Doran?? Goat question.

[runninmommy]

If I remember right you are the pro with all things goats? Could you indulge me by answering a few questions?

 

I just purchased 3 Nigerian Dwarf females. Two are adults one is a baby. The two adults "may" be pregnant. They were kept in a pen with a Billy for about 3 weeks about a month and a half ago. The previous owner did not take notice if they came back into heat or not. I may have seen a sign of heat with one of the goats but I am not positive.

 

Now, I have an opportunity to buy a billy. My first question is, would you breed a Nigerian Dwarf with a Pygmy? Is the only way to know for sure if they are pregnant is to do a blood test? Would you expose the buck to the Nannies anyway to try to get late spring kids?

 

Also, the baby is only a few months old. (9-10 weeks) The previous owner let the mom dry up but since it was so recent could I get her to come back into milk?

 

Thank you so much for your time and patience with my inexperience.

 

:001_smile:

 

 

Camille

[Doran]

If I remember right you are the pro with all things goats? Could you indulge me by answering a few questions?

 

I just purchased 3 Nigerian Dwarf females. Two are adults one is a baby. The two adults "may" be pregnant. They were kept in a pen with a Billy for about 3 weeks about a month and a half ago. The previous owner did not take notice if they came back into heat or not. I may have seen a sign of heat with one of the goats but I am not positive.

 

Now, I have an opportunity to buy a billy. My first question is, would you breed a Nigerian Dwarf with a Pygmy? Is the only way to know for sure if they are pregnant is to do a blood test? Would you expose the buck to the Nannies anyway to try to get late spring kids?

 

Also, the baby is only a few months old. (9-10 weeks) The previous owner let the mom dry up but since it was so recent could I get her to come back into milk?

 

Thank you so much for your time and patience with my inexperience.

 

:001_smile:

 

 

Camille

 

 

Actually, I'm not well versed in goats at all. Chickens, yes. Not goats. :tongue_smilie: So, maybe you'll want to post your question again without my name in it in order to elicit more replies. Sorry I can't help.

[AnnetteB]

We have 5 goats and have had kids before(and hope to next year). I don't think you can get her milk to come back once it is gone without a new kidding. fiascofarm.com has a lot of info on goats, but her specialty is dairy goats. Our nanny goats start behaving in a very silly manner when they are fertile...lots of tail wagging and head bumping each other cycling about every 19 days.

[runninmommy]

I'm sorry. Thank you so much for replying. I asked a question about chickens several months back, so I must be confusing you with someone else.

 

We are also getting some Maran chickens when we build the coop/enclosure for them. That is after I recover from building the goat fence. :lol:

[runninmommy]

We have 5 goats and have had kids before(and hope to next year). I don't think you can get her milk to come back once it is gone without a new kidding. fiascofarm.com has a lot of info on goats, but her specialty is dairy goats. Our nanny goats start behaving in a very silly manner when they are fertile...lots of tail wagging and head bumping each other cycling about every 19 days.

 

 

Thank you for your help. I will look into the website you posted. The goats have not acted like that at all yet. I am really hoping they are pregnant but if not I would like them to be soon so we may start using their milk.

 

What do you think about breeding the Nigerians with a Pygmy?

[AnnetteB]

Nigerians are so cute that I don't think I would mix them with the pygmy, but that is just me. Ours are Nubian, Boer, and BoerNubian. We keep them as pets(and blackberry abatement) since the kids wouldn't drink the milk from the Nubians we had years ago. I hear you re. the fencing!

[Guest Cathy_Marie]

I think the question of whether to breed the nigerians to a pygmy depends on what you're planning on doing with the kids. Will they be pets? Dinner? Breeding specimens? If you are trying to build a dairy herd from your starter goats, then I'd stay away from breeding the nigerians to a pygmy; pygmies aren't known for dairy production. But if the kids will eventually end up on a dinner table or as pets, it doesn't really matter either way. Why did you choose Nigerians in the first place?

 

Let us know what you decide! Goats totally rock, imo, by the way. Congrats on your new girls.

[Soph the vet]

I love goats and it has been quite awhile since I have worked with them, but to answer your pregnancy testing question, you can have them ultrasounded to see if they are pregnant. They probably need to be over 30-40 days to be safe.

[runninmommy]

I think the question of whether to breed the nigerians to a pygmy depends on what you're planning on doing with the kids. Will they be pets? Dinner? Breeding specimens? If you are trying to build a dairy herd from your starter goats, then I'd stay away from breeding the nigerians to a pygmy; pygmies aren't known for dairy production. But if the kids will eventually end up on a dinner table or as pets, it doesn't really matter either way. Why did you choose Nigerians in the first place?

 

Let us know what you decide! Goats totally rock, imo, by the way. Congrats on your new girls.

 

Thanks for the help. I am (obviously) new to goats and am still learning. I chose the Nigerians b/c they give a good amount of milk with a respectable butterfat content. Also because they are smaller and easier for me to handle. I am kind of small myself and did not want to have to wrestle a 100-150 pound goat. I would like to use the milk for consumption, making cheese and soap. I have never eaten goat before. I am really still on the fence at even trying it. Baby steps..lol. The 3 goats I have right now are just the sweetest things. I never thought I would love goats this much.

[runninmommy]

I think you just helped me to decide. I want them to give a respectable amount of milk. It would not really make sense to breed them with a goat that is not known for milking. I need to keep my eye out for a nigerian dwarf buck I think.

[kiana]

In general unless she'd dried up less than a week before I wouldn't try to restart a milking goat. Some goats are more obvious about heat than others but in general, signs of heat may include being vocal, being unusually cantankerous, wagging the tail back and forth rapidly and dripping mucus from the vulva. If there is a male goat around it's usually a lot more obvious as they'll run up and down the fence bleating at him.

 

If your goal is milky kids I wouldn't breed them to a Pygmy. If you're going to eat the kids regardless of gender a Pygmy would probably be fine, but I doubt that you want to eat your first set of doe kids. Goat meat tastes (imo) a lot like lamb when from young goats. Note: when you breed them, you're going to have to decide what you're going to do with the buck kids. It's impossible to keep them all and they do need to go somewhere.

 

I also wouldn't just buy a random buck if you were planning on keeping the kids -- you should be able to find one from a decent family of milkers for not much more, and it will improve the value/milking ability of the kids significantly.

 

You can have them ultrasounded to see if they're bred. This might cost a bit -- not sure on current pricing. You can also adopt the 'wait and see' method, but if they are not bred, this would delay your first milk. It should be fairly obvious by the time they approach birth as not only will they start to look fat, but their udders will fill with milk in preparation. It is not as critical to catch them before the season is over as it would be with a standard dairy goat as Nigerian Dwarves are less seasonal about breeding.

[amy g.]

I wish that you lived close to me.

 

We have a beautiful Nigerian Dwarf buck. Not only does he have great bloodlines and confirmation, he is a calm quiet sweetheart! My kids are always stinky because they still hold him in their laps.

 

Our first kids out of Bart are due in the next 24 hours. I'll post pictures when they arrive.

 

I milked 2 Nigerian first fresheners this past year. One of them gave quite a bit more milk than the other one, but the milk and cheese were delicious. I was thankful that I had a Nubian as well for a little more volume.

 

 

We draw blood ourselves and send it to BioTracking for pregnancy testing. They are helpful, and CHEAP.

 

http://www.biotracking.com/sitemap.php

[runninmommy]

In general unless she'd dried up less than a week before I wouldn't try to restart a milking goat. Some goats are more obvious about heat than others but in general, signs of heat may include being vocal, being unusually cantankerous, wagging the tail back and forth rapidly and dripping mucus from the vulva. If there is a male goat around it's usually a lot more obvious as they'll run up and down the fence bleating at him.

 

If your goal is milky kids I wouldn't breed them to a Pygmy. If you're going to eat the kids regardless of gender a Pygmy would probably be fine, but I doubt that you want to eat your first set of doe kids. Goat meat tastes (imo) a lot like lamb when from young goats. Note: when you breed them, you're going to have to decide what you're going to do with the buck kids. It's impossible to keep them all and they do need to go somewhere.

 

I also wouldn't just buy a random buck if you were planning on keeping the kids -- you should be able to find one from a decent family of milkers for not much more, and it will improve the value/milking ability of the kids significantly.

 

You can have them ultrasounded to see if they're bred. This might cost a bit -- not sure on current pricing. You can also adopt the 'wait and see' method, but if they are not bred, this would delay your first milk. It should be fairly obvious by the time they approach birth as not only will they start to look fat, but their udders will fill with milk in preparation. It is not as critical to catch them before the season is over as it would be with a standard dairy goat as Nigerian Dwarves are less seasonal about breeding.

 

Thank you for the advice and help. I really appreciate it. It is so nice to get advice from those more experienced. After reading the section in my goat book about bucks, I'm not sure if I should get one or just have the goats bred. My goats are not registered but I do understand that it is important to select a goat that comes from a good milking lineage or has produced good milkers. I am just trying to figure out the best way to go about breeding them. I guess I will look into doing the bloodwork and go from there. Thanks for listening to my rambling and helping me along.

[runninmommy]

I wish that you lived close to me.

 

We have a beautiful Nigerian Dwarf buck. Not only does he have great bloodlines and confirmation, he is a calm quiet sweetheart! My kids are always stinky because they still hold him in their laps.

 

Our first kids out of Bart are due in the next 24 hours. I'll post pictures when they arrive.

 

I milked 2 Nigerian first fresheners this past year. One of them gave quite a bit more milk than the other one, but the milk and cheese were delicious. I was thankful that I had a Nubian as well for a little more volume.

 

We draw blood ourselves and send it to BioTracking for pregnancy testing. They are helpful, and CHEAP.

 

http://www.biotracking.com/sitemap.php

 

Thank you so much for the site. I will def. check them out. I love your website. So many cool pictures!

 

Please keep us updated on the baby goats. I can not wait to see them!!!

[kiana]

With only 3 I'd definitely choose to take them to visit when it's that time of the month, if there's anyone within driving distance at all. It should be arranged in advance, so they know you're coming. If you have a minivan or some such, it's fairly easy to load your little lady up for a romantic tryst, and :auto:.

 

Just be sure you put a tarp down first. (personal experience :))