What should I go with, if I do?

[tlance]

Ok here's my next goat question. I'm using you experts as a sounding board. We have had goats before. Several different breeds in fact. I love nubians. Here's my situation. I have a guy down the road who raises Sannens that are very good quality. He doesn't charge an arm and a leg for them. I also hear Sannens are quite calm. So I could get very good goats at a good price, but I don't really care for the look of Sannens. I do want a calm non fence jumping goat. Now I know a couple places several hours from here that have Nubians but they are a little more pricey for us but I just love Nubians. So what I'm wondering is if I go with the Sannens will I fall in love with them or do I stick to what I already know and love. Any thoughts on this.
Tracy

[DownHome]

I know for me, if I am already regretting a decision, my mind probably won't change.

Can you visit his farm to get a feel for the saanens before you commit to buying them. That might help. Maybe you will fall in love with their personalities too.

Nubians are sooo much more colorful any way

[sadie6447]

You can always get the Sannens does and a nubian buck. Then you have nubsan babies!!

[chewie]

i haven't been into goats long, and i knew right away i wasn't interested in saanens. then i came home with one! LOL! she is lovely. i am also a fan of color, but it didn't take long to find the beauty in that pure white doe. now i have 2, and i really love them. they are calm and sweet natured. one came with a snubian baby, so i have one of those too, and she is jsut as easy to get along with as her mom. i now have a nub. buck, and hopefully they are all bred to him. i am shopping for a saanen buck to use next year, that i can afford. i plan to go back and forth breeding saanen/nubian. i like that nubian milk!

altho that breed was not on the list, i'm so happy we got that first one. the personalities aren't as 'in your face' as the nubs. (and the ober is just a skittish thing!) but its this quiet nature that does win you over, give it some time. i love that they dont' climb all over, and the ones i have seem a bit more wanting to be with me/please me than the others. they are the only ones that have licked my hair etc., when i milk them, like i'm 'theirs'. their noise is pleasant too.

go spend some time at the breeders, you have a good situation right there! i wish i had more avail here, but i dont' . that in itself would be a good reason to get a couple saanens. and if you still can't live without color, get sables!

[togg75]

My first "good" goat experience was with Saanen. Easy to deal with, I became her kid when I milked, and Milked she did....Lots of Milk.

[cathleenc]

I adore saanens... and nubians are just too LOUD for me. Honestly, the sound level in the barn matters very very much to me and loud animals of any breed are usually rehomed within a year. I feel like I am being nagged.... lol.

My goal is to have 75-90% saanen with the rest nubian, to increase the butterfat.

[Minelson]

I was looking for one goat, white, regular size and no horns. I got one goat, brown, mini with horns and pregnant

No regrets...followed my heart and it's the best thing I have ever done!

[pookshollow]

I wanted Alpines - what I found was a Saanen. Polly is a lovely goat and I love her to death, - her two daughters too! Sweet and calm, great milkers, great mothers. I have a 3/4 Nubian, great mother, lousy milker - and there is a frequent cry of "Angel! You b*****!" as she pushes out the door.

[Freeholder]

I suspect that you would become very fond of your Saanens if you got them -- they do tend to be very sweet-natured, and a few white goats look very pretty out in a green field. Of course, when there's snow on the ground, they kind of disappear, LOL!

But there is one thing that you may not have considered, that is very favorable to the Saanen breeder. He's close! If you buy from him, you'll have a nearby person to call when something comes up that puzzles you (and it will, even if you've had goats for a long time!). And even more important, you should be able to take your does back to him for breeding, which means you won't have to keep your own buck! If you buy Nubians from someone several hours away, and want to keep breeding purebred Nubians, you'll have to own at least one buck, or transport your does several hours back to the breeder when they come in heat. This may not be very convenient, because they are only in heat for a day or less each time. Few breeders want to board does for breeding, so that's most likely not an option. And when the price of gas goes back up, traveling long distances will again become very expensive, definitely something to consider!

If both breeders were close to you, I'd probably say go with the Nubians. I've had both breeds, and while the Nubians *are* often quite noisy, they also have really good milk. But in the situation you've described, I'd go with the closer breeder. I learned this the hard way. The first goats I got after we moved here (not my first goats, just the first ones in this location) were Kinders -- I had to drive six hours to get my starter herd. They are excellent little goats, but it was hard to sell the kids because nobody in this area even knew what they were. Now I have a nice Oberhasli buck, and two of his daughters, and I'd like to get a purebred doe. But again I chose a breed that's not common around here -- there are Ober breeders in the Rogue River Valley on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, but none in our area. So I repeated my mistake! The breeders here are raising Nubians (some VERY nice Nubians in our goat club), Alpines, or Nigerian Dwarfs for the most part. I think there are a few LaManchas around, and of course several herds of Boers. But I'm the only one in a hundred miles with Oberhaslis! If I was smart, I'd switch to Alpines or Nubians. (But I like my Obers!)

Kathleen

[farm mom]

While I will admit Nubians are more colorful and cuter with those floppy ears and roman noses I would take the Saanen. You can always breed the Saanen to something else to produce some more colorful babies. The Sannen's calm, sweet, gentle nature, easy on the fences, perfect manners on the milkstand, and quiet. Not to mention plenty of milk!

I would take the suggestion of going over and getting a feel for them. It might help you to make a decision.

[goatkid]

There's nothing to say you can't have a couple of each. My first two doelings were a Saanen and a Nubian. I'd always wanted Nubians, but also fell in love with the Saanen babies. I bred my Saanen to a Nubian her last kidding and still have her four year old Snubian daughter, Miracle.It certainly may be to your advantage to get to know that Saanen breder. It's always helpful to have a goat mentor nearby. If you live anywhere near Montana, I sell Nubians at a reasonable price.