Lets talk about goats!

[henny1129]

A question for those of you with "mini breeds".....
I've been thinking about getting a "mini breed" goat or two to use for the agility class at the fair. I have my two Boers, and don't get me wrong they are great goats, but they can be a little bull-headed sometimes and they do pretty bad in the agility courses. The Boers are great for showmanship, cart-pulling, and a bit of packing, but agility...no. At the fair I've seen a lot of "mini breeds" (Nigerians, Pygmys, Fainters/Myotonics) being used for the obstacle courses and I was wondering what your guy's experiences/opinions were on them. What breed would you suggest based on friendliness, agility, etc.? All the "minis" seem pretty friendly at fair and they seem to do well in the obstacle classes, but my Boog can look like an angel in the show ring and in reality, he can be a poop during training at home. Thanks everyone!

 

[GAMarans]

I madly adore my Nigerian Dwarfs ... they are like puppies. When I get to the farm they come running, skipping, and hopping to great me. They are incredibly agile but I have never done any agility work with them so I can't speak on how they would do with a course.

 

[waddles99]

The nigerians IME are very agile but make your back hurt after 5 mins of walking them....I always have to bend over

 

[henny1129]

I madly adore my Nigerian Dwarfs ... they are like puppies.  When I get to the farm they come running, skipping, and hopping to great me.  They are incredibly agile but I have never done any agility work with them so I can't speak on how they would do with a course.

Thank you! They sound like they would do pretty good in an agility class. At fair, the Nigerians and Pygmys always seem to just fly over the jumps.

The nigerians IME are very agile but make your back hurt after 5 mins of walking them....I always have to bend over 

Haha, I hadn't thought of that! That's the good thing about the Boers, you don't have to do any bending over! Do you think the Nigerians would be able to hold their own around my Boers? The Boers can be a bit crazy sometimes and seem to crash into anything when they're playing.

 

[moomoodiddy]

A question for those of you with "mini breeds".....
I've been thinking about getting a "mini breed" goat or two to use for the agility class at the fair. I have my two Boers, and don't get me wrong they are great goats, but they can be a little bull-headed sometimes and they do pretty bad in the agility courses. The Boers are great for showmanship, cart-pulling, and a bit of packing, but agility...no. At the fair I've seen a lot of "mini breeds" (Nigerians, Pygmys, Fainters/Myotonics) being used for the obstacle courses and I was wondering what your guy's experiences/opinions were on them. What breed would you suggest based on friendliness, agility, etc.? All the "minis" seem pretty friendly at fair and they seem to do well in the obstacle classes, but my Boog can look like an angel in the show ring and in reality, he can be a poop during training at home. Thanks everyone!

Definitely Nigerian Dwarfs, mine is a dog in a goat body.

 

[Wavechickens]

I love goats, they're cute and full of character

 

[waddles99]

Thank you! They sound like they would do pretty good in an agility class.

At fair, the Nigerians and Pygmys always seem to just fly over the jumps.

Haha, I hadn't thought of that! That's the good thing about the Boers, you don't have to do any bending over! Do you think the Nigerians would be able to hold their own around my Boers? The Boers can be a bit crazy sometimes and seem to crash into anything when they're playing.

It really depends on the actual individual goat. I kept my nigerians years ago, I dont have any more. Just Boers now. And I never had them at the same time so I didn't keep them together. I DID however keep a boer meat project wether in with a couple 7-8 year old nigerian x wethers. The Boer boy was about a year or two old and maybe 120 # when he was in there with them and those guys were 7-8 years old and maybe 100#. They were old guys, polled, and my wether was horned and young. They got along fine. If they got near him during feeding, he would maybe give them a small shove, or if they were standing on his tire he would knock them off. But nothing too extreme. Just normal goat pecking order. But, it definitely depends on the personality of the goat and especially the size. Since these were nigerian crosses they were a bit bigger, probably 100#. I have seen 20# nigerians before and they would most definitely be not a good choice in with boers.

 

[sannabelle]

A question to ad- when you have a buck out in the pasture or pen with the does does it create a gross taste in the milk? I've read that they shouldn't be kept together if you are using them for dairy.

We are in the process of building a giant goat area and are getting some Nigerian dwarfs for dairy in the spring! I've wanted goats for years- very exciting!

 

[moomoodiddy]

Bucks are just gross in general honestly. It could be a problem of contamination when they are peeing all over themselves. Does eating fowl plants like wild garlic can also affect taste.

 

[sannabelle]

That

Bucks are just gross in general honestly. It could be a problem of contamination when they are peeing all over themselves. Does eating fowl plants like wild garlic can also affect taste.

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That's kind of what I thought, haha. Looks like I'll be finding a goat stud service!