what breed to get?

We have Nubians, Toggenburgs, and boer cross meatgoats, and yes, one Nubian talks more than several of the others put together. If you hear a goat hollering or "babbling" more than likely it's a Nubian. They're not in trouble or need something, they just like to talk. Wife likes the noise, it gets on my nerves!

They are purty though...I personally like the Togs best. Quiet, not pushy, gentle, did I say QUIET??

Even the just half Nubian goats. Snow never stops hehe.

I have Alpines......and they have their pecking order. If anyone becomes overly agressive, I ship them. (I only had to do that once.)

__________________
"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

We are in Va in Cumberland County, so we have been researching different places on the internet and I think that when the weather gets a little warmer we might take the children to go spend some time at some nearby before we do anything major. We are still researching but it is still nice to get feedback from folks that have been doing it a while. We have looked at boers and myotonics and are also looking at some smaller goats like pygmy or nigerian dwarf. Thanks for the input!

Toggs are a great breed, and they will really milk too.

__________________
The 7th Day is still God's Sabbath
ICOG7.ORG
Layton Hollow ADGA Nubians
Taking Reservation for 2015!

Most everyone knows that I sing the praises of the Nigerian Dwarf goats. I find them to be the perfect overall goat for whatever suits ya'. Heres some of the reasons why:

They are super friendly!

They are great with children, elderly, and disabled people(I am one)

They are easy to work with

They love being with their people

I have yet to meet a nasty buck, smelly yes, but never mean

They have an amazingly wonderful tasty milk with high butterfat and protein

They eat one third the groceries and weigh one third the pounds and can give 1/2 the milk of a full size. That is a generalization but my average is a 1/2 gallon a day. I do have a dud doe who gives me a pint to a quart, but her personality is to die for so she will stay forever.

They are quite hardy and do well in the cold.

You can do well with them on small acreage.

Mine are not escape artists and I only have a 4ft. stock fence to keep them in and I don't have any problems. My babies are quite the jumpers though so just make sure there is not anything next to your fence that they can jump on first and then jump your fence. And when I have mine loose in the front yard they stay right with me and freak out if they can't see me. I used to walk them down my dirt road to let them browse and people used to stop their cars and watch me like I ws the pied piper of Hamlin. Mind you , I was walking anywhere from 8 to 15 goats at one time and never had to worry about them wandering off out of sight.

And you just can't beat a newborn ND kid for total cuteness. Oh my gosh, they are 2 pounds of squeezability, someone once said that they look like "beenie-babies with legs".

My Nubian only goes thru phases of "neediness". Then she can get pretty pathetic in her "MAAing" you would think she was being tortured.
Her month old daughter talks to the bottle, talks to her grain. And wails when she hears Im out starting chores. And she's a half breed.
The Boers have a self appointed sentinel....soon as I open the back door one yrling hollers and everyone knows Im ready for work err..to serve them.
But yes Cathleenc has great advice, go see working farms. Vets can and do recomend breeders in your aera.
Take your time, your children will probably fall in love with them but this is a good teaching tool. Go home and talk about it, deferred gratification etc.
And one more thing to put in your hat; a livestock guardian dog. Unless you are there 24/7 and really good with firearms you will need one. Trust me on that.

__________________
Bob and Nancy Dickey
Laughing Stock Boer Goats
"Seriously Great Bloodlines"
and the meat goes on....
Near Seattle

Lori I see that you have considered Boers, I would strongly recommend against purebred or even high percentage Boers. They are great goats and put on a lot of meat, but the pure breds have a lot higher parasite problems, due to the wet weather and humidity of this area. They were/are from desert/dry areas and have not developed the resistance to parasites that most other breeds have, because they were only introduced in the last 30 years or so to the US. We used to raise purebred Boer but had such a dificult time keeping them healthy that we crossbred them with Spanish and Tog. Crossbred are more vigorous and healthy than pure. We used to have to worm them monthly, but now only worm when we need to, that is, when the goat shows signs of anemia or unhealthy conditions. Most of our goats have not had to be wormed for several years now, due both to crossbreeding and rotational grazing and grazing woods instead of pasture (where they are eating low, at parasite level). Just my 2c, crossbred are better than purebred. Of course in a dairy breed if you cross breed you get good vigor and health and possibly even higher milking, but market price goes down because every one wants purebred for dairy.

I like Nubians the best. Mine are quiet unless they see something that scares them for the most part. (there's sometimes when the will "talk" to me) I think it depends on the lines and how they are raised. I also like boers, they are pretty laid back and easy to get along with as well. I've only known one Lamancha and she was sweet.

I just have Nubians though.

__________________
TwiliteMeadows

As far as breeds I love my Lamancha's, but they are all I have had. I have been around other goats and mini's are nice too like the little ND's.

As far as having children, anything can be dangerous in certain situations and children should be supervised with any animals, having said that I think raising goats can be a very enriching and rewarding experience for kids and adults like, it is also a great way to learn the harder lessons in life as well.

The most important things is having your property fenced and a shelter that keeps them out of the elements and if possible away from major drafts, having a supply of good hay and feed, good minerals with copper and having baking soda (important for properly functioning rumen) and having your needed items; feed buckets, water buckets, and emergency supplies; syringes, vet wraps, certain medications on hand and for me most importantly, just IMO, make sure you start them off with a good vaccination/worming schedule and have probios on hand to give when they arrive at their new home.

To find a good breed for you look at different sites and read about what the breeds have to offer, make sure you talk to local vets, 4h, other goat owners or see if your state has a goat association to see what is in your area and why they like what they have if they have. For milk goats it isn't a bad idea to check the ADGA for a list of people involved with a milking breed you like and get a hold of a nice couple of goats to start out with. Be sure to put together a list of questions you want answers to about the goats you want to buy and get your answers, if they don’t have time to work with you on questions you have to ask yourself why...

I will tell you I find and immense amount of satisfaction providing my family with milk/cheeses and other dairy products that I have work to produce and make for them. It can be a lot of hard work, especially when done right, keeping a clean farm, and following good milking safety takes time and effort but is well worth the effort of a job done right!!

Well that’s my 2c worth...Best of luck to you!!

If we had more acreage then we would love to get Kikos. We are planning a visit to a few farms when the weather warms up and the rain stops....ugh. I think that the nigerian dwarves would fit well with our situation but as far as profitability....ehhhh. I am the thinker/planner and my hubby is the "I want it yesterday" type so I have convinced him that we need to visit some farms first and really think about it before we jump in with all 4 feet....so to speak!

Myotonics are way too expensive for meat and don't milk very well. If you are going to breed them the are worth more per pound filet mignon. A fainting goat wether kid goes for $150.00-$250.00 each. If you buy breeding stock you will spend at least $700.00 on a good breeding pair and probably another $400.00 each for more does. They are nice little goats. I have two and a close friend that breeds them. If I hadn't gotten a really great deal I wouldn't have them. Our friends didn't want to break up the pair of brothers because they were both really shy and whatever so I go the pair of wethers for $100.00.

My personal recommendation which isn't worth a whole lot and is solely based on cuteness and personality. I would get Nigerians. They have so much personality and are very much individuals with those personalities.

I wonder why my Alpine is so noisy. He is always Maaaaaaaaaaaing. From what my wife says he only does it when I am home but I don't think that is true.

Wise decision!! I visited several farms and milked and tasted milk before my decision. Almost nerdy about it. hehe

Lori, you might consider listing the characteristics of an ideal goat on the vertical and goat breeds on the horizontal creating a decision matrix. That is the method that I used to decide on LaMancha. Considerations (scale of one thru ten) could be things like milk butterfat, milk volume, milk taste, ease in milking; hardiness, duel purpose (meat/milk), personality, size, cuteness, color, availability, price, value of doe kids, etc.

I hope that you let us know what you and hubby decide. AND if you just fall in love with a certain goat and “it’s just gotta go home with me”, you’ll join a club of many. Have fun and enjoy your adventure. I would wager that you’ll never regret whichever breed or mutt goat that you decide on. And you’ll fall head over heels over the babies.
Paul

A couple more things to think about .... You probably do not plan on acquiring a buck right off so you will need to make sure you have access to a quality buck from a clean herd(maybe one from the farm you purchase from) and if you want registered or unregistered animals.

My father pointed out that it costs the same to feed an unregistered goat as a registered one. And the price you get for a reg. baby is much better. My little Nigerians, in a decent market, fetch $350 for an unproven doeling/buckling. Unregistered can be as low as $75-200. Big difference.

Does anyone have any experience with Kikos? They are supposed to do well in our state (VA). I am still leaning toward ND but my husband is leaning toward Kiko, boer, or myotonic.

Atleast here in southern Va Nigerian dwarfs are basically pets, and the price is so low you won't hardly be able to give them away, unless you find a pet lover who says "ohhh that's so cute." Market goats are the Boer crosses, and it seems from what I see that anything white with a red/brown head sells for more than others, because of the boer influence. Can't say much on Kikos, haven't seen anyone around here with them.

Funny, ND's are quite expensive here. A well-bred, disease free doeling with papers is easily $350-500. Even the wethers go for $150-200.

Our Nubian mix is definitely our noisest but is also has a great and hilarious personality. Our Obers are pretty and quiet but maybe a bit nervous. My Saanen cross is extremely placid and sweet and our Nigerian Dwarf is the cutest and very calm and personable.

There isn't any reason that you can't get into a couple of breeds. Just keep your Kiko bucks away from your ND does. ;-)

First of all, we breed Boer goats. Find them to be hearty and productive.

A couple came to our farm. Bought a Boer buck to breed to their Kikos (and by the way, I like Kikos - they look a lot like Saanens, LOL. Probably because they came from feral Saanens...) Anyway, they are having a heck of a time finding nice Kiko stock that isn't priced out of the stratosphere. And the ones that they do find seem to all have CL.
(And don't think it is a big deal either).

Kikos are a little bit like golden Guernsey goats - small gene pool available. So keep that in mind when shopping....

__________________
Camille
Copper Penny Ranch
Copper Penny Boer Goats (home of 4 National Champions, 4 Reserve Champions)
Copper Penny Pyrenees
Whey-to-Go Saanens


www.copper-penny-ranch.com