Best goats for milking? Any other advice in finding a goat for us?

[aubreynoramarie]

Weve finally agreed to get goats! I am very excited but the boyfriend says that we can only get goats that produce milk regularly to make cheese. I've done a little research an found that there are Nubians and la manchas for milk. These are both large goats and I read that Nubians are not as friendly as la manchas. Is this true?
I had originally wanted small goats, but if they don't produce milk then I guess were doing large ones.

Would goats run off stray cats yet tolerate my dog?

Any other advice for a prospective goat owner?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Nubians are wonderful goats, especially babies that have been bottle fed ! There are mini goats that produce milk, but not as much of course. Be sure your fences are secure and you have a place for them to get out of the weather, goats hate to get wet. Buy the Storey guide to milk goats, it will teach you a lot! Be sure you want to milk twice a day every day, because that is what it takes once they are.lactating.;-)

 

[Stacykins]

After a ton of research, I personally settled on the dwarf nigerian breed of dairy goat. They produce a large amount of milk despite their small size, have great personalities (all I've met have been sweeties!), they don't have a breeding season (so freshening can be staggered with several does so one is always in milk while the others take a break), and are easy to handle! I just put down a deposit reserving a pair of doelings for the 2012 breeding season (a long way off, but that gives time to get the pole barn up, fences raised, all equipment to be 110% prepared for the new arrivals!)!

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Thanks guys! I'm gonna have to find someone to teach me how to milk. I'm a total city girl.

Our fence is the standard wooden fencing...is that strong enough or are they gonna bust down the planks? If not, I'll have to build them a pen instead of giving them run of the backyard

what fencing is best?

 

[bagendhens]

a couple of nigerian does (or a doe and a wether) might be 100% perfect for you...
now...
keep in mind nigies are tiny, and so have small teets, some people have issues milking them...BUT that can be avoided by doing your reserch and buying from a good line from a breeder who does hand milk thier goats. your much more likley to get nice sized teets if you buy from a breeder of nigies whos very aware of proucing milking animals.
nigies are also very sweet, very cute and stay small.
i have found the mini and dwarf breeds tend to be a little more active though and VERY VERY good jumpers, they can be harder on fences than their standard counterparts.
Oh and they come in all the colors of the rainbow...ok, well not quite, but spots, blue eyes, patches ect are all quite easily found if your looking for something a little more "flashy"!

lamanchas are probably my choice if you want a standard dairy goat, ive heard amazing things about lamancha from the quantity and quaility of milk to the absolutly wonderfully sweet natures of the breed.
i LOVE nubians too but they can be loud and are well known as "drama queens" whereas lamanchas are typically quiet "puppy dog like" and very easy going overall.

personally i want both nubians and lamanchas but also plan on keeping a couple of nigerians too

 

[bagendhens]

in terms of fencing, nigies would probbaly be ok on a normal pannel fence assuming its propery errected and tall enough to keep them in...
standards tend to be leaners and pushers so tend to be harder on the structure, where as dwarf breeds tend to be rubbers and jumpers.
you could add a strand of electric on the inside of the fence about chest height for whichever bree you end up with to keep them off the fence...
but id probbaly still put up a chainline dog run or similar to keep them in when noones home to supervise and for the overnights.

goats are escape artists lol
They could certainly eb in the main yard when your home to supervise, but goats are also prety indiscriminate and will climb on and eat practically everything lol

im personally planning on using livestock "goat" fence and a strand of electric about chest height for the doe feild.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

wow, thank you very much for all of the info! i will go over all of this with the boyfriend and we will probably build a better f3ence for them before we get them to keep them off the deck

 

[Skyesrocket]

It is great that you are doing your homework...errr goatwork...ahead of time. You can run some hot wires along the inside of your existing fence to keep them contained.
My first choice in a milk goat is a lamancha. They are the goats with very small ears. They are such nice natured goats.

keep in mind nigies are tiny, and so have small teets, some people have issues milking them...

That is worth repeating. If you decide to get a nigerian milk it before you buy it. Also check to see how much milk the goat is producing.
I have lamanchas and nigerians and the nigi's I have are impossible for me to milk due to the small teat size.
Goats are a lot of fun to have around. I love all of mine. Good Luck!​

 

[arabianequine]

I have a toggenburg and a saanen. Both good milk breeds. Both are young still and I have only had them a couple months so I will let you know on the milk bit lol. The does and saanen buck are kept in just hog panels fencing and so far are totally fine. Look at my goat threads if you get a chance since I am new to goats so much to learn. I have went through some iffy situations already but they are doing wonderful now.

Good luck!

 

[bagendhens]

if you like the nigies (and whats not to love they are adorable) and want a kid doe...
make sure to check out her mother and any female siblings on the farm, also check her fathers backrground...youll pay a little more for a nigie from good milking lines, but you wont hav the issues with small teets and low milk production.

if you head on over to the backyard herds sister site theres LOTS of goat folks over there and a couple of WONDERFULL nigerian breeders whod be able to point you in the right direction if you wanted to go dwarf

i do think a couple of well bred nigerian does from good milking lines could be perfect for you, less fed, less space, easier to handle overall, sweet natured, easy to sell the kids as pets for urban homesteaders ect...
they dont give as much milk as the standard dairy breeds but its VERY high in butterfat so it makes delicious butter, cheese and cream

of course good drinking milk too, but nigerian cheese is very rich and delicious (and goes very well into desert cheeses using blueberries and such

)

my fave part about nigerians though is there much bettr suited to smaller lots and very thrifty, you dont need even 1/2 as much space or browse for a pair of nigerian does as you would for standard bred does, so there alot cheaper to feed.