Suggested small goat breed Long Island?

[RealAmerican13]

I will be moving to Suffolk county in the coming weeks, looking to get a pair of small breed goats, possibly Nigerian or Pygmy. I have a half acre of property and have never had goats before. Any reccomendations for a first timer? Primarily looking for them as pets, quality milk would be a plus but not necessary.

 

[Southern by choice]

Welcome to BYH!

Pygmy's are generally meat goats. Although they make great milk, they don't make much of it.
The Nigerian Dwarf is an actual Dairy Breed.
You also have Miniatures. Miniature's come in many breeds... Mini- manchas, mini nubians, mini alpines... the list goes on.

We have ND's and Mini's as well as standards... ND's will be the smallest, you will also find alot of pet quality goats.
For milk you would want a higher end nigie* or a mini. Mini's are a few inches taller weigh more but give considerable milk.

There are many considered "pet" quality as they may be purebred but no registration- yet be great milkers. Others are pet quality because they don't meet the breed standard, or don't have a great udder or do not produce they way a breeder wants.

Personality wise... little goats sure are cute as babies but they do mature... having all 3 sizes and many breeds of goats our Nigerians (over time) are the "least" in personality.
We will always have Nigies, they are good little goats but as they mature they get less people interested and more herd interested.

Now a Nigie buck or wether is LOVELY! It's the does that develop this attitude. Not cutting the breed down just being honest.

Having said that...
I would look at the Nigies for your small set up, they will be easier on the land. They also do well in a "dry lot" environment. Depending on how much milk you want will direct your path to where you get your goats. Many great breeders in your neck of the woods. I would recommend getting bottle fed babies. Less of that herd mentality and more human bond mentality. Even well socialized dam raised kids over time are more herd like. We do both, dam and bottle fed, have a big family and the goats get more attention than most because of our circumstances... even though all are friendly we see long term differences.

Not sure about pygmy's but Nigerians are year round breeders which is a great benefit. You can plan your kiddings easier and always have one in milk.
Forgot to mention- many do cross the Pygmy /Nigerian and it is a great cross!

If you are looking for high production dairy but small package than a miniature is best. Their butterfat will not be quite as high but still significant because of the breeding with the dwarf.

Miniatures are registerable through several registries. We use the MDGA. Foundation stock being registered through ADGA or AGS.

 

[OneFineAcre]

My family has bred Nigerians going into our 7th year now
We love them
Sweet and gentle and produce excellent milk

 

[Mini Horses]

I have full sized and mini Nubians. The minis are about 60-70% the size and produce great milk. Also have full sized Sannen & kids from a mini Nubian buck. With space limitations the minis are a nice choice. Mine give ample milk. I find both my breeds to be very friendly & easy to train.

As a milker, I prefer the taller minis rather than pygmys. Easier to get under there and such. So keep that in mind when you are looking -- also, those little ones have little teats to get hold of some type of milk equipment will help -- many are just hand held and operated. Lots of choices.

It would be really nice if you could find someone with a good doe that is either in milk or has been. Will make the experience more pleasant for a newbee to goats & milking. Just a thought.

Plus -- how much milk do you want/need? My big ones give me more than 1-1.5 gal per day each. Min-nubs more like 3/4 gal. Fresh milk, cream, butter, yogurt, extra for cats, dog, chickens, pigs.....Yep, come Jan it starts up again.

Did you know that more goat milk is drank in the World than cow's milk? Good stuff. I use mine raw.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings from the front range in Colorado ! Hope your move goes smoothly, and you get the exact goats you want! Since you've never had goats before, I hope you'll come back here for visits. There are a lot of great folks here with all kinds of experience who will gladly help you when/if you need it. There's lots of great info already posted as well, so get comfy and enjoy Nobody mentioned yet, but we all feed on pictures... the more the better So if/when you can, would love to see your goats when you get them! Welcome once again and Merry Christmas.

 

[goatgurl]

welcome from Arklahoma. as you may tell we all have opinions on which goat is best. i personally have full sized lamanchas for milk but i have a much larger property. i would vote for Nigerian dwarfs or possibly a mini. they would be much more suited to your setup. good luck with which ever you choose. but no one has warned you that goats are a lot like potato chips, you can't just have one or two. they are so much fun that they are pretty addicting.