Favorite goat breed and why

[ShrekDawg]

Mostly just a fun thread because I'm curious plus maybe some of the why's could be useful

Sooo..

What is your favorite breed(s) of goats and/or what breeds of goats do you have and why?

And why do you have your breed(s)?

Thanks

 

[politicalcenter]

I like the Boer goat. Round here they bring more money. But I also have Nigerian and Pygmy goats. Heck, I like them all.

 

[Zoomie]

Oh, I adore goats and over the years I've had most breeds and frankly I love them all. My most favorite of all, though, was one I fell in love with when I was a child: the Nubian.

That's what I have now and I love them. I am a cheese maker, and Nubians produce lots of sweet-tasting high butterfat milk which is easy to turn into lots of delicious cheese. My lines are pretty high producing, some have even given as much as 2 gallons a day. I also love the great big long droopy ears which I think are SO cute.

Here is a pic of the girls waiting for me to milk:



Most of these are the youngsters. But just look at those ears, and those sweet faces...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Wow that's a lot of milk! And those Nubians are sooo cute! Do they eventually grow into their ears a little bit or do they stay that big? Cause they're adorable!

I don't think that I've ever had goat cheese or milk or anything but I have used goat soap before.



And around here boers seem to fetch a lot too, there's this one supposedly real top quality breeder that gets i think a couple to few hundred dollars or more for his but then there are other sold for meat that are like $175 to a certain weight then by pound. And there are some that are more or less expensive. Those are just the main ones i see on Craigslist. And there seem to be tons of Nigerians too, everyone wants the cute little things I guess haha around here it seems to range from like $200-$400, depending on buck or doe or the parents/lines, some even have way more expensive ones. Wethers tend to be way less, like $150 or $125 or something. Nigerians and Boers seem to be most common around here but then there's also a lot of Alpines and various other goats around

 

[Zoomie]

The ears stay pretty long... the show standard calls for ears that extend at least 1" beyond the nose so they should have ears at least that long. Of course you don't milk the ears but it's part of the breed character. I show my girls when I can; it's really fun to be somewhere that you can talk goats all day long and not once does anyone say "Holy cow! SHUT UP about the goats already!" Plus you learn so much as long as you pay attention to the judge, and meet so many interesting people.

Prices of goats can go really high. I have a friend who paid close to $2,000.00 for a buck from a very good farm. That buck did really well in the ring and has produced some fantastic kids. It is not at all uncommon to see a trained milker going for at least $500.00. It's not always the case of course, but usually, you get what you pay for... it is not often that a $75.00 goat will put 2 gallons of milk in the pail every day.

Not saying it can't happen, but it sure never did to me!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh wow, definitely long ears! Didn't realize it was written in the standard like that but makes sense. Definitely makes them cute too. And haha I know what you mean! I love animals so I'm always talking about the dog mostly or the cat or chickens and sometimes get long winded so at first the story or info or whatever is interesting then it's like OMG stop LOL showing seems like it'd be pretty fun.

Oh wow that's a lot! But yeah, I bet some of the top ones from that one boer breeder probably get up there like that. And I've seen CL bucks for like $600+ so makes sense, the prices above were all just kids, but started or proven ones I could see being well more. I even recently saw a breeder with prices all over the place for kids but they had a LOT of goats. They didn't offer wethers anymore but willing to wether buck price i guess, idk. Not sure why they wouldn't offer wethers anymore but maybe they were getting a lot of wether kids and losing money? Anyway, some of theirs were as low as $250 or $350 bucks while others were up to like $500 or $600, pretty sure I saw $800 and $1000 ones too and the does were more. And these were just kids, not even proven or whatever. I think they were Nigerian Dwarfs but maybe not.

But hmmm, that is very true! I never thought of it like that before but that does make sense.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think if/when I ever start a homestead or business I will definitely invest in good quality ones but I don't have any goats now

I would like to get some though, maybe over the summer. They always have goats at our local fair in August and the last couple years I've wanted to buy the babies LOL

Or maybe I will get a CL one but not the cheapest of the cheap hahah

For pets/wethers/brush clearing does it matter where you get them as much? Besides making sure they are healthy/vaccinated/disease free of course.

 

[Zoomie]

Sure, if your goats are brush busters, it does not matter too much as long as the person kept their goats well, kept up on shots and has the feet trimmed etc. However. When you have good goats, you can more easily sell them. Naturally I hope I never have to sell my goats, but life can happen... so can injury or even death. What if something happens to me? I want my goats to be cherished and loved every day of their lives. So, I keep up my paperwork, sending in registration applications and transfers in a timely fashion, keep up my herd health records, make certain they are all well trained and fun and easy to handle. That is the best insurance I can give my goats that if anything ever happens to me, they will be easy to sell and people will love them and take good care of them just like I do. Not that there are any guarantees in life, but that's the way I see it.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sure, if your goats are brush busters, it does not matter too much as long as the person kept their goats well, kept up on shots and has the feet trimmed etc. However. When you have good goats, you can more easily sell them. Naturally I hope I never have to sell my goats, but life can happen... so can injury or even death. What if something happens to me? I want my goats to be cherished and loved every day of their lives. So, I keep up my paperwork, sending in registration applications and transfers in a timely fashion, keep up my herd health records, make certain they are all well trained and fun and easy to handle. That is the best insurance I can give my goats that if anything ever happens to me, they will be easy to sell and people will love them and take good care of them just like I do. Not that there are any guarantees in life, but that's the way I see it. 

Hmmm, I never really thought about it like that before but that does make a lot of sense. Thanks

 

[ShrekDawg]

And especially because i can see kids being easier to sell but I never thought about rehoming the adults before so thanks