Quick Question On NigerianDwarfs..

[Eliya4Gpigs]

I currently own two pygmy wethers and sometime this summer will be getting a NigerianDwarf Doe, But i'll be finding the Doe on Craigslist, so i'm a little worried someone will advertise "Extra Small Nigerian Dwarf!!!" or "Young Nigerian Dwarf!!!" when it's a pygmy goat. i'm familiar with the pygmy breed but not very experienced with the Nigerian Dwarf breed, i might not be able to tell the difference, i can tell pygmy goats are more stumpy than Nigerians but it might be hard to tell, if their not fully grown... Any tips on how to tell the difference? (besides getting her DNA tested or having some kind of registration papers, because the one we get won't likely come with papers)

-Added question: I've read some people have seen things you can put on the goat utter to block kids from drinking out of teat. Can anyone direct me to a site or image of an example? i'm thinking i might be able to make one, so i can keep doe and kids together all the time, but choose when they can milk. I'm thinking i'll put the blocker on at 9:00PM (2 weeks after giving birth, which is amount of time i read to wait) and then at 8:00AM, milk her, and leave the blocker off for them to drink milk until 9:00PM that night. This schedule would only be for as long as we had the kids. We'd be selling the kids at one month; or as soon as they start eating hay/grain. We cannot comfortably fit more than 5 adult goats in our night shelter (mini barn they sleep in) and so we'd have to sell the kids at a young age. We'd have to sell the babies every time she gave birth because if we kept one, it would turn into keeping all of them, every time. When we did sell the kids, i would stop using blocker, and milk her at 8:00AM and again at 7:30PM. That way i don't have to stay up, or wake up too early.
SORRY I JUST REALIZED HOW LONG THIS WAS.... THANKS FOR ANY HELP AND THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENTS!


(This is an example of a goat that is said to be nigerian dwarf, but to me, looks like a pygmy. Can anyone help me tell the difference? I see how pygmy goats are "stumpier" than other goats, but this one looks pretty stumpy.... maybe cause it had kids recently??? I need help.. )

 

[sannabelle]

You could always buy a pregnant ND, when the kids are two weeks old start milking her once a day.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Where we live there aren't that many ND to start with, There aren't any NG pregnant for sale. There is ONE nubian that is pregnant, but we don't need as much milk as a Nubian would provide.

 

[sannabelle]

You could get the Nubian and sell your excess, or freeze dry it or make condensed milk and can it.

Any livestock auctions near you? What about breeders?

You may have to drive a couple hours for the right goat.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

Unfortunately we live in a small town, so their aren't livestock auctions. I'm not sure how to find out if their are any breeders near us, i've tried looking for them on google but so far nothing. I would be happy to drive for hours to find the right goat, but i wouldn't want the goat to have to stay in the car that long, it is most likely very stressful (Also, we have a large dog kennel we'd use to transport her, enough to be comfortable but not big enough for me to be ok with her being in there for hours) Also, I hadn't thought of freezing the milk, thats a good idea. i didn't know you could freeze milk. i think we really have our hearts set on a Nigerian, something just feels right with that breed. We may end up freezing some of the ND's milk in the summer so we have some milk when she goes dry and we have to wait a while for milk.

Thanks for all your help! Sorry if i seem a little less enthusiastic as i should be, i'm really excited but it's hard to show because i'm currently sick. Spring allergies
I really do appreciate your help though, It's great information

 

[sannabelle]

That's okay!! Allergies suck. As long as you're transporting in an appropriate crate and there is no risk for over heating, a goat should be fine for a few hours- they're fairly hearty animals. After a transport I would give immune boosting foods and apple cider vinegar in the water to ward off any "shipping flu" type crud. What area are you from? You can get on NDGA website and search for breeders that way! Make sure to check craigslist farm section also.

 

[Eliya4Gpigs]

I had no idea you could look for breeders on there!!! Thanks so much!!! and, I currently am on craigslist looking for new goat listings every hour

(yea i realize i could just check every night... but then i'd have to wait all night to tell my parents about the goat i found XD
Also, Thats good info to know about transporting, even if we got one near us, it's still good information to have handy incase we have to make a trip to the vet that covers barn animals. There is a vet closer we could take them to incase of an emergency but for check-ups we would have to go to the one a little farther from here.