dairy goat breed

[valicia]

we are thinking about getting a few dairy goats,for milk and cheese.can someone tell us some pros and cons of diffrent breeds. thanks

[Gailann Schrader]

Goats poop, get sick, and need bred to get meat and milk.

Some are GINORMOUS and others are small.

Colors vary.

Udders vary within each breed.

Goat babies you don't need will have to be butchered and eaten, or sold, or will need bred themselves when they get old enough.

Goat baby bucklings can, and will, breed their sisters and mothers as early as 3 months old.

Goats need good fencing and cannot tolerate being wet. They get pneumonia and die with foam on their lips.

All that said?

Website:

http://adga.org/milk-goat.pdf

[moosemaniac]

...and I wouldn't give up my goats for the world!


Ruth

[valicia]

WOW they sound great

[okgoatgal2]

nubians are loud and colorful and beautiful and have rich milk great for cheese making

saanens are white and big and have lots of milk, not as high in butterfat (rich) as the nubians, but generally lots of it.

sables are colored saanens, a breed just sanctioned by adga.

alpines look like smaller colored saanens, a completely different breed, but still about the same-not as dependent as the nubians in personality

toggenburgs are grayish with white/cream trim and look similar to saanens, only hairier, and some lines have a tendency towards "goaty" tasting milk

oberhasli's range from chocolate to reddish with black trim, smaller than the other swiss breeds (all the above except the nubians) and their udders tend to not be as strong as the other breeds, from what i've seen-teats not placed as well and such, but beautiful and sweet

lamancha's are the american breed-no ears, quite a lot of milk, not quite as rich as the nubians, come in all colors, and are either very docile or very dominant.

nigerian dwarfs are smaller but give a good amount of milk for their size.

keep in mind these are my impressions of what i've seen in the 20 yrs i've been around goats. my favorites are the nubians and lamanchas, the dh likes the alpines.

[Laura Workman]

What okgoatgal2 said. Also,

Mini-Manchas
Pros: Medium size (easy to handle, don't eat as much as a standard, kids easier to sell as pets), quiet, friendly, good production (but not too much), rich milk, good lactation persistence, teat size, letdown response, milkstand manners, possible aseasonal breeding.

Cons: Registered only by MDGA, so shows are few and far between. However, they can be shown in any 4-H show. Can be hard to find.

See: http://www.glimmercroft.com
http://www.miniaturedairygoats.com/

There are other miniature breeds as well. The minis generally try to attain the breed characteristics of the standard breeds, but with smaller size, richer milk, and hopefully aseasonal breeding. Mini Nubians and Mini Manchas seem to be the most plentiful of the mini breeds. Mini Obers are harder to find, but tend to be very, very sweet goats.