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  #21  
Old 08/25/10, 04:29 PM
SilverFlame819's Avatar  
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Everyone has opinions on what is the best... Guess it all depends on what works the best for you!

Alpines don't come in many "spotty" type colorings like you're wanting. Mostly swirly, fading/striped markings. Saanens/Sables come in several colors, but mostly white or cream. Toggenburgs only come in the one pattern (although the brown can be different shades). Nubians come in all sorts of crazy fun colors including the moonspots, and they also have the high milkfat if you're wanting to do butter.

Not as many people have mentioned the La Manchas so I figure I'll give you a little thought there. They come in pretty much all the color patterns that Nubians do, although you don't see the "moonspotted" look much, they do have a ton of other spotted/swirled/crazy patterns. I love the variety in coat patterns too, so I'm with you there. They are a medium breed -- not as big as a Nubian or Saanen. They also (typically speaking) tend to be much quieter than the Nubians and instead of the Roman nose, they have a dished or flat face (more "Swiss" looking)...

The ears aren't always non-existent. The "missing ears" are called Gopher ears. They also come in a style called Elf ears, which pops up a lot when Gopher-eared goats are bred to goats with long ears (Nubians, Alpines, etc) or can pop up in the breed by itself, I believe... They, for the most part, are curious and friendly, but not overbearing like a lot of Nubians can be, and have a softer, sweeter nature (but not as boring as I hear some people describe the Saanens as).

If you can get past the ears (it took me a long time to not think they looked like aliens, but eventually you don't even notice -- really!) then they are a good choice. "They" used to say that the La Manchas weren't good for really moist areas because dirt and rain and stuff can get right in the ear and cause lots of ear problems, but all kinds of people are raising them in the Pacific northwest, so evidently that's not as much of a problem as people originally claimed...

I used to have 2 La Manchas. One was black with a big white Mickey Mouse on her side, and the other looked exactly like a black Appaloosa horse... Pure white blanket on the butt with spots on top. They're fun little goats and definitely worth some consideration.


Angela
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  #22  
Old 08/25/10, 04:37 PM
KimM's Avatar
Student of goatology.
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Ohio
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How can you say such a thing? YES they are!! Just look at that face!
(But then she is 14 years old too!)
hi all what breed for me? - Goats


Quote:
Originally Posted by shanzone2001 View Post
I prefer the Alpines and Saanens, simply because they are bigger. To me, they have the best temperment if you start socializing with them from birth.
I do have a Nubian-Alpine cross and she is cute. I am looking forward to seeing what my Saanen doe kids...I bought her already bred to a Nubian.
I had a few Nigerians for a while and while they are the cutest kids, they aren't as good looking once they are full-sized (just my opinion).

Milk goats are so much fun. I wonder how many you will have this time next year....they are VERY addicting, and with all the land you have, you have NO excuse not to have lots!:banana02:
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  #23  
Old 08/25/10, 05:41 PM
PotBellyPigs's Avatar  
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 292
I think it depends a great deal upon what you want out of your goats.
I have a pair of Saanen does, and they are real sweet hearts(aka "gentle giants"), and they will produce 1-2 gallons of milk a day.
But if you want meat as well, Nubians are known as an all purpose breed.
The Boers, Kiko, and Fainting goats are basically strictly for meat.
I bought a Kiko Boer cross buck for my herd(for the Saanens, and my Alpine), hoping to get the best of both worlds.....
I also have pure bred Nigerian dwarfs, and they too are good for milking, but they don't have a lot of meat.
The Pygmy doe I have(I'm going to buy a buck for her) will produce a meat and milk.
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  #24  
Old 08/25/10, 11:48 PM
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Location: Kansas
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I absolutely LOVE my LaManchas. They are so sweet and quiet and fun.

hi all what breed for me? - Goats

hi all what breed for me? - Goats
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  #25  
Old 08/26/10, 11:48 AM
shanzone2001's Avatar  
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Location: State of Jefferson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KimM View Post
How can you say such a thing? YES they are!! Just look at that face!
(But then she is 14 years old too!)
hi all what breed for me? - Goats
OK, you are right!!!!
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  #26  
Old 08/26/10, 12:12 PM
CaliannG's Avatar
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: East of Bryan, Texas
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I have a Nubian doe, currently in milk. A Nigerian doe currently in milk, and two mini-Nubian does due in December.

My Nigerian is bossy. I use a hand-milker with her because she does have small teats that I can't get my fingers around. Also, when she decides she is not hungry anymore, she is a pain on the milk stand. As long as she is eating, she is still. When she stops eating, she is dancing.

My Nubian doesn't even get stocks on the milk stand. She doesn't like them and she doesn't need them, as she will finish her grain and just stand there, nuzzling my hair, until I have finished milking her. She is an absolute EASY girl.

One of my mini-Nubians will stand for ANYTHING as long as she is being talked to, while the other one is a bit jittery and skittish. It would figure that the one that stands easy has the smaller teats (a bit more difficult to milk) while the more skittish one has the larger, easy teats, huh?

That just goes to show you, though, that size CAN matter, but temperament matters MUCH more. When you go to look at goats to buy, see how easy they are to handle. Also, you might want to start out with an older goat that is trained and bred rather than a doeling that you don't know how she will be on the milk stand.

In my herd, my littlest doe is the easiest to manhandle, as she is TINY, but that doesn't necessarily make her the easiest to milk. My largest girl, who if she had a mind to could EASILY cause havoc, is the easiest to handle, the easiest on the stand, and the easiest to milk.

Oh, and the taste of the milk is a personal thing. My daughter doesn't like Nigerian milk, at all, BUT...in the store-bought kinds she prefers skim milk. Nigerian is FAR too thick and rich for her. (She likes it fine enough if it has gone through a cream separator first) I think the Nigerian milk is sweeter, but DH thinks the Nubian milk is sweeter. It's a good idea, even if it tends to be a bit more expensive, to get a doe that is IN milk, try her milk yourself to make sure you like it, and buy does that have milk that tastes good *to you*.

And that is not necessarily a breed thing...it is often an individual goat thing.

Oh, my Nubian girl is a lovely chestnut brown, my Nigerian is black with a white muzzle, one of my mini girls is buckskin, complete with lined back and mascara eyes, the other one is black and white splotched, like a Holstein cow. Then, my buck is tan with a couple of white spots, and my wether is tri-colored. It is certainly a colorful herd!
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