# Nigerian Dwarf Temperments and other questions?



## TheSheepGirl (Feb 22, 2011)

Possibly getting a ND doe in a couple of days. Mom is getting a trio of Toggenburg crosses and the little ND is part of package deal. Since mom has fences for big goats and not little goats and I have the fencing for small sheep I get the ND doe. She is supposedly about knee hight, which is small I thought. 

How are they with fences? I have a 4 foot woven wire fence and a 4 foot wooden fence made from plywood. The plywood is the stall they sleep in at night.

Do they have the Pygmy complex? The escape artist, noisy, spaz sort of thing that some can have or are they a calm breed? My last pygmy was horrible.

How are they with Sheep? The only other goatlike animals I have are sheep. The sheep weigh about 40lbs. and are fairly calm.


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## chandasue (Feb 22, 2011)

Mine are very sweet and have never escaped (knock on wood) and I have the same fencing as you mentioned. So you'll probably be ok. I'm sure there are ones that get out and are a pain but on the whole they're very nice. They do like to be let out to romp around so maybe that thwarts their urges to escape. 

Edit: oh yeah, 19-22 inches at the withers is normal. On me that's below knee high but I'm tall...


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## ThornyRidge (Feb 22, 2011)

hard to lump all goats into one category.. I have 14 goats.. most of them are Nigies, couple of pygmy's and a mini nubian.. not one time have any of mine ever escaped.. part of the issue is well lets just say they are well fed and most are on the plump side and would probably have trouble leaping anything over 2 feet high!  seriously though my pygmy's have been the most laid back and as far as my fence goes I have the redbrand goat fence which is only 4 feet high and I don't have any electric fence with it.. now some of them are prone to standing up and putting feet on fence when they are reaching over for blackberry vines or a low hanging tree branch near the fence row.. and their weight puts some strain on fence but no escape issues..  inside my barn all my pens/stalls are 4 ft high also and made of wood planks.  as far as noise goes.. again each goat is unique.. I have a couple loud mouths (that are nigies) and then most of them are quiet.  I have one that is an absolute spaz-meaning you can't even touch her and ironically she came from the most docile/loving nigie doe and buck you can imagine!  so who knows.. try it out.. I love all my goats!  It is generally not recommended to keep sheep and goats together because goats need extra copper (usually supplemented and also found in their feed and minerals) and copper is toxic to sheep.


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## chandasue (Feb 22, 2011)

Oh yeah I meant to mention do a search on copper bolus that was on here recently. You maybe can just bolus the goat to get around the copper issue... Just a thought, no personal experience with it.


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## elevan (Feb 22, 2011)

TheSheepGirl said:
			
		

> Do they have the Pygmy complex? The escape artist, noisy, spaz sort of thing that some can have or are they a calm breed? My last pygmy was horrible.


Hey now!  My pygmies resent that remark!    Edited to add:  My pygmies are none of those things.  I have one trouble maker who wants to be bred too young but she's the exception on this farm.  

It's hard to lump any one goat breed into a specific category of personality as they all have individual personalities.  You have to spend some time with the individual doe to decide if she's gonna be a heathen or not.

Good luck to you!


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Feb 22, 2011)

My Nigies are very sweet and very quiet, except one who starts baaing about 2 hours before milking time.  I have noticed however that they become noisy if they are missing something in their diet, as if they are trying to tell me something. Oh and when my girls go into heat they baa.

Mine are all very sweet. One loves to give me kisses, forces me to scratch her if I am not and loves to chew on my skirts. Another is very skittish and always warily watches me. The others enjoy my company, but they certainly aren't lapdogs. 

Mine easily escaped from a cheap temporary fence we put up, but it was very weak and very poorly built. My husband built a nice sturdy fence out of rough sawn lumber and now they have stopped trying to escape because they know they can't/ Actually at the moment I leave their gate open all the time because they won't go anywhere but to the hay and back because of the snow and short daylight hours.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

No offense to any pygmies out there. Just going by my experience with miss Gidgit and her father, who jumped the fence accidentally and produced her. they were horrible and no height of fence could keep them in, nor could any ammount of grain and hay shut them up.

I've met other pygmies with the spaz temper ment as well, but others with a calm disposition.

I already know about the so called "copper issue". I currently have only sheep and I am feeding a mixed, whole grain feed that has no added copper. The goat will be recieving a few goat grain pellets each day to add the needed requirements of copper and other minerals. I do not suppliment any minerals since it is not generally needed with sheep that are not producing.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

Another problem is, though it may or may not be possible, that the little ND doe may have been bred by the Toggenburg buck. They were in the same pasture for who knows how long and the other two does, both Toggenburgs, are currently bred and due within the next month. 

Is it possible for her to have been bred by the toggenburg buck? I haven't seen her yet, just mom, so I have no idea if she is bred or not. If so I think that spells big trouble for a doe her size.


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## chandasue (Feb 23, 2011)

That would likely be a problem... I don't know how long you can wait but I'd seriously consider calling a vet to terminate the pregnancy.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

So it is possible?


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## ksalvagno (Feb 23, 2011)

Absolutely!

Goats, even if they pets, do need a good goat mineral. Even with a free choice very good quality goat mineral, I still have to copper bolus them and give selenium shots.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

I've never much had problems with having to give extra copper on top of just gaot feed. I try to make sure the goat grain has a fair ammount of copper in it. My fear is OD'ing them on copper, which can happen if they are given extra copper on top of a high copper grain and minerals. I feed a complete feed instead of a grain to my goats.


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## lilhill (Feb 23, 2011)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> Absolutely!
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> Goats, even if they pets, do need a good goat mineral. Even with a free choice very good quality goat mineral, I still have to copper bolus them and give selenium shots.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

What should I do if she is bred to that huge buck?

5 years of goat experience, but nothing that compares to this at all. I've seen what happens with too large a kid, but this is a new one. Mostly my kiddings have been smooth sailing. I'm probably just being paranoid, which I'm hoping so since this would be bad news. She may not be bred at all.


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## ksalvagno (Feb 23, 2011)

Give her a shot of lutalyse.


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## elevan (Feb 23, 2011)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> Give her a shot of lutalyse.


x2


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## ThornyRidge (Feb 23, 2011)

get on that pregnancy ASAP!  and no amount of grain ration will contain enough copper for the goats.. you will end up with really scruffy coats, discolored hair/pigment issues, potential health related issues and a host of other mineral deficient issues.  Goats need goat specific loose minerals!  and yes even though I grain and have a high quality goat mineral out I still have to supplement copper, selenium and on occasion zinc


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 23, 2011)

ThornyRidge said:
			
		

> get on that pregnancy ASAP!  and no amount of grain ration will contain enough copper for the goats.. you will end up with really scruffy coats, discolored hair/pigment issues, potential health related issues and a host of other mineral deficient issues.  Goats need goat specific loose minerals!  and yes even though I grain and have a high quality goat mineral out I still have to supplement copper, selenium and on occasion zinc


I agree!!!


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

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You didn't mention what this does to them. Is this to abort the pregnancy?


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## ksalvagno (Feb 23, 2011)

Yes, it will abort the pregnancy.


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 23, 2011)

The feed I am feeding is a complete feed, not a grain. It contains 5,200 IU/lb of copper. This is quite a bit when compared to a simple grain. At least the grain I feed the sheep. It states, Do Not Feed to Sheep on the label, which indicates a high copper level. 

My goats have nice shiny coats and are nice and healthy, so I should think the feed is doing it's job and is nice and complete.


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## Livinwright Farm (Feb 23, 2011)

TheSheepGirl said:
			
		

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:/ yes, it aborts their pregnancy. It isn't exactly something I am willing to do with my animals, but in some cases it is necessary. Like Pygmy does accidentally bred to LARGE breeds... if it were a Togg doe that had been bred to a pygmy male that is one thing, but odds are, the kid for the pygmy doe(*IF* she is bred) will be too large for her to pass(or potentially even carry beyond the 3rd month), resulting in her unfortunate death.  If she is bred, and you decide you do not want to abort, I will warn you it will be an expensive pregnancy. As you will need to bring her once a month to the vet to make sure she & baby are doing okay, and this will ultimately require the use of multiple ultrasounds. and more than likely will require a C-section when the kid is developed enough.

I was told I could go either way, abort or allow, with my Nigi-pyg doeling. Cali was born the beginning of this last August, and is due to kid sometime in the next 2-4 weeks. she is closer to the pygmy size, but still REALLY small. I think mostly due to the pregnancy. Her horns are half the size of her twin brother's and she is a good 2-4 inches smaller, all ways  around, than he is.  her barrel is the only thing big about her. fearing she might have twins like her dam did... hopefully no more than that.


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## Livinwright Farm (Feb 23, 2011)

TheSheepGirl said:
			
		

> The feed I am feeding is a complete feed, not a grain. It contains 5,200 IU/lb of copper. This is quite a bit when compared to a simple grain. At least the grain I feed the sheep. It states, Do Not Feed to Sheep on the label, which indicates a high copper level.
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> My goats have nice shiny coats and are nice and healthy, so I should think the feed is doing it's job and is nice and complete.


What *IS* the food you are feeding them?!?  I live in a copper deficient area, so I could really use this food you use!


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## TheSheepGirl (Feb 24, 2011)

Livinwright Farm said:
			
		

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Purina Goat Chow. I think I typed it wrong before it is 42.00 ppm of copper in the feed. They seem to like it and they stay nice and healthy.


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## Livinwright Farm (Feb 25, 2011)

TheSheepGirl said:
			
		

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Okay, I feed Purina Noble Goat.. I will have to creheck the amount it has.


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