I posted this on Backyard Herds as well, but need all the advice I can get and this is where I usually hang as we are already chicken people
We are about to set out on our first adventure with goats and I am in need of a bit of advice. We have done all of our research and have decided on Nigerian Dwarfs. We want to keep goats for milking and also have small children so the nigerians seem like a good fit for us. Back in March, we met with a local breeder who had some kids available and we put our deposit down on a set of three siblings - one doe and two wethers. Long story short, we developed a major fox problem on our property which required us to change the housing for our chickens and delayed us in getting ready for the goats. So we had to let the original trio go.
Now we are back on track and ready, but with the extra time I had to think, I decided that it would probably be more useful in the future if we had two does and one wether (the wether will most likely be for my daughter to do some 4H activities with) even if it costs more up front. So the breeder only has one doeling available right now, but she thought she might be willing to let us buy the doe's mother and brother as well. This seemed perfect because we could try our hand at milking right now. But now she said that the mother is not available and she has the one doeling and two wethers for us. I would very much like two females and there is another local farm (with an excellent reputation) that has a doe in milk available with a doeling/wether set of twins. This would be perfect, but the original breeder has my deposit and I would also feel guilty cancelling on her since she was very patient and understanding with our the delays in our schedule.
The breeder who we have been working with gets many of her goats from the farm that has the perfect trio so I am wondering if we can work something out or would that be bad to ask? Am I wrong to change my mind about what I am looking for. I am thinking about feed costs and the return on our investment and what would suit our family best.
Sorry for the long story, but I don't have any goat folks here that I can seek advice from. Thanks!
We are about to set out on our first adventure with goats and I am in need of a bit of advice. We have done all of our research and have decided on Nigerian Dwarfs. We want to keep goats for milking and also have small children so the nigerians seem like a good fit for us. Back in March, we met with a local breeder who had some kids available and we put our deposit down on a set of three siblings - one doe and two wethers. Long story short, we developed a major fox problem on our property which required us to change the housing for our chickens and delayed us in getting ready for the goats. So we had to let the original trio go.
Now we are back on track and ready, but with the extra time I had to think, I decided that it would probably be more useful in the future if we had two does and one wether (the wether will most likely be for my daughter to do some 4H activities with) even if it costs more up front. So the breeder only has one doeling available right now, but she thought she might be willing to let us buy the doe's mother and brother as well. This seemed perfect because we could try our hand at milking right now. But now she said that the mother is not available and she has the one doeling and two wethers for us. I would very much like two females and there is another local farm (with an excellent reputation) that has a doe in milk available with a doeling/wether set of twins. This would be perfect, but the original breeder has my deposit and I would also feel guilty cancelling on her since she was very patient and understanding with our the delays in our schedule.
The breeder who we have been working with gets many of her goats from the farm that has the perfect trio so I am wondering if we can work something out or would that be bad to ask? Am I wrong to change my mind about what I am looking for. I am thinking about feed costs and the return on our investment and what would suit our family best.
Sorry for the long story, but I don't have any goat folks here that I can seek advice from. Thanks!
