Most hardy, easy keeping dairy breed

hiddensprings · #21 09/23/13, 08:55 AM

IMO, it all comes down to your management. You can buy any type of goat and it can be either hardy and or sickly, depending on how you manage them.

**mygoat** · #22 09/23/13, 09:47 AM

hiddensprings, I can't agree enough. I always say go with what you like (I don't want nigies, either, lol) and cull those that dont' work out. But, if you have a small overloaded, overgrazed pasture and don't rotate - don't be suprised when you have worm problems. Or, if you have a really damp barn and damp pastures without trying to improve footing or reroute traffic around busy areas - then you'll have foot problems.

SkeeterBlue · #23 09/23/13, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nehimama

I really wouldn't worry that an ND buck couldn't "do the job", or that he'd need any kind of assistance breeding the taller girls! My ND bucks are always successful in breeding the long-legged purebred LaMancha girls! Why, one season, I even had a squat li'l Pygmy buck who sired twins on a Nubian doe! Where there's a will, there's a way! Never doubt it!

You know I've stressed about this with my Saanen doe and Nigerian buck, but it turns out they know what they are about. He just got up on a little hillock and got the job done, no stress, no fuss.

krebolj · #24 09/23/13, 07:03 PM

I did it. I inquired into a nigerian buckling. BUT oh my goodness is he adorable and momma has a nice udder.

Frosted Mini's · #25 09/23/13, 07:13 PM

Haha. Well, a Nigerian x (a mini) is going to be a much nicer size (IMHO) than a purebred Nigerian, so you may end up really enjoying them.

I sure do.

Glad you found something you liked in the breed.

Yes, you CAN achieve hardiness in other breeds, and you CAN get Nigerians that are not as hardy. However, I feel they are the most forgiving breed. It seems, under the same management, they tend to thrive more than the big girls. I have seen this in a local herd where the majority of the goats look wormy/skinny/underfed, and the Nigerians still look pretty good.

Cannon_Farms · #26 09/24/13, 05:28 AM

My Nubians have shown to be quite hardy under common sense management, like no hooves can get into their feeders or hay, I clean the barn out every couple months.
I do check eyelids every so often thankfully I have not had any pale eyelids in a very long time.
I do not have rotational pastures, mine are in a grassy 100x900 ft pasture right now.

Bubbas Boys · #27 09/24/13, 06:03 AM

I am new to goat owning but my family and I just got Nubians. I am just wondering what makes the Nubians harder in everyone opinion. Thanks

krebolj · #28 09/24/13, 07:52 AM

I never said my nubians were sickly. They are very healthy, I hardly ever have to deworm or deal with other health issues. I do have good management. My older one is just harder to keep weight on, and yes she has been disease tested. She produced two gallons a day at peak this year on alfalfa pellets, sunflower seeds, and oats. However, she was very thin still a couple months into it. I have done the dairy rations with the same result. Her daughter manages to stay fat and happy on it, but I've had no luck finding a buck that is unrelated that boasts the same record....which is why I am open to other breeds. Oh well, at the very least the "mini nubians" that I don't keep will demand a novelty price....at least that is my experience locally.

**mygoat** · #29 09/24/13, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krebolj

I never said my nubians were sickly. They are very healthy, I hardly ever have to deworm or deal with other health issues. I do have good management. My older one is just harder to keep weight on, and yes she has been disease tested. She produced two gallons a day at peak this year on alfalfa pellets, sunflower seeds, and oats. However, she was very thin still a couple months into it. I have done the dairy rations with the same result. Her daughter manages to stay fat and happy on it, but I've had no luck finding a buck that is unrelated that boasts the same record....which is why I am open to other breeds. Oh well, at the very least the "mini nubians" that I don't keep will demand a novelty price....at least that is my experience locally.

Her thinness in early lactation is perfectly normal. It doesn't mean she's a 'hard keeper' etc. I do NOT want a 'fat' doe that is 2 months into lactation - chances are she isn't putting it in the bucket! People always seem to think that fat = healthy, but in dairies it depends on the stage of production the doe is at

I want that skinnier doe in early lactation. A good dairy animal should loose weight for quite a while after parturition, then slowly gain back through mid/late lactation, put on a bit more during her 2 month break - before kidding again and doing it all over again. As long as she gains some flesh back in late lactation and over her dry period, and she produces 2gal/day - I'd say that's a nubian I'd actually like to own! (coming from me that's a weird statement, lol)

dozedotz · #30 09/24/13, 10:15 AM

Bubbas Boys, Nubians are NOT harder! They are a goat that LOVES attention and some of them demand it!! They produce well and the milk tastes sweet and creamy...a gallon a day is common. They are BEAUTIFUL - colors, ears and body-type. Don't let these folks who PREFER another goat breed get you all worried! They probably mean what they say but there are lots of us out here who also mean what we say: Nubians are great goats!

**mygoat** · #31 09/24/13, 11:34 AM

Nubians aren't harder than any other breed. With good management, all breeds should thrive. Chances are if your goats aren't doing well, it's your fault.

I just don't prefer nubians.

krebolj · #32 09/24/13, 05:40 PM

We are are buying two, yes two! unrelated bucklings...nigerians! They are still babies yet so I will be borrowing a buck this fall but I am super excited! I hope in the future they give me lots of little mini nubian girls.

hiddensprings · #33 09/24/13, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubbas Boys

I am new to goat owning but my family and I just got Nubians. I am just wondering what makes the Nubians harder in everyone opinion. Thanks

I only raise Nubians and have found them to be MUCH easier (and healthier) then the boers and nigerians I use to have. I'm not sure why so many folks dislike Nubians. I love, love, love mine. This is the first year that I've had any health issues but I attribute that to the fact that we've gotten about 3 times the normal rainfall this year. This is the first year I've had to worm the girls other then right after they kid. First year I've had any hoof problems. First year for a lot of things and I've been raising them since 2006....

krebolj · #34 09/24/13, 05:59 PM

Nubians have really been over bred because people "like the ears and the spots" and in that process health, production, and conformation were all overlooked. I have seen many in my area with overbites, split testicles, and most have lopsided udders. That doesn't mean they are all like that, but a lot of them are and I think that, in general, that is the issue that people have with Nubians. I have yet to see a lamancha or other dairy breed locally that is put together as badly as some Nubians. I know they are out there, but far less in number it seems.

Find a quality Nubian and you will have a good time

Frosted Mini's · #35 09/24/13, 06:04 PM

OMG adorable!

krebolj · #36 09/24/13, 06:49 PM

This is one of my girls- the daughter. She stays at a weight I like to see while producing 3/4-1 gallon a day (2nd freshener)

krebolj · #37 09/24/13, 06:51 PM

.....

krebolj · #38 09/24/13, 06:56 PM

And her mother- who becomes a skeleton regardless of feed input. A month before kidding, and two months later. She is my girl who gets up to two gallons a day.

Pony · #39 09/25/13, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krebolj

Nubians have really been over bred because people "like the ears and the spots" and in that process health, production, and conformation were all overlooked. I have seen many in my area with overbites, split testicles, and most have lopsided udders. That doesn't mean they are all like that, but a lot of them are and I think that, in general, that is the issue that people have with Nubians. I have yet to see a lamancha or other dairy breed locally that is put together as badly as some Nubians. I know they are out there, but far less in number it seems.

Find a quality Nubian and you will have a good time

If that is the issue people have with Nubians, then they haven't seen good stock.

Period.

I have to admit to being rankled when people make such sweeping generalizations.

Stating that there are so many faults in one breed is not only inaccurate, it leads to false information being spread.

In my area, well bred Nubians are the rule, not the exception.

If you have data showing how poor the breed is - overbred to achieve flash, etc. - I'd love to see it.

My Nubians are healthy, easily-managed livestock. We breed for production, not flashy looks. And my goats are pretty easy keepers, too.

krebolj · #40 09/25/13, 08:39 PM

My goodness someone is testy.

It is common knowledge and evidenced by the average Nubians for sale that there are a lot of poorly bred nubians out there. Bred for flash, without paying attention to production or conformation. For example, a friend owns a purebred doe who was bred for color (blue roan) and produces a mere quart a day. A doe was advertised for sale the other day as a "good milker" producing a PINT a day.

I'm glad that in your area poorly bred is the exception, but what makes you think that your area represents the nation as a whole?

Where there is smoke, there's fire. When you have an abundance of people saying that you need to spend time looking for a quality nubian rather than there being an abundance of them....that is going to be generally true.