dumb ?'s

[laughing man]

does the doe need to give birth to give milk?
how much space does a pygmy need in sq feet?
best min. number is 2, right?


first time!!! yaaaahhh

 

[20kidsonhill]

yes, a goat needs to give birth to milk

Don't know about space for pygmy, not a whole lot, if you are going to feed them purchased feed year round.

Yes, having atleast 2 to keep each other company is adviced, since they are herd animals.

 

[savingdogs]

Pygmys don't need a lot of space but they do need good fencing. The smaller the space you fence them in, the more likely that you will need to purchase more hay and such to keep them. It is hard to say how much they will need to be fed without knowing how much natural forage you have to offer in the space. So how much space you need for them kind of depends on how much hay you want to buy. You will probably have to buy hay through the winter. If you breed them to get milk, then you need to feed them more during that time, a significant amount more. Goats like to eat weeds and such, not so much grass, but you don't really want them eating weeds while lactating because some of them make the milk taste off. A pygmy is pretty small to milk so I hope someone in your family has small hands. My goats are mini-nubians, much larger,and my husband cannot milk them as his hands are just too big.

I'm not a goat expert but I hope my small experience is helpful to you.

 

[elevan]

does the doe need to give birth to give milk?
how much space does a pygmy need in sq feet?
best min. number is 2, right?


first time!!! yaaaahhh

Congratulations!!

Yes, the doe needs to give birth to give milk.

sq feet - pygmies can easily be housed in a large large house, calf hutch or other small shelter. forage space depends on what you have available. good fencing is a must and make sure that there are no gaps for them to squeeze through.

You definitely want at least 2 goats. Note that bucks do not make good pets.

 

[freemotion]

If you want small goats and milk, you probably want to look at the Nigerians...they are the dairy goats of small goats. Pygmies are the meat goats of small goats. Their bellies practically hit the ground! Kegs on legs!

 

[laughing man]

thank you, so i should look in to nigians than!
thank you
thank you

 

[elevan]

thank you, so i should look in to nigians than!
thank you
thank you

If your primary purpose is milk, then yes look into Nigerian Dwarfs.

Pygmies can give you milk but not as much and your job will be harder (but I'm a big advocate of milking pygmies myself)

 

[julieq]

We keep our entire ND herd in our vintage dairy barn, which is about 36 x 72 and includes a feed room and cement floor milking area. Not sure how much that works out to, but they don't need much room. We use cattle panels with field fencing attached (good ole zippy ties) for dividers. The stalls have rubber mats and we bed with pine shavings and our ND's seem very happy!

 

[TigerLilly]

I currently have 7 goats with 1 on the way. 5 pygmies, 1 ND, 1 pygerian. The one on the way will also be a pygerian. I am on almost 2 acres, completely fenced. They have a fenced in part of the back yard area for containment purposes & this is where their shelter is. I have a 10 x 6 dog kennel that the zebus use, as well as numerous dog crates for the goats. Where do they sleep? On the littly tykes play thing, on the picnic table or under a tarp shelter area! Unless it's raining, the goats stay out in the open by choice.