Need some nigerian info please

chrisntiff · #1 10/08/05, 11:33 AM

Anybody know of somewhere I can check if a breeder in my area is a good breeder and has healthy animals. I'm thinking of buying some nigerians from udderly precious nigerians and wanted to know if there were any complaints about her. Also the kids are 3 or 4 months old and some of them are growing some small horns. Can they still be disbudded at this point or is it too late? She says she can take them to the vet and he can re-disbud them. Again thanks for any info you can provide. This will be our first goat experience and we want to try and make it the best experience we can!

lacesout · #2 10/08/05, 11:03 PM

I had one of my does debudded at 3 months and she was fine. It did require anesthetic and bandages but she had not problems. I am surprised that the breeder hasn't debudded the babies since Nigerians are shown without horns. The breeder's website is very nice and the breeding stock comes from good farms. Trust your instinct if you have no feedback to go by.

I bought my Nigerians from a local breeder (Kannah Creek Farms here in CO) and I did trust my instinct and he has been great. I got two does and a buck from great lines - MCH Bay Watch/MCH Raising Arizona linebreedings. The kids have been very healthy and when I CAE tested them as a precaution, they were all negative.

There are lots and lots of Nigerian breeders. I am planning to get an outcross buckling this fall. I will probably buy from out-of-state and have him shipped. I like Rosasharn, Flat Rock, Promised Land, and Twin Creek. Hard to decide!! All pricey but the quality is there.

Good luck! I hope you find what you are looking for.

Lynn in CO

moonspinner · #3 10/10/05, 08:28 AM

I'm pretty up on the nigerian breeders but don't know much about UP. It's tough to gauge on their site because there is not much info - no pages listing does and bucks, no sales or management information. If more than one or two of their goats have scurs I can't say why she wouldn't have reburned them (if they were disbudded initially) before this. Unless the scurs are just the small wiggly ones. I have a buck kid I am selling with some scurs, but I have him appropriately priced.
A good breeder tests annually for CAE, so ask about that. You don't want to bring any CAE positive goats home. Also what is their vaccination schedule and have they had any illness like soremouth or CL or any evidence of lumps. If you are in Maryland, Blue Moon is a very respected farm. And there are many excellent farms in Virginia. Not at all to say Udderly Precious isn't a good choice. Just do your homework and ask the right questions.