Nigerian Pygmy cross?

[Kathleen in WI]

Any pros or cons to mixing the two? I know a Pygmy is a meat breed and Nigerians are a dairy breed, so I wonder how they would work together.

[grandma12703]

I have a Nigerian X kinder (1/2 pygmy and 1/2 Nubian) little doe and little buck and they are great.

[Kathleen in WI]

I had actually considered Kinders some time back. I am just having a hard time deciding. lol

My husband decided for me and said to go with Nigerians because they have good milk and are easier to handle. But then he asked about crossing with a Pygmy for meatier kids. I have read that some people do it so it might be worth a try.

I wonder if it matters which breed is the buck and which breed is the doe.

[mygoat]

Pros: they're cute and small and make good pets.

Cons: unregisterable, dime-a-dozen, crossbreeds that don't do meat or milk well...

[Kathleen in WI]

lol Well I don't need more "pets". I want animals that earn their keep. *sigh* This is way harder than I thought it would be.

[Minelson]

That is what my Frankie and Flossie are I think they are the greatest...and Flossie is in milk and has never been bred. My little virgin princess!

[mekasmom]

Originally Posted by Kathleen in AR

Any pros or cons to mixing the two? I know a Pygmy is a meat breed and Nigerians are a dairy breed, so I wonder how they would work together.

I've had a few. It is kind of like crossing a nubie/boer only on a smaller scale. The two breeds have two different purposes, so you are hoping for a good milker that gives some meat. It doesn't always work out that way. But they do rate high on the "cute" scale which is pleasing to kids. Not as cute as pure pygmys, but they aren't quite as precocious either. And that is a big plus.

[punchiepal]

If you keep and breed offspring then you run the risk of bring in the harder kidding traits of the pygmy vs the easy kidding of nigerians.

[KSALguy]

what are your goals? what do you want your goats to produce for you? how much room do you have? what are your limiting factors? once you work out these issues and a few others then you will know what you need to look at getting, if you only want a small amount of meat and milk that doesn't need as much room or food and your not worried about selling or registering anything then yeah they will be fine, but if you want more than a little milk or meat and have more room then you need to look at something else

[mygoat]

You could always get nice nigies and breed them pygmy - still marketable as pets and the extras would be better freezer animals than the full nigie. You'd get milk and meat that way. But I wouldn't keep any for breeding stock - if you wanted to replace some of the does, either purchase or breed them purebred nigie for a year to get some daughters.

[wintrrwolf]

Originally Posted by Kathleen in AR

Any pros or cons to mixing the two? I know a Pygmy is a meat breed and Nigerians are a dairy breed, so I wonder how they would work together.

I have the perfect starter herd for you mmmm yup they are heavy on the nigi and the babies are CUTE the buck and doe's breed well and easy unlike some pygmies....

[Pony]

If you're wanting Nigies for milk, be careful in selecting animals that are bred for milking. There are some absolutely adorable Nigerians out there, just as cute as a bug's ear, but don't milk for diddly.

They do pack a goodly amount of meat on those little frames, though. If I were not so gah-gah over Nubians, I'd go with Nigies for both milk and meat.

[anita_fc]

Why would you want to mix pygmy with nigerian? If you want "production", stay away from pygmies IMO. They are bred primarily as pets. I do have one friend who butchers an occasional wether and says she can't detect any difference between larger goats and her pygmies. I myself could not eat one of my adorable pygmy pets.

There is also a decent market for Nigies as pets, so if you're worried about selling the babies to keep a doe in meat, that shouldn't be a problem.

Both breeds hail from common roots in Africa. It's here in America where they have diverged into separate breeds. Pygmy breeders have bred the legs off the animals! <g>