Nigerian Goats

[familyfarm1]

does anyone have Nigerian Does for milking purposes? Could you let me know the pros and cons to keeping them? I was thinking about getting 2-3. do they pay for themselves?

 

[nayeli]

That would depend on different factors like if you have enough room for them to graze, the cost of feed in your area, cost of vet bills, how much you pay for milk, how much milk your family drinks, and the cost of the goats themselves.

I'm also considering getting 2. I would get two does and pay a stud fee to breed them then sell their kids. In my area a registered doe starts around $250 for grown and $150 for a doeling. If I buy a non registered it will be cheaper but its offspring will be worth less as well (less return). I pay $4 a bale of hay, and around $4 per gallon of milk. We don't go through a lot of milk so until we have a baby it won't be a good investment for us to make even using the fodder system to offset feed costs.

 

[familyfarm1]

they would forage more then graze since we live in the woods. but the prices your mention sound right. what is the average stud fee? do they have to breed every year? also do you know what fencing would be the best? sorry for all the questions

and thanks for the input!!!

 

[Stacykins]

does anyone have Nigerian Does for milking purposes? Could you let me know the pros and cons to keeping them? I was thinking about getting 2-3. do they pay for themselves?

I keep Nigerian Dwarves for milk. And the milk they produce is fantastic! Mine don't pay for themselves. But I love them anyway!

Don't just get any old Nigerian. Do some research and figure out what makes a good milker, what lines tend to be good milkers, etc.

they would forage more then graze since we live in the woods. but the prices your mention sound right. what is the average stud fee? do they have to breed every year? also do you know what fencing would be the best? sorry for all the questions

and thanks for the input!!!

If you expect any sort of decent milk production, they will need more than just forage. Think hay (alfalfa is best) and grain. Pregnancy and lactation is very demanding on the body. You will absolutely need a good goat mineral. Loose mineral fed free choice is actually much much better for them than a mineral block. This explains it well. Also, make sure to get a mineral just for goats. Not a mineral for sheep and goats. It won't have enough copper for a goat to be healthy, since the amount a goat needs will cause a sheep to die from copper toxicity! Some cattle minerals actually work great for goats, too, since they have remarkably similar mineral needs.

For example, with feeding, since I can't get alfalfa hay, I feed grass hay but give my lactating girls alfalfa pellets.

Most does need bred ("freshened") every year for milk production. Sometimes you get lucky and a doe is a super heavy producer who is hard to dry off. But eventually, the amount they make starts slowly going down. So you breed them/dry them off/start preparing for kids! And kids do help pay for your expenses. Last year I was able to sell a buckling for a decent price. This year, they're all wethers so they fetch less.

I really like no climb fencing and/or woven wire fencing. Cattle panel works great too, but kids can slip through the holes. They don't go very far, but I still don't like any goats being loose.

Buck service cost depends on the buck. Depends on if it is a driveway breeding the day she is in heat, or if she is staying over with him, or if you bring him to your girls for a time. Depends on registration and what he has behind him, too.

 

[familyfarm1]

what feed do you give your goats? and what do you do fro minerals? thank you so much for all the help!

 

[nayeli]

they would forage more then graze since we live in the woods. but the prices your mention sound right. what is the average stud fee? do they have to breed every year? also do you know what fencing would be the best? sorry for all the questions

and thanks for the input!!!

Stud fee can fluxtuate a lot, based on lineage, purebred, owners etc. You will find many owners that don't even offer studs do to risk of disease etc.

If you want milk then you need to breed them once a year, or they will dry up. Not to mention selling their babies helps pay for them!

For fencing I'm not sure. Mine will have a 6' privacy fence because that is what I have... goats are escape artists so nothing to shabby.

 

[familyfarm1]

I'm trying to find a "not to expensive" fence that will keep out coyotes, dogs and bobcats. (I know that might not be the easiest thing to do though

)

 

[familyfarm1]

any ideas for fencing and minerals? I'm concerned I won't give them enough copper or selenium.

 

[abanjaf]

I have three does and my own buck. Since I was going to need to breed my girls for milk purposes anyway, I just went ahead and got my own boy. And love him I do. Having another mouth to feed may not be as cost effective, but there are no stud fees and I don't have to worry about any germs spreading to my precious girls. My fence is only four feet high. It was an already existing wood fence that we just added to so that the goats could not sneak out between the wood panels. And we used wire fencing that we already had from previous projects.

One of the does we brought home was severely malnourished... She came from a large herd and was pushed around and not allowed to eat properly by the other goats. It's been hard for her to put on weight even with a good appetite. The symptoms she's been exhibiting have been consistent with copper and selenium deficiencies. They do have a mineral block available to them at all times and get loose minerals as well. With that one doe in particular, we've been very carefully giving her Red Cell this past week only to correct the deficiencies. It is very clear when they are suffering from a vitamin deficiency. So, if you are providing a good grain and hay as well as allowing them to forage (mine have O&A hay 24hours available to them to cover for what foraging does not) and minerals...then you are all set! And I have 4 and really they do not eat much!!! I consider them very inexpensive to keep They are absolutely sweethearts, total lovebugs! Enjoy your adventure, I totally love mine... They're like dogs with horns and hooves

 

[familyfarm1]

Thanks for all the help everyone! Ok hopefully this is my last question. Where do I get good milkers near Virginia?