Nigerian Dwarf goats
- Thread starter Hereford2
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Hpacres440p
Well-known member
Unless you're into milking itty bitty teats on big dairy udders, or have show genetics, or a novelty pet market, stick with a meat breed. Any goat is about $3.50-4/lb at the sale barn up to about 80 lbs, which is about where Nigerians stop at mature (1 1/2 year) age. Pygmies are the meatier small breed. What would be your market for NDs?
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Hereford2
Well-known member
I don't know of a market lol I had someone give my uncle a pregnant doe, which shortly thereafter had triplets. He gave her to me because he didn't have a place to keep her/ didn't want her. The person who gave her to him swore they sell all of their baby goats for $300 at 3 days old and they didn't like her personality so they were giving her away..... So far I gave the rejected baby away after feeding it for 2 weeks and making sure it had clostrum. Just wondering if I should craigslist her and take what I can get, or if there's actually any money in them. I'm a cattle person, so this goat thing is a new experience.
Hpacres440p
Well-known member
Weigh her (at least compare her weight to feed bag weight), depending where you are. Oops-I hadn't checked prices in a bit-we're in a big drought here in central Texas, prices reflect that. Here are prices from last week at a big goat sale.
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Hpacres440p
Well-known member
If you have a goat yoga place anywhere nearby, you might ask them….
CowboyRam
Well-known member
For a small goat they can produce a fair amount of milk, It is not uncommon for them to have four or five babies at a time. My son raised them for 4H, and I ended up with them after the divorce. I was having problems getting rid of the babies. I got out of them in 2018, and consider myself luck to have them gone. If you want to milk goats I would go with the bigger milk goats like the Alpine. The Boer goat is a good meat goat to raise. Everybody raises them because they are so cute, and most people want the blue eyes.
Those Nigerian Dwarf goats have really cute babies.
Those Nigerian Dwarf goats have really cute babies.
Travlr
Well-known member
Dwarf goats around here are a dime a dozen. Nubians do best at the sale barn with people that like milk goats and want something to eat. Boer goats are popular for only meat. The rest have less value depending on what they are. La Mancha goats that have no ears (and very little meat) are at the bottom for value... and dwarf goats are worth less than them.
There are people that will sell cute animals for a lot of money, because there are always gullible people swallowing the line that they can make money acquiring breeding stock and selling what is produced. Of course the people selling them expensive breeding stock have an out... that the market has turned since they invested.
M.Magis
Well-known member
They make good pets if nothing else, so they seem to sell pretty easily around here.
Springfieldsimm
Well-known member
In our area I see them advertised a lot for $200+ There seems to be a pretty good market for them. I'm not sure what they are used for.
Little Joe
Well-known member
My niece and nephew have a herd of them that they milk twice a day, they'll give about 3/4 gallon a day. They sell the milk from $12-$20/ gallon. They're small, easy to handle and don't eat much. The larger nubian only gives about a gallon of milk a day so I suppose with the dwarfs eating much less, they are more profitable. And their small daughter also helps so the smaller goats are easy for her to handle.
Bestoutwest
Well-known member
I had one bite my finger. Bacteria went dormant, and then manifested about 4 weeks later. Presented as a paronychia, was treated and the ooze was cultured. Came back as MRSA strain. Long story short, it turned black-ish and took 4 rounds of medication to treat.
dave_shelby
Well-known member
My son has been milking goats for a few years now. He started with Nubians then bred with kiko for parasite resistance but is switching up to alpines for next year.
We know a few folks that raise NDs but their chief virtue seems to be fertility. I think there is less buyer interest. I do see more interest in kilos on the meat side and saanens for dairy of late.
We know a few folks that raise NDs but their chief virtue seems to be fertility. I think there is less buyer interest. I do see more interest in kilos on the meat side and saanens for dairy of late.
