Are Nigerian dwarf goats decent for milking purposes?

[Farmer Mike S]

I was thinking about raising goats on land I plan to lease. They would have an electric fence and temporary shelter. I want to raise goats for dairy. When I did a goat search all I mostly found were Nigerian dwarf goats which are easily available. I don't know if these produce good milk or if I would be better off finding full sized goats

 

[Corny Caleb]

I had a Nigerian Dwarf doe, That just passed away

. But I had her as a dairy animal for one year and she gave about a third of a gallon a day, but she was out of her prime. They give a lot compared to their body size, and they are considered a dairy goat. If you don't want TONS of milk (a gallon plus a day) They may be a good breed to consider. I loved mine, they were so sweet and gentle. A very lovable animal

Here's a couple pics of one of my dwarfs.

 

[Stacykins]

A run of the mill Nigerian won't likely be a good milk producer. You need to make sure the goat you get has strong milking genetics behind her. You will need to do some research on what to look for in a good milker. Look at the dam's udder, the udder of the sire's dam, ask about quantities the dam produced, etc. You can capacious udders with large teats that have large orifices, for an easy milk out.

This is a pretty good discussion on the matter, and tosses out the names of some of the major lines of major milk producers.

As for the electric fence, they do not always work with goats. This is a warning, so you aren't surprised if it doesn't work. You will have to train them extensively to respect the fence. And even then, they might not. My goats are perfectly willing to take the shock in order to get to the other side. I had the fence charger cranked up to max, and they still pushed their way through, screaming in pain the entire time. There were no shorts along the fence, and it had some pretty good kick. To a goat, the grass is always greener on the other side, and they will want to get to that.

 

[Farmer Mike S]

As for the electric fence, they do not always work with goats. This is a warning, so you aren't surprised if it doesn't work. You will have to train them extensively to respect the fence. And even then, they might not. My goats are perfectly willing to take the shock in order to get to the other side. I had the fence charger cranked up to max, and they still pushed their way through, screaming in pain the entire time. There were no shorts along the fence, and it had some pretty good kick. To a goat, the grass is always greener on the other side, and they will want to get to that.

I was worried about that, I've never heard of it being an issue with does, but I heard bucks are know to run right through these. The issue is I'm looking to lease an acre of my neighbors land to raise about 5 goats max. The reason I choose to lease is because I don't have too much land of my own right now, and my neighbor has about 10 acres, about 8.5 wooded, 1 overgrown in brush, and about .5 somewhat clear around the house. I feel like I can get a good deal on the overgrown acre. If it was my own property I would probably spend the money to put a good wooden fence in, but I wouldn't do that on leased land. The nice thing about an electric fence is that I can probably take it down in about a day and move it to somewhere else. It's also a whole lot cheaper compared to a wooden fence. Not to mention my budget here is about $2000, not a lot of wiggle room. My shelter would be made out of free recycled materials and I will try to get used t posts for the fence

 

[cassie]

I would check on electrified poultry fencing. It can be used for animals other than poultry. It is a kind of woven wire, goes up quickly and is relatively inexpensive. Plus it is easiIy installed and moved. I once had a buck that had GREAT respect for an electric fence. One day he stood on a damp piece of ground, peed on his head, and then reached over and touched the hot wire with his big broad wet with salt water nose. He never went near any fence he even thought might be hot after that.

 

[cassie]

I was thinking about raising goats on land I plan to lease. They would have an electric fence and temporary shelter. I want to raise goats for dairy. When I did a goat search all I mostly found were Nigerian dwarf goats which are easily available. I don't know if these produce good milk or if I would be better off finding full sized goats

Personally, I think you would be a LOT better off with a full sized goat. Have you ever taken a good look at the teats on a Nigerian? You can contact the American Dairy Goat Assn to find a list of breeders near you. Their web site is adga.org.

 

[Farmer Mike S]

I would check on electrified poultry fencing.  It can be used for animals other than poultry.  It is a kind of woven wire, goes up quickly and is relatively inexpensive.  Plus it is easiIy installed and moved. I once had a buck that had GREAT respect for an electric fence.  One day he stood on a damp piece of ground, peed on his head, and then reached over and touched the hot wire with his big broad wet with salt water nose.  He never went near any fence he even thought might be hot after that.

I looked into it. Does it work well? I was afraid that it would be too short and goats would try to hop it. The fence I would currently be looking to put in is a 6 wire 5 foot electric fence, with each post about 8 feet apart

 

[cassie]

I don't think jumping would be an issue. The goats will check the fence out before they would try to jump it and if the fence bites back they will leave it alone. I kept my goats in a pen with 4' stock panel and they stayed in. If goats are well fed and have enough room they are more inclined to stay put than if they are crowded and hungry.

 

[Farmer Mike S]

I don't think jumping would be an issue.  The goats will check the fence out before they would try to jump it and if the fence bites back they will leave it alone.  I kept my goats in a pen with 4' stock panel and they stayed in.  If goats are well fed and have enough room they are more inclined to stay put than if they are crowded and hungry.

Yea I don't think I will have an issue. I'm looking at 2 does and 1 buck on 3/4 of an acre. My issue now is trying to figure out what kind of charger to get. At first I was thinking of getting a 10 mile solar one, but I'm afraid it won't pack enough punch. I may go with a 30 mile dc. I obviously won't be running even a mile of fence, but I've heard these are rated by how far they can get minimal voltage through a single wire. I will do more research, but I'll have to look more into things like how much power I need and stuff

 

[Dogwood123456]

I have two Nigerians and two La Manchas, all are in milk. My Nigerians are very easy to fence and give a 1 1/2 quarts a day each 3 weeks fresh. The La Manchas give 2 quarts a day 2 days fresh, and are determined to destroy any and all fencing/building/pen. They don't want out they just are hyper smart goats. The poultry netting works well with both breeds but the larger goats will jump it when they think it will get them fed quicker.

Another thing you should be thinking about is what will you do with the kids? There is almost always a home for the girls but what about the boys? Are you going to sell them for meat, eat them or, sell them for pets? This should be a factor in your breed choice as well.