Help with deciding which goats to trade for............

[lil'turkeyma]

I know you all have probably seen the pics of my bottle baby girl,Squirt.Well,I'm trying to find one or two more goats to hang out with her,later on as she gets older.Anyway I have 14 turkeys and decided I would trade turkeys for goats.I ran a CL ad last night and have gotten two offers today.I offered a trio of turkeys(2 hens,1 tom) for young female goat.The first lady that called has a pygmy doe with a 3 week old doeling,both are hornless and full-blooded.The next call a fellow has 2 reg. nubians,un-related male and female,about one year old.I really love the nubians and thats what I would like to have.He said the doe had been disbudded but the male hadn't and would need to be to be registered.Is that true?I guess it would have to be banded since it is a year old.I really love the tiny little pymgys,too,but long term I beleive the nubians would be better.I would like to have a doe to milk and raise little ones to sell and probably keep some too. My DH said he didn't like the pygmys.He has got a say in it too,since he'll be helping with them and its always easier to help with something you like.I just wanted to get some more ideas and opinions before I make my final choice.Thanks so much for taking the time to offer help if you can.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

If you plan to milk and especially if your husband plans to milk, I think you may want to go with the Nubians. The teet size on a Nubian is much larger than a Pygmy. That is why i went with Nubians.

So you are trading a trio of turkeys and you are getting a couple of goats in exchange. Around here a Nubian doe goes for $250 easy. Is your trio of turkeys workth $250? What breed are they and can we see pictures?

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

I'd say go with the nubians. They seem to make more sense for you guys. Sounds like they have more 'pro's' than 'cons' for your situation.

If you are wanting a doe for milk, why would you band the male? Dont you need him to breed the doe to get the milk and babies?

I can see the horns being an issue though.


My best and biggest piece of advice to you would be to WAIT. Wait and see what other offers you get! Your ad is still basically new, LOTS of people are kidding right now, lots of herd re-organising going on. I would really suggest you wait- nothing stinks like jumping at the first few offers, then, 2 weeks later, getting an offer that is EXACTLY what you wanted in the first place.

Give it some time and maybe respond to the offers with a polite email saying you are somewhat interested, but are checking out all your options and responses, and will get back to them soon. And really do that- get back to them I mean. We ALL hate Craigslist flakes, so its always best to respond either way, IMO.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with! Pics are always nice

 

[bnbfarm]

i would go with the nubians . from my expereance they are more friendly than other breeds of goats . my nubians and everyone else that i know that has reg. nubians do not have to disbud them because fullblooded nubians are always born with out horns

 

[crazyland]

The Nubians for sure are the better deal.

I am sure she means to band the horns.
Nubians do have horns at birth unless they are polled.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

i would go with the nubians . from my expereance they are more friendly than other breeds of goats . my nubians and everyone else that i know that has reg. nubians do not have to disbud them because fullblooded nubians are always born with out horns

Not exactly true. There are polled (hornless) genetic in Nubians but they are not a hornless breed.

 

[daisychick]

If it were me, I would wait and try to find a goat the same age and size as Squirt. I think the little one would benefit from companionship now and could grow up with a friend. If you get the pygmy and her baby, she isn't going to be very friendly with your bottle baby because she is going to be protective of her kid. If you get the nubians you will have to wait until your bottle baby is almost full grown to enjoy companionship from them because they are already a year old. If you could find a nubian or other dairy breed baby around a couple months old I think you would be happier because they can be together a lot sooner than if you try to integrate a baby with one or more adult goats.

 

[lil'turkeyma]

Thanks,everyone.I am leaning towards the nubians.I know they are too old to be Squirts' buddy right now but I can still get a baby for her when I find one.I did get pictures from the fellow awhile ago and I will try to get them posted soon.I just am thinking this is too good a deal to pass on.I will be trading probably 8-10 turkeys,mostly hens.But like someone else said a registered nubain doe is probably worth more than the turkeys anyway.I am trying to not rush into the first offers I get.But I really wanted registered stock and if I have to buy with cash I can't afford it.This fellow says he doesn't really care for goats,just got them because it was a good deal at the time and he had rather add to his turkey flocks anyway.He is sending me pictures of the reg. papers so I can check out the lineage before I decide.With these 2 goats being un-related I can breed them and any other does I might add to get either full nubians or crosses.And I was thinking since they've been together theres' a chance shes bred already.I reckon I'm gonna have to step way back and quit looking with my heart and use my head.....if I can.I'm just so excited. Oh,I was talking about banding the bucks horns.From what the fellow told me the buck is from good lines,too.I'll post pics soon.Thanks again,you folks are the Greatest!!!!!

 

[DKRabbitry]

Oh wow! That is exciting! If they are registed with the AGDA, you just need thier full name or number to find their pedigree. adgagenetics.org is where you can search for any ADGA registered goats. I absolutely ADORE that website and use it all the time.

On the Buck's Horns... you don't HAVE to remove them to have him registered from what I understand. He just won't be able to be shown and resale will be harder. There is another dairy goat registry that I was looking at that is much less popular, the International Dairy Goat Registry, that doesn't give two cents if your goat is horned and actually is pro-horns.

 

[Teeah3612]

This is just my personal experience, but I was given a 2 1/2 year old Pygmy buck and he and my 5 month old Fainter/NG buck, Peanut, are getting along just fine. They both have horns, but neither is agressive with them. They do like to head butt each other, but it is playful. If you and your DH like the Nubians go for it.