Nigerian Dwarf Goats

[c0dywhite]

I was interested in getting Nigerian Dwarf Goats  & was wondering if someone with experience could give me some advice on owning & I'd also like to have goat milk to drink, make butter, & etc.
Poss post pics anyone?

Thanks!!
-Cody

 

[Skipspin]

We have a ND doeling, but we've only had her since Christmas. We have had our LaMancha doe for about a year, though, and are pretty well-entrenched in the goat world already.

If you don't want to wait 1-2 years for milk you're best bet would be to get a doe that is already bred or in milk. Since you don't want just one goat you could get another doe with her or a wether, which is a castrated male. They make great pets and don't eat much at all once they are grown- especially if you have grass or browse for them. If you like them you'll end up with more- so I wouldn't start with too many.

Some things to research:

Do you want a registered goat, or just a good milker/pet? Registered will cost more, but kids will sell for more too. We have registered because my daughter shows them in 4H. They need to be registered with ADGA to show in most shows.

Horns or not? If you want to show they have to be naturally polled or disbudded. I'd highly recommend it anyway if you have kids or want to have lots of kids around. Most registered animals will not have horns, but there can be exceptions.

How will you breed? Unless you are going to have a larger heard it's easier to pay someone a stud fee. Any bucks will have to be house separately, fed, etc, and that costs a lot more than paying once a year. Bucks also have quite an odor and can be very aggressive about getting out and destroying fences if there are does on the other side.

You'll want to have a vet that likes and is good at working with goats, OR a good experienced goat mentor to help you. If you get your goats from a local reputable breeder having a relationship with them could even be better than a vet, or at least that's what I've found. We have both, though we haven't needed the vet for anything other than health certificates for the fair yet.

Fiasco farms site has a lot of great information to read ahead of time. Goats are really great, but like any animal they can be a pain. They will eat any plants they can get to- especially your favorite rose. They will jump on your car. I'd suggest building a pen with some sort of shelter that's "goat-proof". We let ours out in our whole yard most of the time, but sometimes you need a more confined place for them: like when you want to drive through the yard, or have a camp fire and they are stealing all the marshmallows.

Hope that helps.

 

[c0dywhite]

Yes, this helps!

I was wanting goat bc I've always had poultry & rabbits since I started high school & I only got them bc of FFA, but I'm glad I did.
I was wanting something to put in my record book besides poultry, eggs, rabbits, & veggies.

I do the Farmer's Markets, Ham, Bacon, & Egg Shows, put eggs/veggies in the fair. This year I'm also putting rabbits & building chicken tractor & rabbit hutch for the fair.

My sister shows goats at the fair & I'd like to, but I don't think I'm going to.I got my sisterin rabbits & she has chickens at her dad's house. I'm trying to get her to put eggs, veggies, & rabbits in the fair too! She is also really good at doing whatever with the goats bc she has gotta Grand Champion & other stuff.

Thanks again! (I kinda rambled on a little bit more than just talking about goats!) lol
-Cody