Which Breed?

[CircleStarRanch]

I posted this same question in the Poultry Forum, so please excuse the cross-post. I'm sure if I ask 10 people, I will get 10 opinions, but here goes.....

We are in the planning stages still, but know we want goats rather than a milk cow. What is the best breed to get for a noob? How many does do we need to meet 2 people's milk and cheese needs without wasting any? I know climate plays a huge part. We are talking 5000 ft elevation, moderately arid (15"-20" inches of rain annually), temp ranges from winter lows in the 20's to low 100's for summer highs.

Thanks in advance... and you will hear more questions from me!

-Dutch

[LearningLife]

We're still fairly new to the goat world, having only gotten our 4 in September, so I can't do a lot of comparison for you. However, I can say that for newbies, our Nigerian Dwarfs are wonderfully easy to handle. They don't require a huge amount of space, and their food requirements aren't too much or expensive. They've handled the 90+ degree heat and humidity and the unreasonable cold (it's 9 degrees this morning) well. So far, I'd have to say they make excellent starter goats.

[coso]

I like the LaManchas. They are quiet, laid back, medium size goat that usually has a nice level lactation with milk that is high in butterfat. The Altrece herd would be a good place to start they are in AZ. Just make sure you start with animals from someone who can answer your questions and support you to some extent, usually someone who has at least a few years experience. A couple of does would be plenty to keep two people in milk and cheese. Need at least two anyway. They don't do well by themselves. If you are only wanting a couple you will probably want to see what is available local also because you may not want to keep a buck. My .02

[Oat Bucket Farm]

I too am a fan of LaManchas. They have great personalities, quiet,calm,funny,their tiny ears are beyond adorable, not too big,not too small. I love my Manchas.

[saanengirl]

The best breed for a Noob is the breed that the most experienced and helpful goat breeder in your area owns. The best thing you can do is find an experienced goat breeder in your area and ask them to mentor you. Go ahead and purchase goats from this breeder. It will give them a greater incentive to help you. For two people you want two standard sized or 2-4 miniature goats, depending on how much cheese you want to make.

[TroutRiver]

I don't think there is any particularly "noob-friendly" breed. I am also new to dairy goats, as of the last few months. I have 3 does, 2 of which are mixed breeds. I have a purebred nubian, a nubian/alpine and a nubian/boer. I think that breed is really just a matter of personal preference. Individuals will have different needs and different personalities no matter what breed they are. Looking for well bred dairy goats from good milking stock is going to be more helpful than having your heart set on a particular breed.

I also agree that looking for some experienced folks in your area that breed goats and are willing to give you advice is a great idea. I've found (at least around here) that most home-scale goat people are thrilled to meet other people who are interested in dairy goats, and are more than happy to chat for awhile, whether they're selling you goats or not.

As far as how many goes...I guess that depends on how much milk and cheese you want. Most dairy breeds will milk a gallon a day easily. Some can milk 2 gallons a day or more, depending on their breeding It all depends on the goats that you buy. Be sure to ask about the parents' milk production history. Or if you buy older goats that are already milking, ask about their production history.

[sammyd]

any breed can be a good goat and any breed can be a bad goat......
We like the looks of the LaManchas, Alpines and the Obers and we don't need to huge production of the saanen. We had Nubians but found most of them to be brainless, noisy creatures.
If we had to get down to just 2 or 3 we'd keep a LaMancha. Alpine and an Ober...

[Natural Beauty Farm]

Here is the information you asked for:

http://www.adga.org/index.php?option...368&Itemid=217

[motdaugrnds]

You're correct in that everyone has their own experiences to draw on and will give you a suggestion for various breeds.

I can tell you this:

1. Goats like company. That means you will need to get more than one.
2. Goats (most do anyway) need to be bred to continually produce milk year after year, which means you will either need to get a buck or have access to one.
3. Goats are browsers, which means your pastures will need to contain more than just grass.
4. Goats need "supplementals", which means grains, worming items, baking soda, minerals and whatever your area is deficient in. (Our area is deficient in Selenium, which means our goats get injections of Bo-Se from time to time.)
5. Goats will need their hooves trimmed 2-4 times a year depending on the growth rate of the hooves.

As for breed, I can tell you what we did when we first started. We purchased 3 (full blood & registered) "bred" does (each 2 yrs old) of 3 different breeds. Keeping those for 2 years gave us an understanding of what the characteristics of each of those breeds were and what was needed to be successful in raising goats. (The easiest way to understand goats is to visit your local goat owners and talk with them, looking over their herd and the tools they use to keep it healthy.)

[Kye022984]

We have three goats and are new owners for about a year now. We actually started with the Nigerians but found them to be a little too noisy for our situation. I think we just bought some noisy girls because many people on here will tell you there nigerians are quite quiet. We have a nigerian buck wth our girls right now and he is a noisy fellow.

We have a Snubian (Saneen/nubian cross) she is our favorite , We have an oberhasli who is extremely quiet and calm, and an LaMancha who is also quiet, adorable but has a spunky personality.

We also are holding a mini-mancha for a friend (Nigerian/la mancha cross). She is VERY beautiful. But she is also our herd queen. She is super tough and very stocky girl. She's strong. But she is a sweetie.

We have five people in our family. Two adults and three small children and right now our three seem to be enough for all of us.

I agree to go to a breeder near you and see what they have. It will be a lot easier to sell kids and get into a good mentorship.

Good luck!

[PrettyPaisley]

Be sure to get three to start. I made the mistake of getting two, one died in a awful accident within about a month of brining her home and I had to scramble to get another one. I learned the hard way but was saved by the help I got here and the wether I was given by fellow HTer.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

Originally Posted by PrettyPaisley

Be sure to get three to start. I made the mistake of getting two, one died in a awful accident within about a month of brining her home and I had to scramble to get another one. I learned the hard way but was saved by the help I got here and the wether I was given by fellow HTer.

I can't agree with this more. We had the same problem when we were getting started out. Bought two doelings, one died of goat polio a couple of months later and we were left scrambling to find a friend for the lone doeling.

[Kye022984]

Originally Posted by Oat Bucket Farm

I can't agree with this more. We had the same problem when we were getting started out. Bought two doelings, one died of goat polio a couple of months later and we were left scrambling to find a friend for the lone doeling.

This is definitely true. Not only just incase of something unexpected (which I am so sorry for the PP's incidences) but also is you have to take one of the girls out to get bred, you'd need another goat to stay with the one who is left behind. We learned this the hard way