# Cost of Buying Nigerian Dwarf Goats



## Danica (Jan 2, 2015)

Hello everyone, 

I am working on convincing my family of Nigerian goats and they were curious what the cost of buying one would be. I have been reading that you can get kids and raise them yourself so I was wondering what that would cost keeping in mind that I would like these goats for milk so if that maters, I live in Pensilvania, and would like does. Another thing that I herd is you can buy does that are mature and have been bred by the breeder for you but have never given birth before. I was wondering if that was a thing as well if so what would that cost. 

Thanks,
Danica


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## Southern by choice (Jan 2, 2015)

Cost will depend on many factors.
Unregistered Purebred or Registered Purebred
Strong dairy lines, proven or not
Milk stars on dam or not or in the genetics etc

$150-$750(very high end IMO)

Some goats that are show goats with championship titles etc may not necessarily be high producing and some may. Some goats will come from stock that do DHIR testing and may have recorded proven milkers. Some stock may be unregistered with high milk output... The key is talking with breeders and hopefully they are honest.
Not all breeders do DHIR testing because a) it can be costly  B) inconvenient  or C) they are not trying to build a name or line and milk only for their family.

In all honesty many breeders guess at what their goats produce. I cannot tell you how many times we have heard "this is my best milker" oh she gives 2 qts a day or a gallon a day etc. 
Not that they are lying or purposely deceiving just they guess, they don't keep track or record. 

Some goats may produce a great deal of milk but have a short lactation cycle. Some may produce less but have a long consistent lactation cycle.

Example we sold a goat that produced 1 1/2 qts a day and it was excellent milk but she did not fit into our long term program as her lactation cycle was not great. By 5-6 months she would drastically reduce. We may have trained her udder in that sense... but point is she didn't fit.
Another goat is steady just over a quart a day... steady and long lactation but gets fat and we end up drying her off but her milk is my favorite on the farm

Another is a FF and gives 1 1/2 qts daily. Steady lactation.

Each goat mentioned is priced differently.

Figuring out how much milk you will need is important. Then you can target your search.

Never get more goat than you need! Pitching milk is awful!

Anyway this is the short version... LOL

My best milker is an unregistered Lamancha... out milks my registered goats even my most heavily starred pedigreed goat. 
She does not have a great show udder or teats yet out milks them all. Of course that doesn't mean every goat is like that. We have some goats that were bred for confirmation, not milk production... beautiful udders but not always high dairy output.

Buying a bred doe is a great option. We have done that before. BUT we are always honest in giving all history. If it is a ff then we don't know what that output will be, but we can give the output of the dam's dam and aunt etc.


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## Danica (Jan 2, 2015)

thanks a lot!!


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## Southern by choice (Jan 2, 2015)

Your welcome. I forgot to mention... if you plan on showing then you will definitely want a registered goat. You also may want to purchase from a breeder that does show so they can better mentor you. 

Unfortunately many that have unregistered goats keep no records of lineage and that can be iffy. We have registered and unregistered but we keep records of both.... most don't. 

Nigies are great as pets, and can be great little dairy goats. You will certainly enjoy the breed!


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## Danica (Jan 2, 2015)

Yes I am hoping that they will be a nice addition, I am not planning on showing but do you suggest I buy from a breeder that does register goats so they can mentor my family and I versus a not registered breeder?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 3, 2015)

Registered or not many breeders do not  mentor at all.
We have both and we mentor regardless of papers or whether a person got there goat from us. You can usually tell if a breeder is knowledgeable and is willing to be there in the long term or not.
Taking some general goat care classes through a county extension service when they have them available is helpful as well as connecting with others that have goats. Reading, researching for yourself is very valuable.

There is more than one feeding program, more than one management style, and more diverse opinions on all things goat than you probably wish there were! LOL

Looking for tested herds is very important. Ask for the documentation too! At the very least CAE.
We choose to do CAE, CL and Johnnes.
Some test for TB and Brucellosis  especially if drinking raw milk...


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## jodief100 (Jan 3, 2015)

We don't do milk goats, we do meat goats but Southern is right.  Determine what you need, ask lots of questions and find what is right for you.  Try to find people who keep records.  Buy from a breeder who is willing to talk to you and answer all your questions.  Good goats from from good people.  Find someone who raises them with the same management you want to work with.  Goats raised under one management system may not do well under another.  

You need at least two.  Goats stress without a goat buddy to keep them company.  Keep in mind at some point you will need to get them bred.  Some breeders will let you bring them back for breeding, others will not.


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## Danica (Jan 3, 2015)

Thank you this is important to know before I chose who to buy from these are similar tips to buying a horse, something I am much more familiar with!


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## Hemlock (Jan 21, 2016)

$150-$750 is a huge price range. What would you expect to pay for a just weaned doeling? Prices I've seen in my area are about $400-$550. That seems so expensive to me for an unproven ND. Then again, I know barely anything about goats right now. Also, would you recommend registered kids if you were getting your first goats? I'm assuming that would make it easier to sell their future offspring.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 21, 2016)

Hemlock said:


> $150-$750 is a huge price range. What would you expect to pay for a just weaned doeling? Prices I've seen in my area are about $400-$550. That seems so expensive to me for an unproven ND. Then again, I know barely anything about goats right now. Also, would you recommend registered kids if you were getting your first goats? I'm assuming that would make it easier to sell their future offspring.



Welcome to BYH! @Hemlock 

The first thing really is what are your needs? Pets? Milk? Both? Show? 

We are a little different than most... we have Registered and unregistered as you have seen in the above posts. Our unregistered goats we treat no different- always improving, expecting great production, all tested, and in a nutshell quality goats. They may be unregistered for a variety of reasons. 

An unregistered as well as a registered goat doesn't mean "junk" doesn't meann "great" there are many things to look at.

We have no problems selling our unregistered goats but again they are quality goats. Some that don't meet our standards are sold as "pets" meaning they may be able to produce a large volume of milk but had poor length of duration.... many factors. A good breeder can give detail about their goats. Sire, dam, milk production etc.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jan 21, 2016)

Actually, my registered stock sometimes moves slower than my non registered.  People like the lower cost and while it may not always be the case, my nonregistered pets have done very well at local fairs and milk very well.  

Lots of folks will sell animals that could be registered for a fee or nonregistered, so it alone doesn't mean the animal is or is not a good one.

As SBC said, it depends on what you want to do.  We can't show nonreg in the big shows, and in the local fair, they are shown as grade.  It is a lot of fun and no paperwork needed!  And either way, we breed for improvement.

For a just born, bottle fed, registered doe around here---I would expect to get $300-$500, depending on which doe and which sire.  If I was keeping them fed until weaning, a bit more would be charged.  

For a just born, bottle fed, nonregistered doe--I sell for about $150 and again, more if keeping through weaning.


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## Hemlock (Jan 21, 2016)

Thank you @Southern by choice & @Pearce Pastures!

I only want them for milk, but I think they'll be similar to pets. I don't plan to supplement my income by selling kids; just want to cover my food & supplies costs. So if non-registered kids will still sell, just at a lower price, that's ok.


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## Latestarter (Jan 21, 2016)

Greetings @Hemlock  and welcome to BYH. If you want milk, you'll need to get the does pregnant, so they will have kids. Unless you want your herd to continually grow, you'll eventually have to sell some kids, or raise them and eat them, or I suppose you could GIVE them away, in which case just give me a call .  

If you do sell the kids produced and it makes you enough money to cover some of the costs of ownership, I'd say that's a fair trade off.

There's all kinds of info on the goat forum threads. If you can spare some time, you should go peruse . The goat folks on here are great and if you have a question, someone will jump in to help you out. So, get comfy, and glad to have you here!


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## ragdollcatlady (Jan 21, 2016)

In my area, California, the prices for non registered kids would generally not cover the cost for feed. However, selling registered kids comes close. You can always lower a price on a registered goat, but you can't ask for more for unregistered.... Not when there are lots of options for buyers (a ton of breeders and nice quality goats available year round). The market will only bear what it will. Try to see what goats are going for in your area for the type (registered or not) that you yourself are wanting..... That might be the amount you can get. Some people seem to think that all their animals are worth a lot more than the average market prices and they always seem to have difficulty selling some. But there are some breeders that easily get more than double the average, proving the worth of their animals by showing, milk testing, etc. Keep in mind too, that in different years the demand may be different, affecting sale prices and how fast they sell. Good luck!


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## Hemlock (Jan 22, 2016)

ragdollcatlady said:


> In my area, California, the prices for non registered kids would generally not cover the cost for feed. However, selling registered kids comes close. You can always lower a price on a registered goat, but you can't ask for more for unregistered...



That's a great point.

Would you pay $400-$550 for each registered doeling if show quality wasn't important to you?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 22, 2016)

Hemlock said:


> That's a great point.
> 
> Would you pay $400-$550 for each registered doeling if show quality wasn't important to you?



I wouldn't!

The posters bring up a good point... KNOW your region.
There are a bajillion goats in NC... of every quality.

Also, understand a "show" goat with rosettes is only one factor. Showing is subjective.
A great win and a certain farm takes the show/s and suddenly all those goats and offspring's prices go through the roof... but remember showing is not the "end all" so to speak.

DHIR testing is a program where only  REGISTERED goats may take part in... this shows production value. There are milk stars awarded to those that reach a certain production level. Some get a one day star, but what you are really looking for is those that are one the program and the goats star comes from 10 month lactation with so many # of milk produced as well as other factors.

Then there is Linear Appraisal. Those are less subjective and based on mathematical calculations.

Example this is my does parents-
"Mariah"

"Candlelight JRMY Mariah"~

ADGA registered
DOB- 2/26/2013
S: Dalton's Way TM Jeromy *B     (LA 87 2011) 
D: Candlelight NK Madonna SG 3*M

Linear Appraisals
2012- (2yrs) 89
2013- (3yrs) 91
2014- (4yrs) 91

The breeder of this doe no longer shows and now has a different farm name... but years ago when she was activiley showing her stock is now some of the foundation of all the "high end show gaots" in our region.... she still breeds, does DHIR, and Linear Appraisals just keeps a small number of goats now.

Those * and # and letters all mean something ( too much to go into here)
The Linear Appraisals also tell you about the parents.

Now keep in mind- these goats are not shown - so NOT show goats...

Keep in mind that most people owning goats do not show, do not do DHIR , do not do Linear Appraisals. Most have 2-4 goats and why would they?

DHIR is a huge commitment, LA are costly and scheduled by someone else at a time of year you have no say over.

Also keep in mind a "name" sells for more money... so you buy a big "name" goat but you are nobody... you can't sell that offspring for the same prices without having something to back it up with. Yet you benefit from that goats genetics. 

*Showing and earning titles IS an accomplishment, just as DHIR, and LA scores.* You just have to keep in mind those that are generally doing these things are not those that bought a few goats from great stock bred for milk and now are selling goats. I have several dwarfs that have great pedigrees but the lady I bought them from is a no name... but the goats are something ... I also know the production of the dam and the sires offspring I have seen for years... she is a "no namer". Unless she shows, does DHIR or LA and builds her herd she will remain a no namer all the while she has beautiful goats! 

We have been wanting to DHIR for 2 years but for various reasons, health, time, other responsibilities... it has not been feasible. I am a "germaphobe" ( to use a fellow herdies term) so have never wanted to show... for bio-security reasons. Although that may change in the future. 

Some that show are NOT breeding for milk production, but perfect confirmation only.

Hope this brings a little more insight. Not sure your region but those prices would be high for some regions. 

There are also breeders that may have a really nice quality goat but may not make it in the show ring... yet may be a great producer... those breeders are not going to continue the goat in their line and will sell the goat tell you why and what reason it is being eliminated etc.

There are many great breeders out there, there are many arrogant breeders out there, there are many bad breeders out there. Take your time... I can tell you one thing... regardless of whether the goat ends up a dud or a superstar you will LOVE your goats!


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## OneFineAcre (Jan 22, 2016)

Hemlock said:


> That's a great point.
> 
> Would you pay $400-$550 for each registered doeling if show quality wasn't important to you?



I have all registered Nigerians.  We show ours.  We have one finished grand champion and several goats that have won at least one grand championship.
We did linear appraisal last year and are going to do DHIR this year.

My answer is no, you shouldn't pay $400-$550 for a registered doeling.

My finished champion is the only one who's kids would get that kind of price.  My others would be $300.


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## chiques chicks (Jan 22, 2016)

Hi and late welcome from somewhere in PA!

Prices, as mentioned, can be all over the map here in Pennsylvania. Registered, unregistered, quality, etc.

I picked up two buck kids for $150 each, both unregistered. They were new born when I bought them, the person I bought them from bottle raised them and weaned and disbuded. I got them at 10 weeks. I had paid for them when they were 1 week old, non refundable if I changed my mind to protect the seller (I did that on my own).
 I know people who sell registered kids from good lines in the $300-$400 range. Bucks tend to be cheaper, although that depends on quality.


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