Hi, we're new to the site, but have been reading and learning lots from it for some time now.We live in Nova Scotia, in the Annapolis Valley, near Bridgetown. Is there anyone who has Nigerian Dwarfs nearby? We're waiting for three kids we have on reserve.They should be born between March 11th and April 25th,and can come home around the end of June.We intend to have them for dairy use on our small homestead farm. The site has been most helpful and I'm sure we'll have lots of questions both before and after the arrival of our kids! It would be great if there was someone near us to connect with regarding Nigerian dwarfs. If so, please let us know! Thank you!
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OK Rachel, Gotcha! Wow- determination and nature calling! We'll make sure to double up on the fencing when bucks are in order. I guess there can't be any cute nuzzling through the fence...! Thanks again, you guys are going to save us a lot of trouble, and it's much appreciated!
Rachel Whetzel said:
You'll definitely want to use either double fencing, or electric as your second fence if your bucks and does share any fence line. I thought I was good with just the netting (very SMALL netting) and the cattle panels I had, but one of my does got pregnant this year, and I didn't breed her. :/ Which means she got hit through our fence before we put the electric up. Don't wait if you don't want surprises!! lol
I totally agree with Lisa's advice too. I have a wether in with my does, and he does help signal a girl in heat, but the girls will also do that, just fyi.
Hi Lisa, Thanks for the reply. That's kind of where we've been at with worrying about keeping bucks and does together starting off. Maybe if we let the girls get a bit of age on them, then consider a buck, two bucks, or a buck and a wether,(wow, our herd is growing by the minute and the kids aren't even here yet!) that might be the thing to do. Interesting that your little guy will signal when your doe is cycling. Good to know that too! Also, a very good point you made about health issues with taking our does to another farm. We're very health/diet conscious with all of our pets, and would not want to bring a disease back to our herd. Thank you and much appreciated!
Lisa Cotter said:
Hi Rachel, Thanks for the advice. I know what you mean about catching the does when they're in heat. Having two bucks would help when keeping babies, which I'm sure, a doeling or two will stay.. and great idea about putting them side by side but using electric fencing inside the buck pen. This is good to know and we'll consider all of this for sure.Thank you!
Rachel Whetzel said:
We waited on the bucks on our first round because we didn't want to have to worry about keeping them separate when we started off. We are hoping for a set of nice bucklings from a great breeder this spring so that we can breed in the coming fall.
We were hoping to start our herd with 2 doelings but the breeder had several people on her reserve list & not enough doelings, so she offer us our doeling's twin brother for company at a reasonable price. Our wether is the sweetest, most loveable, attention hog & I wouldn't trade him for anything. He is an extra mouth to feed, but he keeps his sister company & he does signal when she is starting to cycle.
There aren't many Nigerian Dwarfs in the NS area & you need to make sure the person with the buck doesn't have any diseases in their herd that can be brought back to your herd. I feel that it will be easier to have a buck on the farm for breeding purposes, but that you don't need to have them now. When you are ready to get bucks for breeding I'd buy (2) so that they have companionship, that would solve living arrangements.
For myself, not having bucks on side proved to be nearly impossible to catch my does in heat. The only way I managed to get them to take, was to board one of them for a month at the breeders until she was bred. I personally had a rough time of it.
I bought two bucks (instead of getting a weather to keep with my buck) because I figured it made breeding easier when I kept babies, and why be feeding a mouth that can't "work" for me? I keep my bucks in a pen next to my does with electric fencing on the inside of the buck's pen in addition to the regular fencing I have for all the goats.
I know a lot of people SAY that bucklings can breed as young as 3 months, but in my experience, they weren't doing anything other than going through the motions, and didn't get anyone pregnant until after they were 6 months old, so keep that in mind with your planning for getting a buck if you do. It will take some time for your bucklings to grow into bucks. (not that you should keep one with your does, just that it will take some time, and you should account for that)
We are waiting for three doelings. We have considered a buckling as well, but are unsure . We've heard so many people tell us to start with the doelings and wait to get our own buck/bucks later. Now we're not sure what to do. We know of the risk of a young pregnancy if they were to be kept together, and if separated we need a wether for the buck.We will still consider a buckling , if anyone has some sound advice on this. Our goal is for milk and dairy products for ourselves, and without a freshened doe, this is not possible! The breeder told us of a person in N.S. who has a buck/bucks we could use for starting off, but is it better for us to have our own? We're confused, and would love some helpful advice as to our own buck or not, and living arrangements if we have a buckling with three doelings. Thank you!
Lisa Cotter said:
We have (1) doeling & (1) wether, they are very sweet. Our main herd goal is high milk production so we can make cheese & soap. This spring I'm hoping to bring in (4) doelings & (2) bucklings. We hope to start our breeding program later in the fall with the doeling we have now for spring kidding in 2015.
Thanks for the welcomes we've received! Thank you Lisa, for replying. That's great that you're in N.S. and so close by! Would love to chat more with you, as you already have some Nigerian Dwarfs, and we're still waiting for our first three.I'd love to know what your kids are, and what are you hoping for and how many more this spring? That's so exciting! We wish you all the best with your current kids, and the new ones to be!
Welcome!
We live in New Ross, NS. We have 2 Nigerian Dwarf's that are 6 months old. We are on a reserve list at a couple of farms for more this spring. We are new to goats & this site has been a wonderful resource.
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