Shadow Paints foaling/kidding Thread.Twitch COLT pics pg 477!!

[sonew123]

Quote:
You do know these are Nigerian Dwarfs, right? They are dairy goats

Oh, I know but I have eight kids and one of those tiny puppy sized goats is not going to give me enough milk to feed this family. But I WANT one anyway. Maybe I'll get a gallon a day goat along with a cup a day goat. LOL!

8 kids??

more power to yah sister!

 

[nurturingnaturally]

I have decided we are getting goats too, just not sure when. ( I had decided that before watching this thread, but this certainly helped cement the idea, lol). Now, I just need to find a Nigerian Dwarf breeder in WA state...

 

[TriciaHowe]

Quote:
You do know these are Nigerian Dwarfs, right? They are dairy goats

Oh, I know but I have eight kids and one of those tiny puppy sized goats is not going to give me enough milk to feed this family. But I WANT one anyway. Maybe I'll get a gallon a day goat along with a cup a day goat. LOL!

found this interesting

Nigerian Dwarfs give a surprising quantity of milk for their size. Their production ranges from one to 8 pounds of milk per day, with an average of 2.5. Since Nigerians breed year-round, it is easy to stagger freshenings (births) in a herd so the entire herd is never dry. Thus, they are ideal milk goats for most families. Their milk has a higher butterfat content than milk from full-sized dairy goats, usually about 5%, but going as high as 10% at the end of a lactation. This makes Nigerian Dwarf goat milk excellent for cheese and soap making.

 

[jettgirl24]

nurturingnaturally: If you find a good one please let me know! I am also in WA and looking for a breeder. If I want to be realistic with myself I probably won't be ready until Spring 2012 but it doesn't hurt to start gathering info and getting a breeder picked out!

Nigerian Dwarfs give a surprising quantity of milk for their size. Their production ranges from one to 8 pounds of milk per day, with an average of 2.5. Since Nigerians breed year-round, it is easy to stagger freshenings (births) in a herd so the entire herd is never dry. Thus, they are ideal milk goats for most families. Their milk has a higher butterfat content than milk from full-sized dairy goats, usually about 5%, but going as high as 10% at the end of a lactation. This makes Nigerian Dwarf goat milk excellent for cheese and soap making.

This is what sold me on the breed. I've always loved them (and those tiny little babies!) when I've seen them at the fair and when I found out that they are actually great little milk goats the deal was sealed. I was especially excited to hear how good their milk is for cheesemaking as that's been something I've been dying to start doing! When we're ready I'm looking at getting two does which I'll breed 6 months apart. I'm pretty sure that will keep our family of two (with weekend visits by the two kids) in milk all year long.​

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
Oh, I know but I have eight kids and one of those tiny puppy sized goats is not going to give me enough milk to feed this family. But I WANT one anyway. Maybe I'll get a gallon a day goat along with a cup a day goat. LOL!

found this interesting

Nigerian Dwarfs give a surprising quantity of milk for their size. Their production ranges from one to 8 pounds of milk per day, with an average of 2.5. Since Nigerians breed year-round, it is easy to stagger freshenings (births) in a herd so the entire herd is never dry. Thus, they are ideal milk goats for most families. Their milk has a higher butterfat content than milk from full-sized dairy goats, usually about 5%, but going as high as 10% at the end of a lactation. This makes Nigerian Dwarf goat milk excellent for cheese and soap making.

Really? I did not know that. My "goat mentor" has Nubians, Boers, Toggs and (I'm gonna spell this wrong) Oberhaser....yep, spelled wrong. She's told me to expect at least a gallon a day from any one of these (which is about what I need) and it just never occurred to me that the little goats could supply anywhere close to that much. I am old and do NOT want to milk four goats twice a day to get enough milk to do anything with. LOL! I'm going to my soap making class this weekend and she's going to show me more about overall goat care so I'll be asking many more questions at that time.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

GEEZE!

When I decided to take the baby, kid, and and dog for a walk at around 4:00 the Pelican mama was resting. When I get back my older son tells me "that goat had her baby" and by the time I get to the computer someone is manually moving the camera away from mama and kids to the area with the mamas with older kids. I didn't even get to see what the new babies look like! I wonder why they were moving the camera so soon, they usually leave it on the new family for a while. Did everything look ok with the birth?

 

[mom2jedi]

Quote:
This is what sold me on the breed. I've always loved them (and those tiny little babies!) when I've seen them at the fair and when I found out that they are actually great little milk goats the deal was sealed. I was especially excited to hear how good their milk is for cheesemaking as that's been something I've been dying to start doing! When we're ready I'm looking at getting two does which I'll breed 6 months apart. I'm pretty sure that will keep our family of two (with weekend visits by the two kids) in milk all year long.

REALLY????!!!! DH and I started to consider milking goats but didn't want to have to continually breed them, twice a year isn't too bad... Are you planning on having a buck or just using stud services? I actually have a local mini farm that offers stud goats I'm just not sure which breed. Ok, question for all the goat experts, what do you do with the babies? Sell them?

 

[jettgirl24]

Everything looked really smooth... Popped out one after another and momma was really sweet with them. They were nursing and up and about just before they switched the camera and all looked well

 

[jettgirl24]

REALLY????!!!! DH and I started to consider milking goats but didn't want to have to continually breed them, twice a year isn't too bad... Are you planning on having a buck or just using stud services? I actually have a local mini farm that offers stud goats I'm just not sure which breed. Ok, question for all the goat experts, what do you do with the babies? Sell them?

I am by no means an expert considering I haven't gotten any yet

However, I really only want two so I'm planning to keep mine with momma during the days (so I only have to milk once a day) and then sell them when they're ready to wean, although admittedly I can't remember at what age you generally do that if you keep them with mom.

Edited to add: HOPEFULLY goat math does not work like chicken math or my boyfriend will be breaking up with me soon after the arrival of the goats

 

[nurturingnaturally]

Quote:
This is what sold me on the breed. I've always loved them (and those tiny little babies!) when I've seen them at the fair and when I found out that they are actually great little milk goats the deal was sealed. I was especially excited to hear how good their milk is for cheesemaking as that's been something I've been dying to start doing! When we're ready I'm looking at getting two does which I'll breed 6 months apart. I'm pretty sure that will keep our family of two (with weekend visits by the two kids) in milk all year long.

I will let you know, please do the same! I am hoping we will be ready in the next month or two. I have actually always liked the look of the big alpines, but recently realized that we really really don't need up to 2 gallons a day (by the time we have at least 2 does) for our little family of four, especially since the baby currently is mspi and reacts to goat milk too. I think the NDs will be a good size, and give a decent amount of milk for our needs. I think we are aiming for getting 3, so that if we take one for a walk/to the vet/to a buck/etc, the 2 will have each other for company and not be alone.