Nigerian Dwarf/ Pygmy cross - conformation..? Help please!

[Goatmasta]

F1 crosses have 2/3 drop or airplane ears. F2 will have erect ears. As long as they are bred back to nigerian or pygmy.
By the way your not the first person who has been lied to.

 

[helmstead]

How JUST like my goats are we talkin'? Like, could they be the same ones? I know Maude at least had had a tag in her ear.

No way possible, they were born in GA and I believe sold to pet homes. I'll have to email her owner and see if she can post pics of them...

 

[Livinwright Farm]

All I'm saying is it seems your fretting over things you needn't fret over. As long as you're happy w/ them / the milk....what difference does it make whether they fit a standard you're never going to have to compete with, anyway....?

I don't know the measurements of my goats from stem to stern, and don't intend to go measuring them...Feel free to measure all you want to, but it's not going to prove / disprove anything.

I just wondered if they're taller than the avg. Nigerian or not....around 20". Each generation you breed back mini (if there IS any boer in there) will / should revert back to a smaller size.

Traditional boer coloring is very strong, genetic-wise...white body, colored head. You can cross them to nearly any breed and still get...white body, red head.
Boers are generally the only breed (w/ a few rare exceptions) colored that way, so it's not *just* her build throwing 'us' off...her coloring fits, too.

There's just no way to "know" for sure what they are, and you can stare at conformation descriptions until you're blue in the face, it won't change what you've got or lessen their value to you.

Not really fretting or worrying, just confuzzled/perplexed. I mean, if you showed one of your Boers to someone and asked them what they thought of your Boer and they told you that it didn't look like a Boer, but rather an Alpine X, wouldn't you be a bit, "What the heck?!" ?
And I am happy with them, for the most part... Maude still has attitude problems and overly flighty instincts, but we are slowly working on those issues with her. I wouldn't know how they are to milk yet, just got them last September when the kids were already 4 weeks old... and we were all new to each other. I wouldn't want some stranger just up and groping me either!

I think if I go through and find the breed standards for height, length, etc. for the different breeds, I might have a chance of figuring how much of what is in the two 3 yr old does(Momma & Maude). And want to post my findings, because you asked about the height, and others might be interested too(maybe not, but oh well).

Question on Boer coloring: Can Boers have dalmation spots on their bodies too? or just solid white?

I know that I can breed in for better milkiing lines, but knowing that I am now starting further off than I thought I was, does lessen their value a little for me. It means that no matter how much Calf Manna & Alfalfa I give them, they won't produce anything near what I had been counting on in my planning. I guess that is where the whole, "don't count your chickens before they are hatched" thing comes in, eh?

 

[elevan]

You have to suspect that when you buy an unregistered goat that you may have the full truth withheld from you.

I have to say that I do slightly agree that your goat looks to have % boer in her...although I also feel the need to say that the pygmy blood can lend a thicker legbone as well...they do not always translate to short and cobby when mixed.

I am purposely setting up a cross breeding program for the pygmy and nigerian dwarf crosses. You are not going to find a standard for a cross breed unless it has been developed into a recognized breed. Also ND are dairy and Pygmies are meat so you really cannot go by either one of those standards to judge your goats.

I would encourage you to love your goats for what they give you and not get caught up in an "I was lied to" tornado. You want home milkers and these goats can provide you with a reasonable amount. They will also provide you with meat potential...for which you should welcome the % boer possibility.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Livinwright Farm]

You have to suspect that when you buy an unregistered goat that you may have the full truth withheld from you.

I have to say that I do slightly agree that your goat looks to have % boer in her...although I also feel the need to say that the pygmy blood can lend a thicker legbone as well...they do not always translate to short and cobby when mixed. (Okay, and good to know)

I am purposely setting up a cross breeding program for the pygmy and nigerian dwarf crosses. You are not going to find a standard for a cross breed unless it has been developed into a recognized breed. Also ND are dairy and Pygmies are meat so you really cannot go by either one of those standards to judge your goats.

I would encourage you to love your goats for what they give you and not get caught up in an "I was lied to" tornado. You want home milkers and these goats can provide you with a reasonable amount. They will also provide you with meat potential...for which you should welcome the % boer possibility. I DO love them, even when they are bull headed. And no tornado, I just hate it when people feel they need to lie about anything(not to mention something so rediculously small, like what breed the goats are). When we first got them we thought we were going to go more for brush eaters, so if she had told us that they were boer cross, it really wouldn't have mattered.

Best of luck to you!

I messaged the woman I got them from and asked her a few key questions that have been in my mind for a while.

1) Do all 3 kids have the same dad? - Need to know for breeding purposes.

2) Are Maude & Momma sisters?

And 3) I was wondering where you got them from(farm's name or name of auction house)?

 

[Roll farms]

Boers can have other colors...the boy in my avi is a % Boer...but I was speaking of traditional, which was the only accepted boer color for a while.
Now they'll allow spots / paints / solid red / black, etc. Anything but all white.
I bred a solid black buck to a paint doe and got 4 traditional kids...white body / red head. It's just a strong genetic trait.

As far as if I showed a boer to someone who said it looked alpine, I'd probably think they've been hitting the crack pipe, b/c I know boers / boer conformation / etc.

Since you're still learning about your breed(s), and don't 'know' boers, it's easy to see why you're befuddled.

I've had people over the years say, "that's a funny looking Nubian" when looking at my boers, because all they're seeing are floppy ears. It takes a while to get an eye for different breeds, and when they're crossed it's nearly impossible to be sure what's what.

 

[elevan]

and when they're crossed it's nearly impossible to be sure what's what.

x2

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

Just to throw another possibility in there. I have two purebred, dual registered Nigerians who are very meaty. They do not look very dairy, yet they are purebred Nigerians.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I think if I go through and find the breed standards for height, length, etc. for the different breeds, I might have a chance of figuring how much of what is in the two 3 yr old does(Momma & Maude). And want to post my findings, because you asked about the height, and others might be interested too(maybe not, but oh well).


I know that I can breed in for better milkiing lines, but knowing that I am now starting further off than I thought I was, does lessen their value a little for me. It means that no matter how much Calf Manna & Alfalfa I give them, they won't produce anything near what I had been counting on in my planning. I guess that is where the whole, "don't count your chickens before they are hatched" thing comes in, eh?

Nah, it doesn't really work that way on either count. Measurements aren't going to tell you anything about their parentage. And good nutrition can help your animals produce at their full potential but it doesn't alter their potential.

Roll and Kate are right, if you're breeding pets then it doesn't much matter. What's important is that you set out your breeding goals and be informed and honest with yourself whether or not your breeding stock further your goals.

 

[FlightsofFancy]

Here is a picture of Ivy, who is half Nigerian/Boer cross.

Then her kids that are 3/4 Nigi, 1/4 Boer cross