# Lamancha/Saanen crosses



## Mini-M Ranch (Jul 31, 2010)

I contacted a breeder looking for a Saanen in milk.  Who doesn't want a Saanen, right? lol.

Anyway, she says she has some Saanen/mancha crosses that are good milkers with sweet personalities and are disease resistant.  

What do you think? 

For the record, I'm not opposed to crosses.  All of my goats are Mini-Nubians (Nubian Nigerian crosses), and I believe they are hardier than full stock Nubians.  It's just that I don't know much about what the Lamancha side would bring into the crosses, as I am not as familiar with them.

Thoughts?


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## ohiofarmgirl (Aug 1, 2010)

wow i would run right out and get them. or just go and get a lamancha

we have a big ol' saanen and a beautiful lamancha. we love them both. our la mancha is an incredible milker - she outmilks the saanen every day and on far less feed/hay. i've seen sky-high lamanchas that are really tall...but ours is petite and i actually recommend them for folks who lean toward mini's and not full sized gals. her size makes her easy to handle but she milks like a demon.

on top of that we have a mini- mancha. she also has a lot of the lamancha characteristics - easy, quiet, good milker, not ridiculous. we sold her more nigerian sister b/c that gal was LOUD ridiculous and a pistol. not our Nibbles - easy, easy going, funny little face.

we like the lamanchas b/c they are QUIET, they are easy going, not ridiculous and altho our Debbie has gotten herself into a couple of pickles (hanging off the fence, stuck in the feeder) she is an easy keeper.

i'd love to see pix - i'd be interested in what the ears are like. the only problem with the lamanchas is there is always some goofball asking you why you cut the ears off them! no they are just like that. sheesh!

good luck!


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## AtRendeAcres (Aug 1, 2010)

Just started this summer with LaManchas!

I got my first 3! 2 kids and a yearling!
My family loves the milk!! (did I mention I have 2 teenage girls & they love the milk)

I have been working for the breeder I got the goats from this whole summer! I have learned so much!

What a Great Breed to start with he must have 30 of them! They are soooo docile & gentle! They are a very hardy breed too.

I milk his with a milking machine so, I am not sure on the amount. Mine is a yearling and I get 2 quarts a day (I know I am suppose to do weight (I am not there yet))


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## ksalvagno (Aug 2, 2010)

The disease resistant part makes me laugh. Nothing is disease resistant! That was the line used when alpacas first came to this country. While it did take a while, they did "Americanize" and they get the same diseases the other animals do.


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## jodief100 (Aug 2, 2010)

Take this advise as worth what you paid for it.  I would recomend a LaMancha, but since that is the only experience I have who knows.....

I have ONE milk goat in my herd of meat goats.  I got her to feed orphans and she is a LaMancha.  I got her because she was the only goat in milk I could find and I had poor orphan babies.  She is small, about 60 lbs.  The breeder was selling her because she was bred too early and too small to show.  She is sweet, docile and rather quiet.  I have no milking stand, I just put her pan of grain on the stack of lumber in the barn.  She hops up and stands still eating while I milk her.  She was giving me over 2 quarts a day.  I am drying her out now and hope she can get a little more growth on her in the next year.  Milking her once a day and giving her about 4 ounces of grain out I am getting about 1 1/2 quarts a day.  

Since this is my first milk goat I thought this was normal.


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## ohiofarmgirl (Aug 2, 2010)

quarts?  baby(ies), you gots to get better hay!

my gal milks over a gallon a day (beats chest)....whoot!

and really - i had so-so hay but just got better (more alfalfa-y) and her production (as well as the mini's) went up. it really makes a difference if you need more milk. 

jodief100, my Debbie (full sized lamancha) let our rejected mini-babies nurse off her. as long as she was in the stand and eating she couldnt have cared if i was squeezing her or if the little ones were sippin' on her.  great strategy for having a milker for your meats!


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## Mini-M Ranch (Aug 2, 2010)

ksalvagno said:
			
		

> The disease resistant part makes me laugh. Nothing is disease resistant! That was the line used when alpacas first came to this country. While it did take a while, they did "Americanize" and they get the same diseases the other animals do.


I think what she meant was that because they are crosses, they are hardier.  I believe that's true with my Nigerian/Nubian crosses. My vet believes it, too, that crosses are hardier than pure breeds.  Some people don't. To each his own. lol


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