Which Breed of Goat to Get???

[cassie]

I know how they all work. I was saying you shouldn't say manageable because a new goat owner, may think it's not a big deal. From what I've seen in other herds they have been able to clean out CAE with pasteurized milk including colostum and it's much less common for it to spread in other ways. Either way, I didn't want an agreement.

Pasteurizing milk and colostrum is essential, but in my experience, and according to Davis, it is not the only thing you need to do if your herd is infected. Also, the smaller your herd, the easier it is to eradicate, but that is true of everything. I was milking 100 does, so, including bucks and dry stock, I had over 200 animals at any one time. If I was going to get goats again, and I am not, I would not buy any goat unless it had been tested for CAE. It may, or may not, interest you to know that the protocol for getting rid of CAE was originally formulated for dealing with mycoplasma. For several years mycoplasma was a big problem in livestock, not just goats, but also pigs and cattle in the area of California where I lived. Then, it just kind of went away. Interestingly, a lot of the symptoms of mycoplasma, like swollen joints, are the same as are found in CAE. I just threw this last in as a bit of trivia.

 

[HipMystic]

I loved my Nigerian Dwarves, they could be a bit vocal at feeding/milking time but other than that they were generally not too loud. I definitely recommend buying from a disease-tested herd, it’s easier to avoid those diseases altogether than it will be to get rid of them once they’re in your herd.
I know I’m a little late to the party, but I definitely agree with the others, the first doeling does look a little narrow, but you’d need updated pics to see what she looks like now. I would pass on the second goat entirely.
Another thing to consider is whether you want registered vs non, registered kids are MUCH easier to sell than non-registered.