# What is he?!?



## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

I have a male goat that I have no clue what breed he may be mixed with - was wondering if anyone could help me guess.  He is was born on 8/5/2014 and his dam was a pygmy mix, no clue on the sire as she was bred when they purchased and were not sure.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 4, 2014)

Most likely some Nigerian Dwarf in there.  White with Gold is a common color pattern.  Head is shaped like one and the face looks that way too.


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

His dam may have also been a ND - I'm not "educated" on smaller breed goats.  I was just going by word of mouth from who I purchased him from.  Dam was about knee height w/ a dark brown color coat.  Solid brown no other color.


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## Pearce Pastures (Nov 4, 2014)

Could be a Pygmy/ Nigerian cross but as he gets bigger, and his adults shape and size become more apparent, you might be able to better make a guess.  Does look NDish.


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

Are ND's a milk, meat, or pet type of goat?  I'm keeping him regardless.  He's my puppy not my goat lol


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## Pearce Pastures (Nov 4, 2014)

NDs are a true dairy goat, giving lots of milk for their size and with a higher butterfat than any other breed.  Pygmy goats are a meat breed, though they can be used for dairy.


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

I will also be posting a picture of another goat I acquired - was told is purebred Alpine (not registered).  Maybe you guys can help with her also


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

Here is my "Alpine" doe - approximately 2 1/2 years old.  Was told purebred Alpine.  Is that so?


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 4, 2014)

Tiffany L said:


> Here is my "Alpine" doe - approximately 2 1/2 years old.  Was told purebred Alpine.  Is that so?



I don't think so.

How tall is she?

Hard to tell for sure in the picture, but she appears awfully small for an adult purebred alpine.

Especially the way she is looking up to you in that picture.

Not a color I've eve seen either.

The goat on the far left in this picture is an alpine.


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

I will go home and measure her tonight.  I wanna say her back is just about knee height - I am 5'3".


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## Tiffany L (Nov 4, 2014)

I just measured her. She's about 23" from ground to shoulders.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 4, 2014)

That would be small for a pure alpine
That's just barely over the height standard maximum for Nigeriam 22  1/2
She definitely has alpine markings though but I don't recall ever seeing any brown on one
You should go to ADGA website and you should find more on the breed atandards


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## babsbag (Nov 4, 2014)

Her color is fine for an Alpine, but she is a little small. They are about 30" at the shoulders. Alpines can come in ANY color but Togg colors. They come broken, pied, solid, chamoisee, and everything in between. I think the only color I haven't seen is solid white.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 5, 2014)

babsbag said:


> Her color is fine for an Alpine, but she is a little small. They are about 30" at the shoulders. Alpines can come in ANY color but Togg colors. They come broken, pied, solid, chamoisee, and everything in between. I think the only color I haven't seen is solid white.



I just went to ADGA website, and you are correct, they can have brown.  I've just never seen it myself.  Most likely because I'm only looking at the animals of a handful of breeders.

There are a lot of images though of brown ones. 

I think I like the solid black ones the best, but I've got a solid black Nigerian and she's my favorite.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...lpine+dairy+goat+colors&FORM=IGRE&adlt=strict

I think she is more than just a little small though if only 23".  I've got a Nigerian almost that tall, she's exactly 22 1/2"


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## babsbag (Nov 5, 2014)

Yeah, you are right, I was thinking she had said 27" so I was doing 3" shy, not 7". That is pretty small. Maybe she is a mini Alpine ???

I have a black and white doe that has the brown "frosting" patches on her face and her buckling this year is almost all black except for a white belly stripe and some brown behind his ears. 

My first goats were Togg/Alpine crosses and every now and then I still get the truly brown goats and have to watch for that. Even though they are enough Alpine to be reg. purebred I reg. the brown ones as Grade so there is no disqualification for color.  The Togg color and markings on an Alpine are a no go.

I like the Sundgau, black ones with the white face stripes. I have one like that.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 5, 2014)

babsbag said:


> I like the Sundgau, black ones with the white face stripes. I have one like that.



The Sundgau or the one in the picture I posted from the state fair that belonged to Spinning Spider are the colors I most associate with Alpines at least around here.  I guess that's Cou Blanc? Or one of those "Cou" patterns at least.

At 23" I think she may be a "mini".

Nice looking goat nonetheless.


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## babsbag (Nov 5, 2014)

@OneFineAcre  I bet the Alpine in your picture is described as a chamiosee. They come in tan, buff, silver, grey, and everything in between. The black "socks" and the black face are the *characteristics for that color pattern. A Cou xxx would have either  black hindquarter or a black neck, the ones with black hindquarters are common in my herd; probably the most common of the color patterns I own. *


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 5, 2014)

babsbag said:


> @OneFineAcre  I bet the Alpine in your picture is described as a chamiosee. They come in tan, buff, silver, grey, and everything in between. The black "socks" and the black face are the *characteristics for that color pattern. A Cou xxx would have either  black hindquarter or a black neck, the ones with black hindquarters are common in my herd; probably the most common of the color patterns I own. *



I think you are correct


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## Fullhousefarm (Nov 13, 2014)

OneFineAcre said:


> I think you are correct


It's also possible that she is a pure Alpine from smaller lines that didn't grow well for whatever reason; parasites, not well fed, living conditions.

We have fostered a goat that another breeder/friend got back with her dam from the buyer where we know the sire and dam, and she is unusually small, but very healthy. Her mom wasn't very well taken care of, so she didn't get a lot of milk as a baby and wasn't well fed for the first few months of her life. She's very healthy now, just small. (She's a Nubian/Ober.) The breeder sends "crazy" dam raised goats to my kids for "goat boot camp" sometimes.


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