Goat breeds

[qooqoomom]

I am trying to decide which breed of goat I want

any input?

I want a dairy breed, we have 11 kids and go through at least 10 gallons of milk a week so amount of milk is a biggy for us. I have room for 4-5 goats, but don't plan on getting more than 2 for right now.
I like the look of the Nubians, those ears are so darn cute but I read that they are stubborn. Again, I have 11 human kids, I deal with stubborn all day long, don't know that I want a stubborn goat.

I also would prefer (yeah I know

) one that isn't known for being an escape artist. The fences are 6-8 feet high but I know some climb them and I don't really want to have to play "find the goat" every day.

Nigerians are adorable, but I have huge hands and don't think I could comfortably milk a mini breed.

Lamanchas are supposed to be calmer ? is that true, but those wierd ears

Any ideas?

 

[Skyesrocket]

My vote is for Lamanchas! You will get past the ear thing. They are sweet goats, not too noisy and give a lot of milk.
If you have big hands and need a lot of milk go for a full size dairy breed and check the udders before you buy.

 

[ShadyGlade]

If you are looking for the goat equivalent of a Holstein go with the Saanan. Some of the dairy does are milking forty pounds(5 gal) and more a day now.

 

[Chauntecleer's Keeper]

My friend has nubians and his young boys milk them twice every day. They have not had any problems with bad goat behavior. Try to get some bottle raised kids, and you will have to beat them off of you. Find a good breeder that you can form a relationship with so that you will have a source of help. Buy quality animals and you will not regret it. You do not have to get papered animals, just good quality animals. Make sure you are ready to milk the goats twice a day when they are lactating. No exceptions. A good breeder will be able to help you find a buck when you need to breed your goats too. You will have your 4-5 goats before you know it.

 

[geareduplyn]

Quote:
WOW!! Thats 12,000 pounds of milk in a milking cycle. I was always super pleased if I got a good solid producer of 3,000 pounds+ per a 305 day cycle.

Back to topic. My vote is for Nubians. Best flavored milk. Now that I mention flavor. If it is possible try to sample the milk the does produce.

 

[ShadyGlade]

In our area there is a club to support goat producers and goat products. Check with the cooperative extension office, 4H clubs or land grant Universities in your area to find the "on the ground" local people who have goats. That's where you'll find your support system & resources for all those times something goes not quite by the book.
Good luck with you future goats!

 

[AThoroughbredNamedBabe]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOLVE LOVE the nubians. I have 3 of them. Violet, Reese, and Benji. They are seriously like dogs. Big babies. Violet i got because a friend couldn't keep her anymore and wanted her to go to a good home. She is my baby and we let her out and she follows me everywhere. Reese is the bottle buck that I bought to breed Violet so I could get more of the adorable little buggers! He is amazing. I call his name he comes running

when i pet him he wags his tail. Benjji. well I got him from a small animal auction. He came in with 4 others and the meet buyer bought them all. I went up to him and paid more for Benjji then what he bought for them but he was cute. Wish I could have saved them all. He wasn't too social at first but after a while he came around. My opinion they are the best dairy goats ever. Second choice would be the alpines. We show Nubians. and pygmys. Nubians are great at everything. I have milked them and know people around here that that is all they milk. They produce nice tasting and a lot of milk. Hope this helped you out at all. If i had to get rid of all my goats and choose one breed it would definantly be the nubians.

 

[MissPrissy]

I have saanan x nubian does. My herd queen is 155+ lbs in summer. She gives 2 gallons of milk a day.

For the size of your family I suggest finding heavy milkers. Get 3 - 4 and breed them in staggered breeding times. Dairy goats come into heat late august through late november. Breed them so that they kid at least month apart so that you have very little down time for milk. You will experience some overlap when you think you are drowning in milk but that is when you will learn to make the best cheese. LOL Good luck on your search.

 

[qooqoomom]

I didn't know you could overlap their breeding. Duh, I just thought they went into heat all together. I will definitely have to do that. I'm looking forward to drowning in milk, right now I can't keep it in the house! I'm looking forward to making cheese- I love goat cheese. Yummy

 

[Cara]

I have a Sable and a Sable/Nubian. The Sable kidded in February, and has been our first venture into goat milk, and any kind of dairy animal in general. The lady we got them from used to raise straight Nubians, but found them too stubborn and uncooperative. I'm a hound dog person, but then I don't try to milk my dogs and didn't want that temperament in livestock.

My husband swore up and down he was not going to drink goat milk. Goats stink, goats eat everything, goats always escape, goats are embarrassing, I would get tired of milking etc. For the first week or so after she kidded, I thought i'd made a horrible mistake. The milk was disgusting, I had to admit it. Our dogs did well out of the deal.

Then the colostrum cleared

The milk is absolutely delicious!! My husband loves it, and isn't ashamed to brag about how good it is to the other cowboys.

I've left her kids on her until they're two months old, but we still get three big mason jars of milk a day. I open the gate to their pen, call her, and she comes trotting out and gets on her milk stand. She stands perfectly still while I milk her, and when i'm done I release the headgate, open the gate and she trots right back into the pen! Sometimes she tries to go AWOL, but using a leash would ruin the entertainment.

My husband and I didn't buy all that much milk, perhaps a gallon or two a week, but that was costing us $40 a month. Now we have tastier, healthier milk whenever we need it (town is an hour away). She eats one 50lb bag of feed a month, which costs about $12, and two bales of alfalfa.

Milking is relaxing and rewarding, and it's one of my favourite parts of the day. I think it does a person a lot of good to produce their own food, it puts life into perspective. It's a lot like collecting eggs, the novelty never wears off.