desert plants goats..

[boys5]

Hello Everybody!
Are you raising goats in the desert?
What is the best breed for this kind of environment?
What kind of desert native plants, do they eat?
Thank you very much

[noeskimo]

Not quite the desert, but the last 2 years it has been. Mine will eat Yucca, especially if I've cut off the big, tough top, and then they'll keep the new tender shoot eaten down to the ground. They also love cactus tunas-the red fruit on Prickly Pear. It does leave their mouths full of stickers and sores, and when the young nurse, their moms udders are also all stickered up. The mesquite beans are high in protien, and last year, that's about all we had, but then everywhere they poo, Mesquite comes up like you've planted it. I'm trying to reduce Mesquite, since it uses so much of the little water I have, so I work all year, and the goats just plant it. Four-leaf salt bush is a favorite of theirs and very high in nutrient value.They hate Creosote bush, and will gobble up new shoots on Mormon Tea.My herd is a mixed lot of dairy, Boer and Myotonics

[noeskimo]

The Boer, Myotonics and one lone Lamancha handle the extreme heat the best. The Toggenburg, and Saanens do the worst-or should I saw pant the soonest. Don't forget the part that horns play in cooling a goat.

[KSALguy]

Boer were developed in the hot dry south african environment, the feral Spanish type doest great, most any breed CAN live and breed in the desert but not all will THRIVE, also are you wanting milk or just meat? dairy goats will need more assistance,

[Dusky Beauty]

For dairy, Nigerian Dwarfs do well in a southwestern environment. Easy to handle. Creamy milk. My 2 yr old weathers are pretty big too so I'm looking forward to seeing how much they yield for freezer.