Two New Goats and New to Goats

Hello from Alberta, Canada!

We got our first goats about a month ago, two Nigerian Dwarfs. Pebbles is a four year old doe and Blizzard is her 4.5 month old doeling. Having them is proving to be quite the learning experience!

My husband and I live on a small farm near Calgary. We have two (human) kids (5 and 8) and a third due any day now. The goats are our family's first and only animals so far, but we are just establishing our homestead and starting to pursue self-sufficiency. I am a grower for a local organic vegetable cooperative.

So far, I haven't been able to get much milk from Pebbles. The previous owners had left the kids on, but had not milked this season since they were born. They said that when they milked her last year, they got about half a liter (2 cups) from one milking a day with the kids on. I have been separating my two at night and have only been getting about half a cup in the morning. I was hoping I could increase her milk supply to get a lot more, but so far have not had much luck.

I've discovered a couple of problems along the way. Pebbles has four teats. One source I was recently reading claimed that this makes her "useless as a milk goat". Her udder and teats are small. She jumps and kicks a lot on the milk stand, which may be due to my inexperience, but it is awfully frustrating. We've had many days where she's managed to spill the entire half cup! :/

I can't seem to find a Nigerian Dwarf buck locally to breed her to, and I'm not set up to get my own buck at this time because I only have one pen, and Blizzard is too young to breed this year. But her udder structure and milk production make me wonder if I want to continue using her as my milk goat. Blizzard has only two teats, but I won't be able to breed her until next year. I am thinking about getting a bred doe, perhaps a full size who would be easier to find a buck for in my area.

But these little goats are real sweeties and very cute. We all like having them around. I just hope that we can work out some of these obstacles so that they can still be useful to us. I'm really glad to have found this forum, and I've already learned a lot just by reading other people's posts.

Looking forward to this goating adventure!

Hi Shay! If she is 4 1/2 months into her milking, plus being moved, and having an (I imagine?) inexperienced milker you may not be doing too badly on milk. If they were not milking her when you got her then she may not have needed to produce much milk, which means you won't really know what she can do until you breed her yourself. I milked pygmys with 4 teats for a year, and it was not a problem, they didn't interfere, and I sold the kids as pets or brush goats. All animals are different, so teat size isn't just the breed. I had an alpine with teats as small as my smallest nigi teats, and I have nigi teats in the herd that fill my palm and more! If you get another doe in milk, try to milk her before buying, and taste the milk. It will help you know for sure she is right for you, no matter the breed. I will say, with a large goat you HAVE to get one that has been handled a lot and is friendly. If not it is very hard to make a full-grown goat do what she doesn't want to lol! A nigi can be picked up and PUT where you want her :-) I always go back to nigerians, love them, but I got really selective on teat size and production ability real fast :-) I hope you find the perfect fit for your family!

Replies

Jordana Heath October 26, 2011 at 8:00am

Hi Shay! If she is 4 1/2 months into her milking, plus being moved, and having an (I imagine?) inexperienced milker you may not be doing too badly on milk. If they were not milking her when you got her then she may not have needed to produce much milk, which means you won't really know what she can do until you breed her yourself. I milked pygmys with 4 teats for a year, and it was not a problem, they didn't interfere, and I sold the kids as pets or brush goats. All animals are different, so teat size isn't just the breed. I had an alpine with teats as small as my smallest nigi teats, and I have nigi teats in the herd that fill my palm and more! If you get another doe in milk, try to milk her before buying, and taste the milk. It will help you know for sure she is right for you, no matter the breed. I will say, with a large goat you HAVE to get one that has been handled a lot and is friendly. If not it is very hard to make a full-grown goat do what she doesn't want to lol! A nigi can be picked up and PUT where you want her :-) I always go back to nigerians, love them, but I got really selective on teat size and production ability real fast :-) I hope you find the perfect fit for your family!
Deborah Niemann-Boehle October 17, 2011 at 8:56pm

When I had doelings born with extra teats, I sold them without papers. Although your goat isn't technically worthless -- she will produce milk -- she has a serious problem with her mammary system.

Welcome to the group!
Janel Rickey October 16, 2011 at 7:51pm

Welcome to the group! I hope you learn lots... I know I have...
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres October 16, 2011 at 2:03am

Here's what I understand about teat deformity. Having extra teats is a problem when breeding (as in you should not breed your doe with the teat disorder because you will pass on that gene) however, I have also read that unless the extra teats are in the way, they do not always cause milking issues. I personally have never dealt with this issue, but IF I had a doe with extra teats, and she was a decent milker for my personal uses, I might continue to breed her, but butcher her kids. I would not sell offspring from a doe with those issues. Which, if you're not willing/able to butcher might mean that she's "useless" as a milking doe. Just my thoughts on how this situation might be possible in any shape or form... I think the reason most people would say she's not useful is because you have to breed to get milk, and selling offspring from a doe you know to have bad genes would be negligent from a breeder's standpoint.

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