Nigerian Dwarfs

[ArtisticFarmer]

I have *finally* decided on what breed to get - Nigerian Dwarfs. I have a couple questions for keeping the little cuties -

How high does their pen have to be? (The pen is roughly 5000 square feet. Big enough?)
How much approximately do they eat? (Hay, pelleted feed, etc.)

Thanks!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Get 4' tall woven wire.

5000 sf is a good size for 2 or 3 animals.

Sheep Girl has a formula for how much hay they need, but her's may be standard goats.

We have a dry lot, no pasture. Ours go through a round bale of coastal hay every couple of weeks. And, we don't just put it out for it to get rained and pooped on. We flake it off an put it in feeders. You're in Iowa, so alfalfa is probably cheaper there. We supplement our lactating does with alfalfa hay, but it's pretty expensive here.

Feed depends. More when they are expecting kids or lactating. Feeding isn't one size fits all.
I've got a doe who had quads and dam raised them. She still has one on her now and she's pretty thin at this point, so we feed her more.

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Thank you. I might go with 6' just to be safe. (It's just as easy as 4' for me.) Do you have an opinion at all on DuMor goat feed? I don't have many choices for grain.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Thank you. I might go with 6' just to be safe. (It's just as easy as 4' for me.) Do you have an opinion at all on DuMor goat feed? I don't have many choices for grain.

I don't have an opinion on the feed. We buy a local mix that is really made for cows. It doesn't have the "ideal" protein for goats, but we've never been accused of having "underconditioned" animals. The last time we showed, we had two that the judge said were "fleshy". A nice way of saying "too fat"

I think another term is "excess flesh"

 

[OneFineAcre]

Oh, by the way.
Buy registered animals who do not have horns.

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Thank you. I might go with 6' just to be safe. (It's just as easy as 4' for me.) Do you have an opinion at all on DuMor goat feed? I don't have many choices for grain.

I don't have an opinion on the feed. We buy a local mix that is really made for cows. It doesn't have the "ideal" protein for goats, but we've never been accused of having "underconditioned" animals. The last time we showed, we had two that the judge said were "fleshy". A nice way of saying "too fat"

I think another term is "excess flesh"

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Oh, by the way.
Buy registered animals who do not have horns.

Ok, thanks. *makes mental note.*

 

[ArtisticFarmer]

Do you think I should worm/vaccinate my goats when I first get them? Or should I ask the person I am buying them from if they are up to date?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Oh, by the way.
Buy registered animals who do not have horns.

Ok, thanks. *makes mental note.*

Oh, I do not how it is in Iowa, but here they really need to be AGS or ADGA registered.

If they are NDGA or MDGA registered without being cross registered in AGS or ADGA they might as well not be registerd.

Again, I do not know the market there/.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Do you think I should worm/vaccinate my goats when I first get them? Or should I ask the person I am buying them from if they are up to date?

I would find out if they were up to date on CD&T vaccine, and their worming history.

I would take fecals before I did any worming to find out if and what kind of worms they may have. That way you would know what type of wormer to use.