Thoughts on Nigerian Dwarfs

[forphase1]

A bit of background. I've a small farm in WV. I had 10 Nubians, but decided to switch over to fainting goats, and an in the process of doing so. My main reason was smaller size, uniqueness of the fainters, and quite frankly they are fun to be around. I liked my Nubians, but decided to go a different direction. Anyway, I currently have a fainting buck, a fainting doe, a few assorted wethers, and one Nubian doe that hasn't found a new home yet. I was recently contacted by a friend of mine who was trying to sale 3 Nigerian Dwarf does for a really good price ($150 for all three). I'm considering getting them too for milk production. So here are my questions.

1) Any issues why a herd couldn't be made up well with Fainters and Nigerian Dwarfs? I've not been around NDs much, so not sure about temperament, etc.

2) My buck will be a fainter. So any babies born from the NDs later will be 1/2 fainters, and my goal for them will be simply to freshen the pure does and then be put in the freezer later. Thoughts on this?

3) NDs are fairly common, so when/if I want to replenish my ND does with newer ones, finding/renting/borrowing/etc a ND buck shouldn't be much of a hassle.

I currently have about 4 acres fenced, a combination of wooded areas and overgrown pasture. I've got about 10 acres that will eventually all be fenced in, but its a work in progress as time and money allow.

I appreciate any thoughts on the NDs as a whole, on my setup, or anything else anyone wants to share. Thanks a ton!

[Pony]

The person you want to talk with is Wags. She has good quality Nigerian milkers.

I'll flag this post for her on FB, but in the meantime, here's what I've learned from her.

Not all Nigerians are good dairy animals. You need to have milkers who were bred for that. There are a lot of absolutely adorable Nigies that are, in reality, pets, NOT dairy animals.

NDs are fairly common. Dairy NDs are not all that common.

I understand that fainters are good meat animals, but the only ones I know of are crossed with Boers. Nice looking animals, but no idea about them as purebred or what they would be like crossed with Nigies.

[Wonderland]

Pony is right, not all NDs are dairy NDs. I learned that the hard way! Be sure to buy from a dairy herd if dairy is what you want. There are a lot of pet and show herds that do not milk.

Also, I'm not sure about the size of fainter goats, but I do know when breeding miniature dairy goats you breed a standard doe to a ND buck -- not the other way around. So if your fainter buck is much larger than a ND, I would not breed him to them.

I love NDs as a whole, and I also love MiniManchas (Nigerian x LaMancha cross). The NDs usually have vibrant personalities and are very fun to be around. Special concern would be fencing...they can fit through minuscule spaces between the fence and the ground (ask me how I know ) that larger goats wouldn't be able to weasel through.

[forphase1]

Thanks for the advice...I'll have to check on the milking capabilities of these does...two of them are only 4 months old, so they will be unknown, but the other is their full sister, so maybe she'll give me some idea of what they will produce.

As far as size and fencing goes, I've had fainters and they are generally only 18 to 25 inches tall or so, and they haven't managed to get out of my fence in quite a while. According to wikpedia, NDs are supposed to be 17 to 21 inches tall (if this is wrong please let me know) so from a size perspective the fainters may be a little bigger, but not so much bigger that breeding a fainter to a ND will be a problem in my opinion. Again though, if I'm wrong please let me know. :-)

[Pony]

It's important to look at the lines of any potential milkers. Is the current owner using them as dairy animals?

And I second the fencing concerns. My Nubians are just dandy about staying behind 4' welded wire. It took a little convincing to get the ND wether to stay behind the fencing. He's good with it now, but old Doober is quite the escape artist when he wants to be.

[punchiepal]

Does your friend have the dams to these doelings? Since they are little I would start there. Look for any info you can find on the bucks dam also.
Any breeding is a chance but at least that gives you more info than nothing and a good milker has a better chance of producing a good milker.

[Clovers_Clan]

I'm envisioning the NDs playing leap frog on the fainted fainters :-)

[Wags]

My mentor raises both Fainters and Niggies - althought MANY more years (25+) of experience with Niggies.

Niggie does are usually in the 18-22" range so a fainter buck on the smaller side might be ok. Definately wait to breed until the does are 18 months of age - they will need the extra room.

My Niggies have no problem staying inside standard field fencing. Well the babies sometimes wander through but don't go far before momma calls them back. And in a few weeks they are usually too big to make it through anymore.

Selecting dairy animals means you need to see the dam and her udder, and hopefully at least pictures of the sire's dam's udder and what she milked. Also look for teat length on both of those does because that is what the doe kids will have. If they have raisin sized teats and are only producing a cup per milkings walk away no matter how cute they might be!

[Pony]

Originally Posted by Wags

If they have raisin sized teats and are only producing a cup per milkings walk away no matter how cute they might be!

Would like to add: No matter how inexpensive/cheap they may be!

[crazygoatgal]

Let me say, first and foremost, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my nigerians. Sweetest and cutest little things in the entire world and the babies are to die for. You just want to bite them, theyre that cute.
Having said that, please listen to Wags. I have a doe with outstanding dairy lines, like both sides of the pedigree are ARMCH's and she gives me about a pint a milking. One of the most beautiful udders in my herd, but you talk about small!!! I had a doe who gave me just under a gallon a day which is pretty good. the majority give me about one and a half to two quarts a day, which isn't bad. But for pets, the 150 is still a good deal. I charge more than that for my pet quality just to make sure they are getting a good home and not just an impulse buy. If i know the people I have been known to give them away.

[wendle]

I have had Nigerians for a few years now and really like them. I think they are easier to keep in because their small size. Some of the boers I used to have would literally scale cattle panels. Most of my fencing is chain link, but they will also stay in woven wire. The babies are adorable, and so far pretty hardy. Hauling is easy since you can just put them in the back of a car in a dog crate.

[forphase1]

Awesome advice so far folks. Much appreciated!

[GoatJunkie]

I worked on a farm with Nigies.... They are adorable! Like any other goat they have their own individual personalities. The ones I worked with had not been handled much. They were feral little squirrels to keep penned, and man could they jump!

One doe was VERY vocal. Her babies were the brightest colored, most beautiful of the Nigie babies, and sold as soon as they hit Craigslist. The owner brought them back three days after picking them up, saying they wouldn't eat, though they had not lost weight, and ate everything for me just fine. Within two weeks of being returned to their owner they are back on Craigslist because they are so loud the neighbors are complaining.

These little loves truly like/need being with people, but they did fine penned next to my LaManchas.

A cuter goat you will not find! Best of luck!

[dbarjacres]

I've raised Nigerians for 7 years. I'm down to just a few girls as I'm building my mini mancha herd, but started out with just plain old NDs and now have girls that are bred to milk with ideal teat and udders. That pedigree makes a BIG difference in NDs!

I see you are in the SE, I know of an excellent herd that way that's cutting back. Top milking and show lines. What kind of prices are you thinking? Honestly you get what you pay for with NDs and milk. Altho there are those that charge for color (I do, simply cuz it sells and if someone wants to pay an extra $150 for a certain color pattern, why refuse it). But if you're just wanting a good milker in a plain colored wrapper (seriously, quite often blue eyes are an upcharge, moonspots are an upcharge, etc, just because of the huge pet market), you should be able to find a nice milky doe for $300-350.

[BoldViolet]

Great thread, everyone! I've kind of chosen NDs as what I want for my eventual farm, and I didn't realize that not all of them are great milkers and that some people just breed them as pets.

Thanks for all the advice.