Multi purpose goat?

Well, I'm going to have to throw my 2 cents in for Alpines of course!

My girls are pretty darn sweet and lovable -- they do battle amongst themselves, but the worst offenders were the Lamanchas I owned! They were earless devils!

My girls MILK. If you want to get into making any kind of cheese, it's sooo much nicer when one milking gives you the gallon you need for the recipe I have one doe that has tested at 16 to 16.9 lbs for the last 5 months in a row, with butterfat from 4.97 to 3.5%.

They come in all different colors! <g> I like the surprise of not knowing what I'm going to get in each litter.

The unwanted boys gain fast and sell great for meat kids OR there is a great market for them for pack wethers.

My meat buyers won't take Lamanchas -- in fact, I had about 5 wethers I ran to the sale at 10-11 weeks old. The Alpines brought over $80 each, the one Lamancha cross brought $40

I grew up with Nubians and I'm not doing that one again <g> I can't take the noise, lol.

Now, if Sable Saanens ever get more popular, I might have to have me one of those!

Tracy

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Soldier Mountain Alpines
Southcentral Idaho
http://soldiermountainalpines.com

Never but never tether your goat. Always get 2 as they keep each other company.

I keep pygmys and love them, but they don't give much milk. Nigerian Dwarfs seem like a good choice for milk and to play with children, but it is true that they can't eat as much as some larger breeds. Depends on your priorities.

I'd just like to insert my two cents about bottle babies, because I think my experience has been atypical. ALL of my kids have been super-friendly, and they've all been dam-raised until this year, when I had to bottle-raise one. He's very friendly, but no more so than everyone else. I think it's largely a function of how much time you spend with them, especially early in life. We handle our kids a lot, right from birth.

May I suggest moveable electric net fencing as an alternative to tethering? Kencove makes some good stuff that takes seconds to put up if you have a helper.

I will look into this... have never heard of it before. This might sound silly.. but doesnt it ground out if it touches things? tree/brush,etc? sounds like a great idea if it works thanks!!

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Dana

The Homesteading Housewife Website
Craving Comfort (recipes)
Stuff Grandma Made
The Shrinking Housewife

It might ground out if it's touching a lot of brush - we tend to use it in more open areas. But I still think it might work regardless, since it is a physical barrier as well. We de-electrified the net fencing we put around our turkey pasture and it still keeps them in (except when they fly out ). It should certainly work fine if you're around for some supervision, and they'll need less supervision this way than with tethering. Good luck on your goat search - they are SO much fun!

Nubians are gentle, easily tamed and even the bucks are sweethearts. This is my expierence with them. They tame down easy and keep a good head. They are very loveable.

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Samantha, Carol and the gang
PL Purely Percentages
Quality Boer, Boer Crosses, Border Collies, and Beagles
Quality not quantity

Kinder Goats. I'm sure the other goat folks were expecting that response from me sooner or later

Since you know you like Pygmies, Kinders would be a nice transition for you.
They are a dual purpose breed (milk/meat), have calm, wonderful temperaments, high butterfat and protein milk and have decent production without overwhelming you with milk. Their mid size makes them easy to fence from both directions, not fitting out of every small hole they can find yet not needing a super tall fence either.

The only drawback is the Kinder breeder that was in TX no longer is in Kinders and I'm not aware of any new breeders in your area (but there could be new ones that I don't know about). Of course, if you cannot find a current breeder you could make your own Kinders by crossing a Pygmy buck to a Nubian doe, both of which are found in Texas.

Good luck,

Trisha-MN

Does this mesh electric fence take? My obnly experience with electirc fence wa sback when I was a kid on our farm, fencing catlle in shelter belts and ditches during the dry season. I never would have thought of it for goats.

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