First goat kidding, and hubby is out of town. What are the odds? 100%

[gingit]

Now I know where my goats learned this from.
BTW anyone here milks?
I am in South Florida, thinking about getting a couple of milking goats.
Hot & humid, but lots of fun! Which breed is the right one for us?

 

[craftymama86]

What funny timing! Sorry you lost one but what beautiful babies you still have to enjoy!

 

[Ariel72]

What kind of goats do you have now? With the ears I was assuming there was some Nubian in their bloodline. If it were me, I would try milking these just to see how it goes. They could be good little milkers. Next time you breed them you could breed them to a very dairy buck and improve milking that way...or you could just get more goats. A lot of people on here milk their goats.

 

[gingit]

Thanks for the reply craftymama86 & Ariel72.

We currently have 6 girls & 1 boy. 3 just had babies from him.
I am practicing on one of the goats, the one who had the 2 babies.
We had 4 babies, all are boys. I have another one that is pregnant, hoping for a girl. If she has delivers during March - she came bred and therefor babies will not be related to my other goats. Perfect!

What buck shall I get, in your opinion? I currently have a large Spanish male.
If I get a buck that is smaller (shorter) than the female will he be able to breed her?

 

[Ariel72]

The buck you get just depends on your goals. If you want milk goats then you have to decide if you want standard sized goats or mini's. I love the Nigerian dwarf goats myself. They are mini dairy goats and tend to be hearty, good birthers, with very rich high quality milk. Give a lot of milk for their size. I don't think there is a problem with small bucks and larger does. There are plenty of mini breeds created by breeding little bucks to full sized does (If you have Spanish does you'd have mini Spanish goats.) Doesn't seen to be a problem. If you want full size goats you might be able to just use any of the dairy breed bucks (I would hesitate to breed to a large buck if your does are very small). Many people like nubians. Me, I would research alpines. Just make sure your buck somes from nice milking lines. If you want meat and milk, there are always the culls and extra males. You don't have to have a meat specific breed. Just my thoughts. Still learning myself.