Trying to choose a breed

wmsff · #1 08/11/10, 11:12 AM

Hello all.

I am finally getting prepared to get my diary goat

I am unsure which breed to go with. When I was little, my parents got a nubian and a saanen. The saanen was fastastic, but I learned early to never turn my back on the nubian. That said, I don't want to go with a nubian, because of my kids who will also be working with the animals. For those who have no problem with nubians, forgive me.

The breeds I am looking at now are the alpine and saanen. I know both can milk through, for years even. A goat journal I found on the net said one woman milked for 10 years ! Of course she didn't get much. I'm just nervous about the kidding process, and hoping to limit it to every 2-3 years.

There are 5 in my family, but I plan to use a great deal to feed the bull calf we will be getting annually. I may try to make cheese or butter, however, I've no experience with that.

The reason I've limited myself to those 2 breeds at this time, is that those are the breeds that I know are close to me (other than dwarfs, which I can't figure out how to milk something sooo small - the milk bucket must be a frying pan

Additionally, I am terrified some drunk hunter will shoot anything that looks remotely like a deer (bad experience as a child with idiots shooting horses, goats, and cattle over several years).

Any thoughts are appreciated.

copperpennykids · #2 08/11/10, 11:59 AM

With children, I vote for Saanens. My 6 year old DD is currently milking one of our Saanens, and they are doing great together (milking over 1 1/2 gallons/day, mind you!)

Plus, Saanens will feed you, the calves, the pigs, the chickens, etc, etc. Quiet too.

Patty, Forbes Farm is somewhere in New York and has beautiful productive registered Saanens - CAE negative, etc. I'd certainly recommend looking at her herd!

Alice In TX/MO · #3 08/11/10, 12:10 PM

I have Alpine, Mini-Alpine, Saanen cross, LaMancha, LaMancha cross, and Mini-Mancha.

I'd vote for Saanen. High production, gentle nature.

saanengirl · #4 08/11/10, 03:48 PM

Saanen all the way. If you can't deal with a Nubian, you certainly can't deal with an Alpine...

prairiedog · #5 08/11/10, 03:51 PM

We love our LaManchas. The two year old can lead them to the barn at night. They are calm and quiet

Pony · #6 08/11/10, 07:08 PM

No offense taken about the Nubians... well, not much, anyway... Mine are great with children, but they are definitely vocal and social.

No other real-life experience except my Snubian, and I'm learning that she's mellow and quiet.

wmsff · #7 08/12/10, 07:38 AM

Great, thanks all. I believe there is a La Mancha breeder near here.
And thanks for the heads up about the alpine.

wintrrwolf · #8 08/12/10, 08:14 AM

Yeah if you get a Saanen you will get PLENTY of milk. Though I have not been able to make butter from my saanen's milk just not enough butterfat. Straight up good drinking milk though.

FunnyRiverFarm · #9 08/12/10, 08:45 AM

Lamanchas! Gentle, easy to train, handle stress well...Saanens have many of the same characteristics but they also tend to be giants. Lamanchas are generally medium sized and might be easier/less intimidating for a child to handle.

shiandpete.1 · #10 08/12/10, 12:02 PM

We raise Lamanchas so I am partial but when I was a child we raised saanens and they were so gentle and quiet. Plus with your large family they would give you more than enough milk.

pygmybabies · #11 08/12/10, 12:20 PM

Whats wrong with nubians? I just got one, in may Heidi and I have to say she is my absolute favorite of all my kids so loving and gentle. Gives me kisses and eats from my hand. Also my new alpine/nubian is very gentle and so is her baby. What happened when you were a kid?

Oat Bucket Farm · #12 08/12/10, 01:20 PM

We love our LaManchas so much. And we have heard so many great things about Saanens that we can't wait to breed to our friend's Saanen buck and keep a little LaMancha/Saanen cross doeling so we can have the best of both worlds.

Pony · #13 08/12/10, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pygmybabies

Whats wrong with nubians? I just got one, in may Heidi and I have to say she is my absolute favorite of all my kids so loving and gentle. Gives me kisses and eats from my hand. Also my new alpine/nubian is very gentle and so is her baby. What happened when you were a kid?

Yeah, I'd like to know what happened, too.

Oat Bucket Farm · #14 08/12/10, 03:41 PM

Yes, don't judge a goat by what happened as a kid. My mother used to hate all goats because she was chased by mean,stinky buck when she was little. Then after lots of talking she decided it would be okay to try having them around. Now you will only be able to take them from her over her dead body,lol. Luckily my kids are all growing with good goat memories.

So don't base it on the past. If Nubians don't suit you because they are loud or something along that lines, then definitely pass on them but not because one was mean when you were little.

You never know, a year from now, someone may only be able to get your Nubians away from you over your dead body,lol.

Creamers · #15 08/12/10, 03:45 PM

I love Nubians best, but they don't suit everyone - I recommend a Saanen - no one ever has anything negative to say about them. I am looking to buy a few, too.

Nubians are needy and vocal, on average. Sure, some aren't, but most are. I have a 15 of them and will always have them as my main breed, but out of all the breeds I've seen/had - Saanens seem the most amiable.

wmsff · #16 08/13/10, 07:21 AM

I fed all the animals, and when I would go into fill their water and feed them, the nubian would would stare me down, cock her head to the side, rear up then butt me. If I turned my back on her, I didn't see it coming and couldn't block it. I got more than a few nasty bruises because she had little horns.
I'm also convinced she was behind the great escape led to the decimation of our garden. She and the saanen pulled the plywood roof partially off the strawbale "shed," pulled down 3 bales, then jumped over the fence and ate everything!
It was later in the season and we were picking veggies frequently, so they got a lot. Wow did they have fat sides, I honestly thought they were going to split in two!

motdaugrnds · #17 08/13/10, 08:06 AM

Wmsff, I am sorry your experience with the Nubian was like that. (I suspect she had experiences in her past you may not be aware of.)

When I first started raising goats, I purchased 3 full blood does with great pedigrees (a Nubian, an Alpine & a Toggenburg). All 3 were heavy milkers (over a 10-month lactation with the Togg giving 2 gals "daily", a little more than each of the other two does). The milk from my Togg was my favorite.

The Togg constantly tried to bite me for the first few months. Each time she did, I would kiss her on the nose and keep on milking. It wasn't long before she stopped trying to bite me and started "protecting" me from what she saw as harmful, i.e. my dog running up to say hello.

The Alpine kept trying to turn over my milking bucket until she learned (from a hard slap on her rump) that was not acceptable. It wasn't long before she started hanging around when I was trimming hooves. She would talk to the goat whose hooves I was working on and that goat would stand still the entire time I trimmed. (When I bottle fed one of her kids, both she and the kid would stand just outside my door yelling at me for the bottle if I was a bit late. ROFL) For awhile I kept one of her bucks. When grown (weighing over 250 lbs and standing over 7' tall on its hind legs) this buck would run toward my grown son, raise upon its hind legs and come down on its front legs right in front of David, then gently push his head into David's chest. It was wonderful watching them wrestle and play together.

The Nubian's milk had a lot of good butter fat. She was the "loudest" in that she was spoiled. She was also the most loving. She would lay her head in my lap to sleep in the pasture. She would stay by my side most of the time I was outdoors. When my dog accidentally knocked me down, she butted the dog 3 times to make it move away from me.

My herd is all Nubian now with a very nice Nubian buck. This buck comes up and walks beside me, stopping when I do, because I taught him to "heel" when he was younger. He also pushes his head into my body (not for meanness; but to snuggle) ... a very gentle push.

What I am trying to say by sharing these experiences is that the actions of one goat does not speak for an entire breed. I truly believe we make our goats what they are in the way we deal with them.

Pony · #18 08/13/10, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Creamers

Nubians are needy and vocal, on average.

I prefer "Social and communicative."

No, Nubs aren't for everyone, but they are my favorite by far. I now know that as long as I have goats, I will have Nubians as my "main" stock. The stock I've been fortunate to acquire is sturdy and easy to maintain. AND they have that Personality Plus I so love.

The Snubian I have is, definitely, laid back and gentle (unless she thinks Trub is getting too much food!) Actually, though, well... she's kind of dull, a little boring... But that's okay, because I don't need a lot of drama, just kids and milk. She has her own quiet, gentle ways.

ozark_jewels · #19 08/13/10, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Creamers

I recommend a Saanen - no one ever has anything negative to say about them.

You haven't talked to me then......

Saanens and I DID NOT get along in general. Great milking goats, but not for me.

Say they are calm and easy to get along with? I say they are boring with little personality.

But see, thats just *my* opinion and I know that.

But no, I did not like Saanens on the whole. I did have a couple who were extremely sweet.

And again, very good milk goats.

Pony · #20 08/13/10, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

Say they are calm and easy to get along with? I say they are boring with little personality.

But see, thats just *my* opinion and I know that.

It's an opinion I share. (See my post above)

<shrug> Some folks like animals like that.

I'm not one of them.