Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goat questions

[knuckledragger]

My wife and I have thought about eventually raising NDs and breeding them, but initially we want to start out with enough goats to keep a family of five in milk. So... I have a few questions.

• How many goats will we need to start off with?
• What would constitute the ideal structure for NDs for that amount plus a little room to expand the operation?
• HOw much room do we need for milking stand?

Thanks

[Jay27]

If you want the family in milk and drink as much as we do, I'd recommend milking two at a time. We breed 2 does every 4 months - meaning you'll need at least 6 does to do the same.

As for space, we have two 300' x 150' field fence pens that we rotate the does between. The pens have big oaks and lots of little brush. The goats do a number on the brush, but there is always grass in both pens. I've had 6 does plus kids in one of the pens at a time and there was sufficient room but I provide 24/7 hay, so it probably would have gotten pretty barren in there without the hay.

The buck and a wether live in a 48' x 16' pen that is made of 4' hog panels.

All the goats are let out in the yard a couple times a week (two goats at a time) to browse in the backwoods.

I usually keep the two goats I am milking in the barn. They get to browse the yard more than anyone else because I feel they need to get out in the sun as much as possible. They have their own 6' x 6' stalls, but I usually keep them in the horse's 12' x 12' stalls... I just move the goats to their stalls or the milking stand when the horses come in to eat.

My milking stand is homemade out of wood. We made it pretty tall with a ramp so we could comfortably sit on a stool and milk. The milking stand holds two goats and occupies a 4' x 6' area, including the room to move around each goat.

[Wags]

How much milk does your family drink in a week now?

A good milking Nigieran can produce around a 1/2 gallon a day if she is not feeding kids too. If you milk share, the kids will get half of that amount.

Usual rule of thumb for space for Nigerians is at least 4'x4' bedding space per animal and 100 sq ft of yard space per animal. Obviously more is better as over crowding can lead to a lot of health issues. So you can fit a dozen does into a 12'x12' shelter, but 8-10 would be healthier especially if it is snowy or wet where you are in the winter and the goats spend a lot of time inside. You will also need space for a couple of kidding stalls that are at least 4'x6'.

My goat shed for the does is 12x24 - half of that is general quarters and the other is divided into two 4x6 kidding stalls and the other 8x12 space is where my milking stanchion and feed is stored. I feed primarily alfalfa pellets so my space requirements for feed storage are fairly minimal. If you can afford something larger then by all means go for it - I would love to gone with a 24x36 pole barn if the budget would have allowed. It's very easy to find yourself with more goats then you planned for I started out with 4 does and got up to 14 before the latest herd reduction. I'm back down to 6 does now, but one is about to kid and I really want to keep a doe out of her....

How much space for a milk stand depends a little bit on your milking style. I prefer to sit on the stand behind the goats to milk. So the space for my milk stand is about 4'x6'.

Bucks will need to be housed separately. You can keep a buck and a wether, or for the same feed keep two bucks. They will do just fine in large dog houses, or you can put up a small divided shed. An 8 x 10 shed would be the minimal size I would go with. That way you could have 5x8 for the bucks and 5x8 for storage. Again if you can afford to go bigger do so - as its hard to stop at just one or two bucks. I have 3 now and would have more if I could... but there is only so much you can fit on 5 acres.

[Wags]

Here are a some good resources for learning about Nigerians:

Personal Milkers - the only book I know of that is solely about Nigerians

Ruminations - magazine dedicated to Nigerians and Mini's

Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat Forum - again a forum that is all about NDs

[hoofinitnorth]

There are a lot of variables that will affect the answers to your questions. Some of them were touched on by others here, but every ND is different and production will vary by age, genetics, health, diet, weather, stress, number of kids born, number of freshenings, etc.

If you want to keep a buck, rotational breeding works really well for many. They have at least one doe with the buck at all times. The minimum number of goats to accomplish this is four - two does together at all times and a buck and a doe together at all times. Every four months a different doe goes in with the buck. This doesn't always work, though, depending on the individual goats (whether or not they get along, whether or not they are cycling/breeding/settling, etc.).