La Manchas, Pygmy or what?

[aaronzclark]

NOOOOOO get Pygmy goats lol best breed in the WHOLE WORLD!!! I would prefer one over a nigerian dwarf. you might regret getting big goats and I am sorry but La machas are the ugliest breed I have ever seen lol they don't hardly have ears lol. If you do want a big breed I would get nubian. No offence to no anyone with la macha's or any thing but we all like what we all like i guess hehe

 

[PotterWatch]

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Where did you get your mini-manchas?

I bought mind from a lady near San Diego who I will not recommend at all. They originally came from the Desertwinds herd in Nevada (the Geiser Ranch), and they are really great people, very helpful. I am selling my girls though. We love our goats and want to have them again, but our current property just isn't working out to have them. Not just our property, but our neighbors as well.

As far as milk production, I get about 2qts a day from my two does. One is a FF who still has a kid nursing and the other was giving 2qts a day by herself, but then had a really bad bout of bloat and her production went way down (and is also still nursing an older kid). I have no idea what the production is in standard lamanchas.

 

[Haviris]

Personally I think about any breed can be a good pet, you just want to find one that has been very handled and is friendly. I have or have had nubians, alpines, boers, pygmies, nigerians, one fainter, and one LaMancha.

I think the nigis have the most personality!

My LaMancha is the only one I've had, I got him pretty young (2-3 months), but he's never been overly friendly, he's very food motivated and as long as you have food or treats he's your best friend.

Most people looking for a pet want one of the smaller goats, nigis, pygmies, small fainters, all would be nice! Personally I like the colors of the nigis and fainters!

For a very long time I would have said if I could only have one goat as a pet it would be a nubian, I love nubians, always will! Always thought I'd prefer the biggies! I generally thought of the pygmies when I thought of minis, and although they are nice, they just aren't my breed. However, I have grown to love the nigis, and they are now ranked right up there w/ the nubians!

 

[griffin45]

Some time today I believe we will be getting two more breeds for our farm. Saanen and Oberhasli. Yesterday we went to see them at their very large enclosure and I was absolutely astonished at their behavior. There had to be 140 goats in the 110 acre enclosure and we had both the Oberhasli and the Saanen rubbing up on us like they were big cats. The enclosure also housed some Kiko and some Boer, but they did not act at all like the two dairy breeds. The Saanen are big! There is no comparison with another goat. I could only compare them with our Mini-Donkeys, but the Saanen buck was still taller. I really liked the Oberhasli (used to be Swiss Alpine), they were friendly and quiet. Our Lamanchas (we have just one doe) is about the same as a Ober. Friendly and quiet. The Pygmys that we have had were also friendly, just not real quiet, but a bit less, shall we say, inquizative(sp?). I spend 3 to 4 hours a day with goats and I would rather have a fun loving inquizative goat than a noisy feed monster. Go with a happy dairy breed!

Chris

 

[pipermark]

mini-lamanchas. I went with the dwarf or mini breeds and I am very glad. We all seem to get along great, and if one of them gets stubborn about where I need it to go, I can just pick it up and were Off!

I recently had them all tested for CAE, thats a blood test, I can only imagine the difficulty of holding a standard size goat, the minis were a challenge until I got the hang of it.

 

[PotterWatch]

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Yeah, I like that about my minis. I can very easily just pick them up and move them if I need to.

 

[ksacres]

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Most of the standard (dairy) breeds are very calm natured. I've had blood drawn from the girls many times, they just stand there.

Often (but not always) the smaller the goat, the bigger the attitude. Kinda like teacup dogs and ponies! I have had a few pygmies, two Nigerians, and a couple boers over the years.

Whatever you decide to get, be sure to start with a young animal, and spend lots of time handling and doing the things you want it to do when it's bigger. All of my doelings get up on the stand like the "big" girls at least once a month. If you get them desensitized to the important things when they are young, it will be smooth sailing when they are full grown!

 

[sandy sea]

I went and looked at pygmys today they seem really cute. The people only had wethers about 6 weeks old. The price was $275.00 because they were registered. Seems alot? Yesterday I looked at a standard size La manchas, she was really sweet but will be quite large. Have not been able to kind any mini la manchas. Does any have the nigerian dwarf? Are a calm?

 

[Haviris]

$275 sounds like alot for a wether of any breed, a doe or buck maybe, but not a wether. I sell my wethers for $50. I would say the average (I'm talking mostly Nigis, because that is what I have) is $50-$100, and know some that sell them for $125. Personally I think $50 is about right for a wether and I'd have to want it alot to pay any more then that. So I'd pass if I was you!

I have nigis, they are all very different, but mine are all very nice loving goats. I have one that is not as friendly as I'd like her to be, I've had her since she was 10 weeks old, however all others are major lap babies, even those I got as adults, some took alittle time to tame down, but all eventually did. All that were born and raised here have been friendly from the start, they are handled alot!

 

[sandy sea]

Harivis , Where do you live? Anywhere near CA?