small" globules in goat's milk render the fats more digestible. No evidence has been presented to substantiate that point of view." (http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/goat1.htm)

I'm leaning toward acquiring a Nubian doe and a Pygmy buck and breeding Kinders. Among their attributes, Kinders' milk ranges from approx. 5.5%-7%+, they breed year-round, and they are a true dual-purpose breed. If it's of interest to you, there's an informative article here: http://www.backwoodshome.com/kinder-goats/.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Ok great! Thanks! Also, we're aiming to get a NG but may end up getting a nubian. I don't know as much about Nubians as i do about NGs so maybe you could answer a question or two i have?
1-I read their louder than other goat breeds, what have you read about their volume? we have neighbors, not close, but if our goats scream, they'll hear them.
2-Do you know if you can get as much as you need, but, not get all the milk they could? We are pretty worried we'll get way too much milk from a nubian, like we did with eggs from our chickens, we started off with 2 chickens then when they died, we got 2 more, then got three more, then after a while, we got 7 chicks, 2 of the chicks ended up passing away from reasons we're not sure of. Now we have way too many eggs and end up giving them away to neighbors. So could we not milk her to her full potential? will that make her stop producing milk sooner?

-Thanks!

~Added question
-I just read that sometimes it can be dangerous for a small doe to breed with a big billy... Is this true, and are NGs too small to breed with larger goats such as Fainting/Alpine/Saanen etc....???

 

[cassie]

Nubians can be loud. However, if they are content, they are usually fairly quiet.

Yes, it is dangerous to breed a small doe to a large buck because the kids may be too large for her to have. Sometimes it works out OK but a lot of times it doesn't.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Ok thank you so much!!! It's strange after the million websites i've been to about goats, they never warn you about that... Do you know if NGs are big enough to breed with larger breeds? or when we get her will we have to strictly breed her with Pygmies/Nigerians?

-Thanks so much!!!

 

[sannabelle]

I wouldn't breed a Nigerian with anything but another ND, Pygmy or mini version of a larger breed. Their structure is so small in comparison to the larger Nubian, boera, etc.

 

[cassie]

I wouldn't breed a Nigerian with anything but another ND, Pygmy or mini version of a larger breed. Their structure is so small in comparison to the larger Nubian, boera, etc.

X2. Doing so is not just asking for trouble. It is sitting up and begging for it.