Dairy goat advice wanted!

[freemotion]

Chirpy, what is an ND?

 

[nightshade]

get both goats need friends and frankly if these have been together for a long time and you separate them you could actually kill the one you have. Its called broken heart syndrome.

If you have kegs with legs (pygmys) then you know how to care for a goat you are just worried about needs of milking goats right?

You will need dairy goat feed, a save a kid kit in case anything goes wrong when they kid. You will want to get teat wash, iodine, bag balm and a good dairy goat book for refrence and read it cover to cover, something like Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats.

PS free motion a ND stands of Nigerian Dwarf a very small goat breed, smaller then a pygmy but with more perfect proportions not the keg with legs look.


Hope this helps
Bj




proud momma of Nubians and LaManchas and a Toggie as well as a bunch of chickens ducks, pigeons, peafowl, horses, dogs, cats, fish, a 5 yr old boy and one Dh

Soon to add a new baby coon in MAY !

 

[Chirpy]

Chirpy, what is an ND?

Sorry, I usually try to remember to spell it out. As nightshade said they are Nigerian Dwarfs. They are small like Pygmy's but are considered a Dairy Breed and should generally look like a miniature dairy breed - longer in the body whereas Pygmys are usually stockier and rounder.​

 

[freemotion]

Too late to get both, one just had her baby today and is off the sale list for now. I just received pictures and the blasted doe has big honkin' horns. Will she beat the tar out of my "kegs with legs?" (cute one, nightshade!) One of our goats had horns when I was a kid and she was so sweet, but that was one goat.....Waddaya'all think?

Oh, Nigerian Dwarfs....should've been able to figure that one out!

 

[geareduplyn]

Quote:
Yes she will.

 

[Chirpy]

Horns are a very personal and debateble subject. Some people wouldn't have a goat without them and some people won't have a goat with them.

My personal preference is to not have goats with horns. They can hurt other goats easier if butting with horns, they can hurt people (especially children) with horns and they can get their horns stuck in fences, etc. potentially causing serious injury to themselves.

Having said that, if she is a sweetie goat, who loves to be with people, it's highly unlikely that a person would ever get hurt by her (although accidents can and do occasionally happen) so you need to think about whether she might hurt your little goats; you have no way of knowing that unless the owner can give you info along that line. What kind of fencing do you have? I expect, since you have little goats, that your fencing shouldn't be a problem.

Just thoughts... you'll need to decide.

edited for English usage.

 

[freemotion]

My fence is four foot woven wire horse fencing, the kind with openings about 2" x 4", with electric tape at the top that is off right now, I will probably re-string it towards spring, some of it melted when a neighbor's shed burned and I never bothered to re-do it, as my critters stay in and other critters stay out. But it makes me feel better having the option and I have the supplies in the garage, it has been on the bottom of the to-do list.

I had a cute bell on the collar of the goat that died a couple years ago, and one day she disappeared. I found her "tied" to the fence when the bell got caught, and she was so well-behaved (was owned at one time by a good dairy, it seemed, she knew how to be good) that she did not question being tied and could've easily pulled free. Poor girl, I took that bell right off. But that was the only fence incident in 7 years, besides the neighbor's dog climbing over.....hence, the electric topper.

One of the pictures showed some tiny pygmies in the background, with all the goats together. They all looked good. The lady said this is the friendliest one she has, the easiest milker. She seemed to be urging the other on me more at first, when I told her my animals stay here forever, with very few exceptions (babies will be sold, it would soon get to be too much!)

Beak trimming is for people's convenience and for economical reasons....you can crowd the hens more....so with that and other "facts" I have been learning the last few years, I now question a lot of what I read. I do not and will not have a micro version of a commercial set-up, so the book and extension service wisdom does not always apply.

Kinda like the raw chicken wings my dog eats, the whole grains my hens eat, and the raw eggs in my homemade mayo.....horrors! Someone will die! What was I thinking!!!

I want to hear more opinions on horns, details as to why you like them or not, so I can see what I think might work here, in my situation. The kinda stuff I won't find in books.

Thanks so far, this has been GREAT!

 

[PotterWatch]

I personally don't have any experience with horned goats, but the place I got my goats from had goats of all different sized together (from huge saanens to teeny pygmies), some with horns, most without. They all seemed to get along just fine, didn't see any issues in the few times I was there.

 

[geareduplyn]

In a confinment situtation you are asking for trouble with horned animals. Even my free range herd was disbudded or naturally polled.

 

[nightshade]

$200 is not actually bad at all for a bred nanny. Around here you will anywhere for $80-$150 for a NON bred, non reg dairy breed. $150-$200 or more for a milking or bred Non reg nanny. And Regs are over $300 to start non bred. We have livestock fencing with little problems just make sure you get the stuff or have the stuff with the smaller holes.

I also have both horned and non horned goats and I see little difference in attitude and behavior, matter of fact my pushy top momma is a hornless LaMancha and when she feels like it is more then able to beat the crap out of every one else, even my billy. If a goat is mean though it is mean having horns does not make a goat a mean goat. Personally I like a horned goat. Not for tugging them around by cause that WILL make them nasty but because to me a goat just looks nicer with a curled set of horns then with a "naked" head. If you have large holes in your fence it does make it easier for them to get caught up in and unable to get out though. The horns will snag in places a "naked" head will not.

I have bells on all of mine but I can see how they could get hung up on something. I let mine run lose thought a lot and it helps to track down ones that wander off.

I don't have a huge commercial dairy, I have a home dairy herd for our families use. I love to take in unwanteds and rescues from auctions. If it a mean goat I get sell it, that simple I have a young son who loves the animals and I wont have a mean animal. We have milkers and we have pets, they are not livestock to us they are pets. I normally don't buy regs, I will buy from people who have regs but will only get ones without papers. You can't milk papers. I don't show goats and when little babies non reg bring $50-75 and older ones that are 6mths - a year old bring over $75 I can't see paying for papers.

Everyone has there ways of doing things and ideas of what is "best" but frankly alot of it comes down to what do you like. If you fear horns will be a problem stay away from them, or if given the chance go see the goat and how she acts with other goats that don't have horns. Is she an alfa momma or a gentle follower? Her personality has a lot to do with it.

Good luck

and I hope you get the happy miker of your looking for, (ps when you get her post pics

)