Anyone know where these breeders are located?

Brush Creek

Gay-Mor

Little Tot's Estate

Woodhaven Farms

Rosasharn

Kaapio Acres

 

I can only seem to locate Rosasharn in MA and Little Tot's in GA - is that correct? I'd love to know where these others are, or if they have a website (and are still selling/breeding). I know all of these breed top of the line Nigerians. Thanks for any help! :) 

 

Ps. if anyone has suggestions of well established breeders with bloodlines such as the above list in MI or nearby (IN, IL or OH)  I'd appreciate the tip! 

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  • I personally will feed a taller doe that makes substantially more milk. They please me, and I don't find they cost more. I feed based on quantity of milk produced, and on severe space restrictions any doe that produces more is more valuable than another.  My best milkers average 3 quarts a day over the year, and peak at a little over a gallon a day, right about at height limits. I milk nearly through, and my best milk does also don't dry up easily since they are being trained to stay in milk.
  • Thanks so much! :) Everyone has been so tremendously helpful here - what an awesome forum you all are! 

     

  • There are some breeders who have good milk and do well in shows, but just because they win in a show, it does not mean they produce a lot of milk.   It isn't always important to those who breed for shows.  Rosasharn does well in both.  

     

    As far as size, yes, it can cost less to feed a smaller doe, in most cases..  of course one inch won't make as much difference, but if you have five 19 inch does versus five 21 inch does, it could add up.  There may be others here that have a different opinion, but this is how I feel at this point. =) I know that my 21 inch doe eats a lot more than my 19 inch doe.  Nigerian does can be up to 22.5 inches tall and still be within the standard for ADGA.  

     

    The top ten lists can be found at :

     

    http://www.andda.org/Milk_Records/Top_Ten/

    http://www.americangoatsociety.com/milkpail/milk_production_awards.php

     

    And I'm sure there are more... just go to the ADGA, NDGA and other association websites.

     

    In sale price, no, the size of the goat does not affect the price that I am aware of.

  • That's really interesting - I'm not sure I exactly understand - is it due to how economical they are to feed (a 19 inch being less costly than a 21 inch) or the 'amount of goat' for the amount of milk, or both?

     

    ps where can I find the top ten lists? Are these the top ten milkers in any given breeders herd do you mean?

     

    Also - you were mentioning a limited budget so you go for smaller does - do they cost less than the larger ones? 

     

    I am intrigued on something I read too, about a goat being show or pet or milking - why do they distinguish show from milking? From what I see with Rosasharn etc they have top milking goats and win at shows as well. 

  • Jobi and Rosasharn have some excellent milking lines.  I would also add Lost Valley to the mix and Chenango Hills is not too far behind.  I have a buck with Rosasharn and Lost Valley and does with Rosasharn, Lost Valley and Jobi.  Look through the top ten lists and find a doe you want your herd to be related to. =)  Just be sure to account for the height of the doe when you look at how much she gives.  For example, a 19 inch doe that gives 3# per day in her first freshening gives more than a 21 inch doe who gives 4# per day in her 3rd freshening.  Also, ease of milking is very important to me.  Not only a soft udder, but open orifices and milk stand behavior.  I am on the other end of the spectrum from Deborah.  We have only 3 does, but with my achy hands, I really need them to be easy milkers.  And with a limited budget, I want the smallest does I can have without sacrificing quantity.
  • If you have no plans to show, then there is no reason to spend big bucks on show lines, especially since some of them are not necessarily good milk goats. It is entirely possible for a goat to have all kinds of show wins and not be the ideal milk goat. Teats are only worth 4 or 5 points out of 100 on the score card, depending upon which registry, so there are plenty of champions with less than desirable teats. Things like udder texture and orifice size, which are very important for hand milking are not that important for a show goat. Judges talk about udder texture, but goats are shown with full udders, which does not give the full picture. I know someone who started a herd seven or eight years ago, and she bought a finished champion, which she wound up returning because she couldn't milk her.

    Of course, you have to breed goats to get them to produce milk, and the good news is that the vast majority of people who buy NDs want them as milkers. The first goats to sell from my herd are those from the best milkers. The kids out of champions are often the last ones to sell. We have 35-50 kids a year, and maybe two or three wind up going to show homes. We used to show, but now that my daughters are in college, I don't have time because we grow most of our food, which includes making all of our own dairy products. Since we quit showing, I do classifications with AGS, which is a better picture of a goat's conformation anyway. With show wins, it just means that the winner was better than the other goats that showed up that day. With classifications (or linear appraisals with ADGA) the classifier or appraiser basically goes over the scorecard and grades the goat.

    If you seriously want milk, it is a good idea to buy from herds that are on 305-day milk test. One-day milk tests are somewhat helpful, but if are planning to milk regularly, then the 305-day test is important because some goats can plummet fast after that peak -- and an owner can have a one-day test done whenever they want, so they can schedule it when goats are at their peak of production. Because our goats provide 100% of our dairy products, I don't want one that's going to fizzle at six months. A lot of show herds dry up their does at the end of show season, so those breeders have no idea how long their goats will milk.

    I could talk about this topic a lot because I made a lot of mistakes when starting my herd. I only wound up keeping about one out of three of the goats that I originally bought -- and then I just got plain lucky with the ones that were good enough to keep!

  • thank you Deborah - I am looking for very good lines of milking goats - udder attached well, high milk production, etc. I am interested in breeding in the future so I would like to have desirable lines (stressing on milking qualities, but also good form/beauty overall, which I'm sure usually comes hand in hand anyhow:)). 

  • You didn't say whether you were looking for milk or show, but I'm guessing show because I would not include all of those breeders on the list if you are talking milk. It is really important to have your goals clarified because a good show goat is not necessarily a good milker and vice versa.

    Gay-Mor retired at least seven or eight years ago. Kaapio Acres is in Michigan.

    I'm in Illinois, and I have Rosasharn bucks. We are also on milk test and do classifications. One of our bucks, Pegasus, is out of Rosasharn Eclipse, who was on the top ten list three times, including #1 for production, and she won the AGS national championship at age 10. Pegasus classified as an E at age five, and two of his daughters have milk stars already. I expect more will follow. One of his daughters, Annie Oakley, also classified as an E at age 4 this year. Pegasus will be used heavily this fall.

    I did have a buck out of a Gay-Mor doe, but I only have one doe left from him. The rest of them had a rather un-dairy appearance and less than stellar production. Cicada, however, is dripping with dairy character and has a gorgeous udder. She classified as a VG.

    You can see more at our website, http://www.nigeriandwarfdairygoats.com

    If you want milk, I'd suggest you look at Jobi lines as only Rosasharn comes close to matching her herd's milking ability. She is in Texas, but if you seriously want quality, you have to be willing to travel a bit. We drove all the way to Massachusetts to get our Rosasharn bucks, and I had a goat with 100% Jobi genetics shipped from Alaska.

  • ADGA has a breeders list on their site, I believe...

     

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