I fell in love with these little goats about six months ago and we were looking to start a nice little herd. Then the true implications of dropping eight or nine hundred dollars on two goats sunk into my head and I decided to wait. I figured we'd just shoot for purchasing goats a year or two from now.
I'll be posting pictures and asking opinions soon. I figured that if she isn't a dairy goat and she doesn't give us any milk we'll still have had fun learning more about goats before we go the expensive route.
I'm glad I found this forum.
Love and Laughter to all!
Wendi
www.restlessprariefarm.blogspot.com
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Replies
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Dill's and I think Twin Creeks were where April got her babies, she said she looked and looked and they had what she wanted. Since April had to sell her herd I plan on trying to purchase through them when I have the money to actually start the whole home dairy thing.
I didn't quite understand the banding thing either. I assumed he tried it when the buck was older and maybe didn't have the right size of something? I also thought that maybe the process was different from the pigs I've seen done. I don't have a very broad range of experience with banding. I knew the theory with baby sheep and that's as far as I got.
:o)
As for banding that didn't work? I can't imagine how banding would not work. You put the band on, the testicles die and fall off. There is nothing to "not work." Maybe a Burdizzo didn't work, but I thought banding was pretty much idiot proof. That is really weird. You'll probably continue guessing about her status for a few months. If her nutritional status was not good, she might have been bred but not pregnant. Still, that udder puzzles me, if she's never had kids. If she would have miscarried after her udder was already that big, the owner would have seen dead kids, so he should have known.
Before I forget, I wanted to mention that I wouldn't spend a lot of money on good goats until you get her tested and know she doesn't have CAE, Johnes, CL, or brucellosis, if your state isn't already certified brucellosis-free. Sometimes people sell goats cheaply because they're getting rid of a problem. Or maybe the guy realizes he doesn't have great quality, and she's not registered, so she's not worth much.
Wendi Howard said:
The man told me she was running with a buck that they'd tried to band and it didn't work. Now, how much of what he's told me is true and/or knowledgeable is entirely questionable.
That was a perfect description of angulation. Thank you! The breeder I was going to get the lovely goats from tried to explain many things to me, but I only caught about half of it at the time. I just trusted her judgement for what I needed and felt I could because of the pedigrees and the website of the lady she got her goats from. http://www.dillsalittlegoatfarm.com/ seemed really put together and the woman I was going to buy from was a lot like me and had done a lot of research and visited many farms before she tossed her chunk of money on the table.:o)
I only got this girly so I could learn more and then if I made mistakes it only affects my heart, not my heart and my pocketbook. I'm awfully pragmatic that way. Then again, this economy will do that to you....lol.
Thank you for taking all this time with me. I really appreciate it.:o)
Angulation is hard to explain via an email, but I was referring to her hind legs and the view of her from the side. The opposite of good rear leg angulation is posty, meaning they go straight up and down when viewed from the side. If you look on this page: http://nigeriandwarfdairygoats.com/does.html you'll see the top does rear legs are angled, rather than straight up and down (like a post) from tail to hoof. The second doe on the page also shows good rear leg angulation. The third one has her feet too far back, and it really exaggerates the angulation. The last doe has legs that look more posty, but she is not set up very well, because her rear hoof should be back a little more so that it's directly under her tail. You got really good photos for candids. Your doe's hind leg should be slightly farther back, but she's not so badly set up that you can't tell that she really does lack good angulation. You are correct about her not having much room for an udder when viewed from the rear. Her escutcheon is not very wide at all. Do you know how old she is?
A goat with mastitis often has a hot, hard udder, but it would highly unlikely in a goat that never freshened. Some people might say it's impossible, but I never say anything is impossible.
Wendi Howard said:
I was also told that she had never had babies before, this makes me wonder more about one side being bigger.
I'm still trying to figure out if she's pregnant.:o) She was laying down today and I could see what looked like slow movement on her left side. Close to the size of my fist. So that says yes to me, unless there is some digestion thing that will do that? (highly unlikely, but hey, I know nothing about goats.)
Her udder was also warmer than the rest of her. Is that normal? I wouldn't call it "hot" but definitely warmer than when I pet her chest.
She seems to get along okay with the sheep. They're not bosom buddies or anything, but she's quiet out there and they don't chase her around. She IS the low man on the totem pole though. The sheepie right above her seems to like her. They don't exactly hang out but the sheep will share the same space with no issue.
Thank you for taking the time with these questions. I know how quickly helping folks out can eat up a day.:o)
Wendi
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I have a diverse homestead (goats, sheep, cows, pigs, llamas, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese), and sheep are the only animal that comes close to being a decent companion for a goat. They don't exactly speak the same language, but they're usually happy with each other, although if there is only one, she will probably be at the bottom of the pecking order. At least they won't seriously hurt each other, so you could wait and see how they get along.
As for her milk, once she freshens, try it and see what you think. We made yogurt with our sheep milk once. It was really rich! If your doe is mixed with pygmy, she should still have a pretty high butterfat like the NDs. And unless she's more than two feet high, it's unlikely that she's mixed with one of the standard goats.
Hope this helps! And hey, now that you know what kind of questions I've answered in the past, you know that nothing really surprises me anymore! :)
Deborah
I did know that they had to have babies before giving milk, and that dairy goats just give more and such.:o)
Thank you for being so kind and clear with the explanation though. I can just imagine how frustrating it must be to deal with folks who won't listen to basic facts!
I've never had goats before, but I did a lot of research back when I was looking into buying dairy goats. All of that needs to be refreshed, of course, and I've found over the years that research doesn't do me as much good as life experience.
I have her in with my sheep right now, and she seems fine.....I don't know if that will actually work for the companionship she needs though. I know where I can pick up another goat if I need to. Do you think it's okay to "wait and see"? Or should I just be planning on finding her a friend?
I already have a stupid question though.:o) Expect many, I learned a long time ago that I'd rather ask the stupid question than just stay stupid....lol.
I wanted nigerian dwarf goats before because we liked the taste of the milk. If she isn't/we can't tell if she is or isn't a nigerian then is it going to hurt anything to taste her milk if she does have babies?
Also, I've noticed that one side of her udder is larger than the other. Is that normal? Does it mean something I should know about?
Here are her pics. If they work. She doesn't look like the nigerian dwarfs I looked at before, but I couldn't tell if it was just because they were incredibly well bred and cared for and she wasn't......or if it was because she was a pygmy.
I do intend on getting lovely nigerian dwarfs for home dairy and the children to show, when we can afford it....the start up money is just not here right now. I do COMPLETELY agree with you about the registered vs unregistered long run cost. Plus, why would you want to just randomly breed? If she does wind up not being pregnant I don't think I would breed her unless I was told that she was a good looking dairy goat. I already know that she doesn't look as nice as the ones I saw before. If she even is, in fact, a dairy goat....lol.
Any thoughts would be very welcome. I know only the theories, and I've only been to two farms and a few websites.
Thank you!
I hope you're planning to get her a friend soon, because single goats don't usually do well emotionally and sometimes physically.
As for price, I originally decided to go with registered animals because it costs just as much to feed and care for registered versus unregistered, and you can sell registered babies for a lot more money, so in the long run, they cost you less money.
Check out the archives and feel free to post questions!