Please vote: Pygmys or Nigerian Dwarfs?

[FlightsofFancy]

I love both, but I have to say my personal experience is that the Nigerians are quieter. The pygmies, as sweet as they are, have a "a woman is being strangled" cry. The Nigerians have more of a "baa" or a "blee". Both are just as sweet as can be. Wethers are great....have one of those.
Good luck! I am sure you will enjoy what ever you end up with.

PS. All you pygmy owners out there please don't take offense....JMO!


This is a picture of my goat babies from Helmstead. Yes! Ivy is in the chicken coop! Bad goat!

 

[Henrietta23]

Too cute!!

 

[legacyln]

I appreciate all your input! I think I am going to go for two Nigerians, pref a doe and a wether. I would LOVE to get them now-- like yesterday!-- but we've agreed we won't build my little chicken/goat barn till our old house has sold (it has been for sale for over a year now) so here I sit, only able to dream of goats for who knows how much longer. So thanks for helping me pass the waiting time with all your photos and advice. You know if I lived in Georgia, I wouldn't even need to sit and ponder this, I'd just head over to Kate's and say "who's for sale?"

I know they are big ole meat goats, and I want pets ,not dinner, but there is something about those Boers that I find adorably cute. I discovered there is a Humane Society shelter for "barnyard" animals about 2 hours drive from here. They have several goats but one in particular that I'm kind of drawn to. She is a Boer doe who the listing says is not very friendly and gets picked on by the other goats. She is between 1-2 yrs old and was a neglect case I believe. So I'm thinking, maybe I could adopt her a few months before I buy my minis? I'd get to have a Boer, she'd have a home, I'd have some time alone w/her to work on bonding/taming, and then the minis would be the new goats and likely not pick on her. Am I crazy????

 

[Skyesrocket]

No, your not crazy! Sounds like a good plan to me!

 

[helmstead]

You see Ivy in FlightsofFancy's picture above? Boer/ND cross! She is so sweet and adorable! Her dam is the ND side of the equation (was bred when I purchased her) - and she's sweet, too...but I've heard Boers are very tame, gentle and good pets despite their size.

Course, if they get pushy...you've got 300 lbs of pushy, but still...

I don't have any personal experience mixing goat sizes within a herd...but at the same time my minis are full of vinegar so I bet they'd hold their own. Wouldn't you be heartbroken though if it didn't work out? Also, it can take a very long time to tame a wild goat. Some come around faster than others. I have two still fairly wild girls (ie they know when you're in catching mode, but could be caught if you feigned feeding time) - one I've had since she was 4 months old (and was BUCK wild) and one I've had since later last year. It takes time, lots of time.

Hopefully Chaty will chime in...maybe she has some ideas.

PS thanks for the compliment!

 

[legacyln]

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Yeah, and it may be too much to attempt for a person new to goats. Its like my heart and animal-obessessive side wants to do it, but my brain is telling me it would be biting off more than I could chew. I mean, my only goat experience at this point is petting zoos!

I may call and talk to the Humane Society ranch manager-- they actually know the goat and maybe they can provide some insight on my prospects. I am sure I could go meet her as well-- might be a good field trip for my kids anyway. I think it could all turn out so nice if she tamed down and she would have a great home to live out her life, buuuuuut "wouldn't I be heartbroken if it didn't work out" -- YES!

 

[coffeemama]

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Super cute goats! I agree that Nigerians are your best bet. And yay for homebirth FlightsofFancy!

 

[Henrietta23]

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I've seen goats on petfinder.com too. They have a barnyard animal section.