Help with buying a dairy goat?

[still learning]

Well, the situation has changed a bit. The Boer buck apparently wasn't up to the task

so now the Saanen is running with a La Mancha buck. I am kind of glad, as I am hoping she will have a doe I can keep to milk eventually. And it looks like I'll be taking an Alpine doe baby to keep the Saanen company.

I was hoping to have all Saanens originally because of temperament, but these are the opportunities that have presented themselves and I am squeamish about purchasing from someone I don't know.

So can you tell me if La Mancha's and Alpines are sweet or ornery, as a breed? If all goes well, I'll have a 3 yr old Saanen in milk by the fall, along with an alpine kid and a la mancha/Saanen kid to breed the next year sometime?

 

[Chirpy]

So can you tell me if La Mancha's and Alpines are sweet or ornery, as a breed?

lAs a breed I'd say that Alpines are very sweet. I don't have LaManchas but I've heard they are also very sweet. Goats are like any animal... you get some wonderful sweet ones and some not so much. But, most of them, if raised properly, will be wonderful and sweet.

Sounds like you are well on your way to a great goat addiction!

Can't wait to see pictures of you new family members.​

 

[outbackfarm]

I have 5 Lamancha does. I LOVE them all. Thay are the best goats for me. They are quiet and very gentle. Not a lot of trouble. Great milkers. Give tons of milk. And beautiful colors and patters. I never know what we'll get so it's always such a surprise when we see the new kids.

My oldest doe, Abby, gives around a gallon a day. The youngest doe had twins her first year and gave about 1/2 gallon a day. Not a lot but her udder has not gotten where it should be yet. We'll see this year when she freshens. I hope her teats get longer. I have her mother and she has huge udders. She just had a single buck last year and I had to milk her right away. She gave about a gallon a day.

I also have a Nubian-Togg cross. She is very noisy, hates to be by herself, is very nervous but I love her. She has good milk, too. One of my does lost her baby a few months into her preg. so I was milking 5 goats and getting 3-4 gallons a day in the first several months then down to a few gallons toward the end.

I will always have Lamanchas. They are great goats.

Good luck with your Sanaan. They are beautiful goats, too. And good milkers.

 

[crazy cat lady]

I have Nubians, LaMancha, Togg and Saanens. The only time they are noisy is when it is feeding time.
My Nubians aren't noisy at all. Unless it is feeding time. We haven't tried milking the girls yet as we are letting their kids nurse. We are first time goat lovers ourselves.

We have an "Abby" also, she is our togg-alpine cross. She just had twins her first pregnancy. She is a great mom to her kids.

 

[Catfishingpokey]

Me and my wife chose saanens as well we now have two does at home. and a buckling on the way from a dairy in new braunfels tx. i think the goats are good for children as are all types of livestock it teaches kids about real life in a way that disney dont.they get a free biology lesson every day in one way or another.they also learn where the things we need for our own survival as well.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
La Manchas are both.

My girls are all much easier to handle than my Nubians. The Nubian girls are all complete flakes. The La Manchas also have distinct individual personalities.

 

[still learning]

This is so encouraging! I have heard that Nubians can be difficult and noisy by friends here locally, so I am staying away from them, in spite of the extra butterfat content. That settles it then. If the tests for CAE come back good, then I'm gonna be a goat owner soon! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!! Will definitely post pictures when they are home.

 

[ksacres]

Just so you know, La Manchas have the second highest average butterfat rating of the standard dairy breeds. They aren't all that far away from Nubians in that area.

 

[still learning]

Quote:
No kidding??? Well, that's cool. I am hoping to make ice cream in the summer and yogurt regularly with the extra milk.

 

[ksacres]

Mmm ice cream