I can't choose just one breed!!! So much for my plans.

[jessica_1285]

Well after moving to the farm we decided to get some goats for pets and breeding. We chose myotonics and bought a buckling and a doeling to get started. Then went to a sale and came home with a mix...and yet another sale resulted in me coming home with a pygmy doe! I like variety to much to stick with just one breed I'm sure there will be more weak moments to come.
what is your opinion on mixed breed goats??? Is there interest in them or should I just not breed?

 

[Mamaboid]

Well after moving to the farm we decided to get some goats for pets and breeding. We chose myotonics and bought a buckling and a doeling to get started. Then went to a sale and came home with a mix...and yet another sale resulted in me coming home with a pygmy doe! I like variety to much to stick with just one breed I'm sure there will be more weak moments to come.
what is your opinion on mixed breed goats??? Is there interest in them or should I just not breed?

My first two goats were a nubian/kiko cross doe, and a full blooded Myotonic Buck. They were bought for brush control and pets. Then we acquired a mixed up little cross that has about 200 breeds in her background...bought her cause I like her color. Then somebody gave us a pure bred Nubian doe. After being around them and reading up on the different breeds, we decided we wanted to kind of concentrate on the Fainters, so we bought a buck and a bred doe, who gave us 3 purebred kids that we are keeping. So we are going in both directions at one time. All of our bucks (3) are Fainters. We plan to register and sell most of the kids from the pure breed doe, and keep the best does for building our herd. We are breeding our mixed does and will decide on a one on one basis what we will do with the kids, and the options are sell, wether, butcher, or keep to breed and/or milk. I love the variety and options this plan opens up, and I think you will too. It makes kidding time exciting, because you never know just what you might get. It's like Christmas morning. I am also having fun deciding which doe will be bred to which buck and seeing what colors and combinations I can come up with.

 

[jessica_1285]

I guess that is pretty much what we will be doing! Thanks for your reply

 

[Mamaboid]

Where in PA is Fredonia? We are in the Northeast corner right between Williamsport and WilkeBarre. If we are close, I will be breeding my Fainters again in the fall and should have babies next spring to sell, so we should keep in touch. There are not too many of us in PA that I have found.

 

[jessica_1285]

I'm in Nw pa. And yes there aren't many breeders here which is a big reason why we chose fainters! They really are great goats! We should def. keep in touch

 

[sawfish99]

My personal opinion on mixed goats is they are fine, with a purpose. I don't agree with just random breeding of any two goats just to have kids. I do agree with Boer/Kiko cross for meat, Togg/Ober cross for dairy, etc. I see a lot of people trying to sell mixed breed bucks and wonder why they are bucks instead of wethers. What does that buck have to offer as a herd sire?

I'm not a fan of all the mini-mancha, mini-ober attempts, but that is just because I don't see the point.

I think you have to decide if you plan to continue trying to breed all the mixed goats or just acquire mixed goats, but not breed them.

On our farm, we have decided to go with Oberhasli and Lamanchas. The lines will be kept separate. I do have a 75% Ober 25% Togg doe who is a very big milk producer. I would consider some Togg/Ober cross in the future. But I would never consider an intentional Angora/Togg cross or Boer/Pygmy cross.

 

[SarahFair]

There is always a market for goats because they are so duel purpose. Milk, meat, help clearing land, pets, etc
I havent had one problem selling a oddly mixed goats.

People like me dont really care about breeds. I like to look out in my backyard and see color.
Personally, I dont want to spend $300 on a goat.. So I, like many others, are fine spending $50-$100 on a mix.

 

[ksalvagno]

It really depends on your area. See what sells. Go to the county fairs and see what is there. In my area, showing is big. So full blood registered goats are what sells. I have one Alpine/Nubian mix doe that is my long term milker (milks for 2+ years) and is not registered. It is harder for me to sell her kids than my registered Nigerian Dwarfs. Plus I get a lot more money for my registered goats than non-registered goats. But they all have a purpose and I love my little Alpine/Nubian/Nigerian kids that I get from my mix doe. Her kids do eventually sell because home milkers want a goat that will milk for a long time.

 

[SDBoerGoats]

I guess it's what ever a person wants to do. I will cross Nubian/Boer, and Kiko/Boer but that's about it for me, simply because the other mixed breed goats don't go for much money around here. The meat goats are big, and most are registered. There is a market for fair wethers for the 4H kids for a good price. The Dairy goats go good around here also, lots of people milk. But they aren't cheap either. I asked about a milking doe (LaMancha) the other day and the lady told me $350. I see mixed breed goats for $50.
But I think it's whatever market you want to target, do what works for you!