Dairy Breed

[Amaggio]

I'm planning on getting goats next spring and want to start making cheeses. My 60 year old parents live with me and help me with the farm chores so i was thinking dwarf Nigerians would be good because they're smaller and have a high fat content in their milk which would help with cheese making. Nubians seem sweet too and although they have a lower fat content to their milk they also give more milk and seem to have good temperaments too. Thought i would reach out to the community here for some thoughts on breeds.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I have had both breeds, the nigerians take up less space. You can have more per acre of them and feed costs will be lower. ...With your parents being my age group, the nigerians will be easier to handle. , They are quieter than the nubians ,....and a four foot high fence has worked really well here...... The negative is they will start breeding at two months old, you want to wait till at least 8 months or 45 lbs in weight....they will cycle every 18 to 21 days so if you plan on breeding keep your buck away and in a safe , strong enclosure /run/ pasture...they WILL get pregnant through a fence....keep them apart. ....They have great personality 's and are my favorite choice of the two breeds.
Welcome to BYH, from Florida....please post pictures when you get your goats... we just LOVE pictures, ...............................

 

[Southern by choice]

Start with how much milk you feel you will need and go from there. We breed Nigerians, Miniatures, and Standards.
If you need a gallon of milk per day you will need quite a few good Nigerians. You will really need to look at what the goats actually produce as well as length of lactation. Nigerians can make considerable milk for their size but unfortunately many claim the goats make way more than they do. The Nigerian does have the best feed conversion and they are hardy however not all are created equal.

Your average standard doe will make that (gallon). 2 Standards may be too much.

Miniatures are great because you really get the best of both worlds. High BF and great production for a medium size goat.
IMO the mini's are truly one of the best for a homestead. Great feed conversion, easy on the land, great production.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I am gearing up for a couple dairy goats too. I prefer miniature or dwarf and don't think I want the buck on hand for multiple reasons. I need to find what's available in Indiana to take my girls over for stud service. I will be converting a wooded area into a dry lot for them that joins open ground.

My considerations are: space in the barn for separate stalls for delivery, a milking stand, heating considerations at milking time, having a pair for company and determining if both are to be bred/milked, selling vs. processing offspring, a breed of dog that will be content to stay with the goats and keep predators or unwanted critters out of the barn, a place for said dog to sleep and eat out of the goats' way, a way to haul to get bred, vet service, deworming and care.

Anything I've overlooked?

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I am gearing up for a couple dairy goats too. I prefer miniature or dwarf and don't think I want the buck on hand for multiple reasons. I need to find what's available in Indiana to take my girls over for stud service. I will be converting a wooded area into a dry lot for them that joins open ground.

My considerations are: space in the barn for separate stalls for delivery, a milking stand, heating considerations at milking time, having a pair for company and determining if both are to be bred/milked, selling vs. processing offspring, a breed of dog that will be content to stay with the goats and keep predators or unwanted critters out of the barn, a place for said dog to sleep and eat out of the goats' way, a way to haul to get bred, vet service, deworming and care.

Anything I've overlooked?

Lol, i believe you have covered most everything.....you only need one area for kiding and that can simply be a temporary area for when you need it, pallets work great with t posts to keep them secure. The Lgd will either find a space in your barn or choose to sleep outside.
If you are not opposed to eating the bucks ( from kiding) when grown, ...you can band them at 8 to 10 weeks of age and let them grow out till about 11 months old (some people let them grow larger)
When you find the breeder you are going to purchase your goats from, ask them about possibly using their buck for breeding, they may have several bucks ....(.we keep two next door)
I used to milk in the barn without any heating, wasn't a big deal...udders are hand warmers, lol....

 

[Amaggio]

I am gearing up for a couple dairy goats too. I prefer miniature or dwarf and don't think I want the buck on hand for multiple reasons. I need to find what's available in Indiana to take my girls over for stud service. I will be converting a wooded area into a dry lot for them that joins open ground.

My considerations are: space in the barn for separate stalls for delivery, a milking stand, heating considerations at milking time, having a pair for company and determining if both are to be bred/milked, selling vs. processing offspring, a breed of dog that will be content to stay with the goats and keep predators or unwanted critters out of the barn, a place for said dog to sleep and eat out of the goats' way, a way to haul to get bred, vet service, deworming and care.

Anything I've overlooked?

I've been reading a book by Gianaclis Caldwell about Goat Care. I'm going to get my land tested for nutrients so I know which minerals to supplement. I want to make to grazing runs for them and do rotations. If you're letting them free range completely you might want to think about testing your land too. I'm interested to see what comes back.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I've been reading a good by Gianaclis Caldwell about Goat Care. I'm going to get my land tested for nutrients so I know which minerals to supplement. I want to make to grazing runs for them and do rotations. If you're letting them free range completely you might want to think about testing your land too. I'm interested to see what comes back.

Don't get wrapped up in the idea of minerals and grazing yet. Definitely don't go out and spend money and time on multiple pastures right away.

I seeded our pasture in a lovely goat designed mix (they don't eat grasses much, but I'm sure you learned that in the above great book.) My stupid obnoxious frustrating picky goats don't even leave their shed!!! They snub noses at anything growing in pasture but they'll eat the same thing dried in a bagged product.
They may or may not ever eat from your land. It may be 100% irrelevant. As mentioned in Gianaclis book, not all farms find success with a wide variety mineral bar either. Also takes much more space...I would talk to local goat owners but most people just buy a generic mineral supplement plus maybe a supplement they know is locally deficient. COWP/copper bolus is fairly common everywhere. Looks like I may personally need to bolus 3x per year, maybe 4.
There are agricultural sites (I just Googled and found a few) that will identify which areas of the country are considered deficient or otherwise in various nutrients. This gives you an idea what the local hay will be like.
Know what type of water you have, as that also impacts nutrient absorption (also to be read about in that book, of course.) My hard iron content water really works against a good copper level in my goats!

All good selling points on Nigerians mentioned above. Have Nigerians myself and view them as absolutely perfect for our kind of set up. Yes, more milk comes from bigger goats, but only because they are bigger. Nigerians have the best milk output to feed in versus size comparison. If you rotate your does so someone is always in milk, someone is kidding, and someone is waiting to breed, you should have a great milk stash in fridge.
Then we get into selecting a herd and/or individuals. I have what I call my "starter herd". They ain't the best, they ain't the prettiest, they ain't from the most desired milk lines, but they do me and mine just fine and I'll have to make adjustments as we breed and alter the herd line.
This is actually frustrating for me. I see a lot of value in picking up other milking breeds into my line or as individuals, but no one in my area wants mutt goats unregistered with horns and brown eyes.

 

[Southern by choice]

This will help you see the data for your region. Keep in mind that a person's land may be quite different.
https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/countydata.htm

The one thing that I think is really overlooked is the recommendation of your breeder!
You can read all the books you want, get all the info etc BUT if you go to a good breeder then pay attention to their program. Once you get experience you can try different things but be careful not to do just whatever you read. Region makes a big difference as well. The quality of hay, the parasite differences, type land, etc.

We give very good instruction and generally give a 3-4 hour class on goat care to all newbies. We cover everything. Feed, minerals, we talk alot about stuff people read, and we explain what we do and WHY we do it.

@DellaMyDarling makes some VERY good points. (I really appreciated your post!) (BTW we have high iron well water that impacts copper but keep in mind, giving more can be an issue... the copper ends up being stored and that causes toxicity) There is a lady doing a lot of research on this with her Dwarf herd. Extensive. Molybdenum also plays a key role.

I will expand-
Client A follows all the breeders instructions, calls breeder with questions, learns goats and has healthy productive animals. Over time tries different protocols specific to their farm and develops their specific management style.
Client B starts out great but then gets all caught up in FB groups and crazy info stuff, goats aren't thriving, not breeding, not settling. WHY? Because client B "read" that ND's don't need feed... goats don't need feed... Went to a mineral bar that goats don't touch... Browse is best.
Client B's goats are now getting parasites, lacking selenium and not healthy but still "look" ok. 6 months later goat/s are dead.
Client B claims no vet in area yet a google search show 4 livestock vet within 1/2 hour. :/
Client B starts talking about the breeder of the goat and how it wasn't healthy to begin with... yet when pressed you find out Client B had the goat for 6 months from a 2 month old kid and hasn't been feeding, or cocci prevention, or fecals, or minerals etc.

Don't be client B!