We recently moved out in to the country and have dreams of milking goats and making goat cheese, butter, ice cream, soap...
The place we have came with two male pygmy goats...obviously not getting any milk out of those guys ;) but I'm curious about what will happen if we add Nigerian Dwarf Does to the herd? Would their offspring still make good milk or would it be better to find new homes for the pygmies and only have Nigernians?
We have just one pasture with no way to separate the two kinds of goats...
Also, how long after kidding does a doe produce milk? What impacts the taste of that milk (obviously feed, but..any special kind of feed we should get? Water? Right now the goats only drink from a pond...)
Thanks so much for helping!
Candace
Replies
That makes sense about the water; I only want fresh, clean water to drink, too :)
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
http://www.americangoatsociety.com/online/member_websites.php
http://www.andda.org/breeders.html
I would definitely get rid of the pygmies, because they're not raised for milk production, so their daughters would probably make less milk than their mothers. You would be breeding down, which is the opposite of what you want to do. You want daughters that will be better than the parents.
You should get loose goat minerals. A salt block is not really necessary, especially if you have the loose minerals and baking soda. The baking soda just helps keep the ph in their rumen balanced, so they don't get bloat, as Adrienne said. You want loose minerals, because goats have a soft tongue, so they don't usually get enough off of a block unless it's a poured block in a tub, which has molasses in it.
How long does a goat produce milk? This is where genetics comes into play. A pygmy might produce milk for six months. A well-bred Nigerian can produce milk for a year or longer. I have one right now who is still making a quart a day after a year.
Milkers should always have access to fresh, clean water. They won't drink as much if it's not a clean bucket, and if they don't drink water, they don't make much milk. We've learned that we need to keep two or three buckets in with our milkers overnight, because if one of them poops in a bucket, they won't drink it. I've also found that even if a bucket of water looks clean, they won't drink much unless I give them fresh water every day. It's amazing how picky they can be about their water!
"Personal Milkers" is a great book, and the author is also the publisher of Ruminations magazine, which has a group on here. It always has good articles in it. It's the only magazine devoted to Nigerians. There is a lot of great info in our forum archives, so check it out.
Adrienne said:
Candace Baltz-Smylie said:
Candace Baltz-Smylie said:
Jane Wagman said:
If you find a breeder near you that is willing to do buck service (more likely if you buy your does from them) then you won't even need a buck to start with. Although in my experience, if you have the room you will eventually want a couple of your own. (Just as cheap to feed two bucks as it is a buck and a wether and it gives you more breeding options.)
"Personal Milkers" is a really good book on Nigerians and the only one that I know of that is specifically about Niggies. It covers pretty much everything you need to know to buy and care for them.
Learning so much! :) thanks!!
Candace
Adrienne said:
Jan said:
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