OneFineAcre
Herd Master
Are you looking to buy kids or Jrs or older animals?
Our first 3 girls were 2 and 3 month old kids.
Our first 3 girls were 2 and 3 month old kids.
Nigerian Dwarfs
- Thread starter ArtisticFarmer
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #12
ArtisticFarmer
Chillin' with the herd
Ok, I'll take a fecal first and ask about the CD&T. What kind of goats do you have? (Just curious.OneFineAcre said:
Southern by choice
Herd Master
Unless you are showing or planning on needing a high producing dairy milk goat unregistered goats are fine.
Although I have referred One Fine to many people here in NC, I strongly disagree with his philosophy. I do however respect his care and health practices, I also believe One Fine is knowledgeable and has a great deal to offer. Goat owners do not all share the same end goals. Self-sustainability for our family is priority on our farm so showing or building a name or line isn't our goal. For others it may be their goal.
For every one person that I know that "needs" high production animals or that shows there are many many more that do not.
Look at your overall goals and the future of where you are heading. Registered animals do NOT guarantee good health or practices.
Many of the dairies here in NC are not even using "registered" stock.
If you are looking to have high production then certainly seek out those high production lines, as well, if you intend on showing the same goes.
The overwhelming majority of goat owners want pets, brush clearers, and may or may not ever milk. Many that do milk may find they have too much and don't know what to do with it all, some end up not having the time. Those are things to think about.
Looking for those that do at least CAE testing would be good.
Parasite resistance and history is also important. gathering a fecal and having it tested is beneficial.
The goat really should also have been vaccinated with a CD&T
We have registered and unregistered stock. Our goats are not perpetually bred... we breed only to bring a doe into milk. Our goats are going to great pet homes. We test for CAE and Johnnes. We also do our own fecal health monitoring. If I have someone looking for starred dairy lines or need high production or want to show I will refer them out to others. Hopefully you can find a breeder that will help you with your specific needs. Unregistered stock also does not mean the animals are not coming from good lineage.
Unless you are showing, dis-budding is simply a choice. Overwhelmingly my owners do not want their kids dis-budded. They will take them polled (naturally born with no horns) or horned. I personally just had my first mini-mancha dis-budded. It isn't my normal practice.
How many animals does the breeder have, what environment are they in? Dry lot, pastured etc. This gives you an idea of the animals. Animals that tend to be dry-lotted without pasture and natural forage may tend to have difficulty in transitioning to a pastured / forage environment. They are use to being fed as opposed to living off the land and being supplemented with healthy feed. Another problem is actual parasite resistance. Animals "dry-lotted that do not eat off the ground may have low egg counts but it may not necessarily be a good parasite resistant animal, it hasn't had to show its resistance. Animals raised on the land that eat off the ground and show consistent low counts are proving good parasite resistance.
You will LOVE the Nigerian Dwarf! They really are wonderful. and we have 3 different kinds of goats here... and my fav is still the dwarf!
Although I have referred One Fine to many people here in NC, I strongly disagree with his philosophy. I do however respect his care and health practices, I also believe One Fine is knowledgeable and has a great deal to offer. Goat owners do not all share the same end goals. Self-sustainability for our family is priority on our farm so showing or building a name or line isn't our goal. For others it may be their goal.
For every one person that I know that "needs" high production animals or that shows there are many many more that do not.
Look at your overall goals and the future of where you are heading. Registered animals do NOT guarantee good health or practices.
Many of the dairies here in NC are not even using "registered" stock.
If you are looking to have high production then certainly seek out those high production lines, as well, if you intend on showing the same goes.
The overwhelming majority of goat owners want pets, brush clearers, and may or may not ever milk. Many that do milk may find they have too much and don't know what to do with it all, some end up not having the time. Those are things to think about.
Looking for those that do at least CAE testing would be good.
Parasite resistance and history is also important. gathering a fecal and having it tested is beneficial.
The goat really should also have been vaccinated with a CD&T
We have registered and unregistered stock. Our goats are not perpetually bred... we breed only to bring a doe into milk. Our goats are going to great pet homes. We test for CAE and Johnnes. We also do our own fecal health monitoring. If I have someone looking for starred dairy lines or need high production or want to show I will refer them out to others. Hopefully you can find a breeder that will help you with your specific needs. Unregistered stock also does not mean the animals are not coming from good lineage.
Unless you are showing, dis-budding is simply a choice. Overwhelmingly my owners do not want their kids dis-budded. They will take them polled (naturally born with no horns) or horned. I personally just had my first mini-mancha dis-budded. It isn't my normal practice.
How many animals does the breeder have, what environment are they in? Dry lot, pastured etc. This gives you an idea of the animals. Animals that tend to be dry-lotted without pasture and natural forage may tend to have difficulty in transitioning to a pastured / forage environment. They are use to being fed as opposed to living off the land and being supplemented with healthy feed. Another problem is actual parasite resistance. Animals "dry-lotted that do not eat off the ground may have low egg counts but it may not necessarily be a good parasite resistant animal, it hasn't had to show its resistance. Animals raised on the land that eat off the ground and show consistent low counts are proving good parasite resistance.
You will LOVE the Nigerian Dwarf! They really are wonderful. and we have 3 different kinds of goats here... and my fav is still the dwarf!
- Thread starter
- #15
ArtisticFarmer
Chillin' with the herd
I am looking for a pet, not planning on showing. Milk would be nice.I don't really have options to actual goat breeders, just hobbyists. How do you test for CAE? Since I will be selling the kids that come from breeding the does for milk, I would like to know how so that I can when it comes time. (or do you go to the vet?) (Obviously that won't come for awhile.) I found a CD&T vaccine, so I can do it if necessary. What all things should I vaccinate against? How many times should I worm a year?
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
I have Nigerian Dwarfs.ArtisticFarmer said:Ok, I'll take a fecal first and ask about the CD&T. What kind of goats do you have? (Just curious.OneFineAcre said:
Southern by choice
Herd Master
You should only use a de-wormer as needed. The type of de-wormer must also be effective for the type of parasite. Scheduled dewormings is a bad practice that has only made many de-wormers ineffective.
We have excellent parasite resistance. I have only ever had to give a dewormer once to one goat, and that was for tapeworms.
With all the rain here I am doing more frequent fecals because we are now in our 4th season of straight rain... prime for "growing parasites"... so far so good, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see some increase.
The CDT can be given by you easily.
I still recommend that you find a good caprine vet and build that relationship.
In our state the state lab is also funded so our CAE and our Johnnes Testing is $1.50 per test plus a submission fee.
If you can draw your own blood thats great if not then that would be done by a vet and that is usually where the expense comes in.
Ask if the parent stock has been tested, they should also have a paper or electronic copy of the actual results.
We have excellent parasite resistance. I have only ever had to give a dewormer once to one goat, and that was for tapeworms.
With all the rain here I am doing more frequent fecals because we are now in our 4th season of straight rain... prime for "growing parasites"... so far so good, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see some increase.
The CDT can be given by you easily.
I still recommend that you find a good caprine vet and build that relationship.
In our state the state lab is also funded so our CAE and our Johnnes Testing is $1.50 per test plus a submission fee.
If you can draw your own blood thats great if not then that would be done by a vet and that is usually where the expense comes in.
Ask if the parent stock has been tested, they should also have a paper or electronic copy of the actual results.
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
Southern is correct, we have a different philosophy. But, I think she is a very awesome person who is very knowledgable. And we agree strongly on one point. The most important thing is to buy healthy animals from an ethical breeder whose priority is maintaining a healthy herd. That is not negotiable, or an "opinion".Southern by choice said:Unless you are showing or planning on needing a high producing dairy milk goat unregistered goats are fine.
Although I have referred One Fine to many people here in NC, I strongly disagree with his philosophy. I do however respect his care and health practices, I also believe One Fine is knowledgeable and has a great deal to offer. Goat owners do not all share the same end goals. Self-sustainability for our family is priority on our farm so showing or building a name or line isn't our goal. For others it may be their goal.
For every one person that I know that "needs" high production animals or that shows there are many many more that do not.
Look at your overall goals and the future of where you are heading. Registered animals do NOT guarantee good health or practices.
Many of the dairies here in NC are not even using "registered" stock.
If you are looking to have high production then certainly seek out those high production lines, as well, if you intend on showing the same goes.
The overwhelming majority of goat owners want pets, brush clearers, and may or may not ever milk. Many that do milk may find they have too much and don't know what to do with it all, some end up not having the time. Those are things to think about.
Looking for those that do at least CAE testing would be good.
Parasite resistance and history is also important. gathering a fecal and having it tested is beneficial.
The goat really should also have been vaccinated with a CD&T
We have registered and unregistered stock. Our goats are not perpetually bred... we breed only to bring a doe into milk. Our goats are going to great pet homes. We test for CAE and Johnnes. We also do our own fecal health monitoring. If I have someone looking for starred dairy lines or need high production or want to show I will refer them out to others. Hopefully you can find a breeder that will help you with your specific needs. Unregistered stock also does not mean the animals are not coming from good lineage.
Unless you are showing, dis-budding is simply a choice. Overwhelmingly my owners do not want their kids dis-budded. They will take them polled (naturally born with no horns) or horned. I personally just had my first mini-mancha dis-budded. It isn't my normal practice.
How many animals does the breeder have, what environment are they in? Dry lot, pastured etc. This gives you an idea of the animals. Animals that tend to be dry-lotted without pasture and natural forage may tend to have difficulty in transitioning to a pastured / forage environment. They are use to being fed as opposed to living off the land and being supplemented with healthy feed. Another problem is actual parasite resistance. Animals "dry-lotted that do not eat off the ground may have low egg counts but it may not necessarily be a good parasite resistant animal, it hasn't had to show its resistance. Animals raised on the land that eat off the ground and show consistent low counts are proving good parasite resistance.
You will LOVE the Nigerian Dwarf! They really are wonderful. and we have 3 different kinds of goats here... and my fav is still the dwarf!
I am a bit of purist. Nigerian Dwarfs are dairy goats. There was a long struggle to get the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) to recognize them as a "true" breed of dairy goat. They are livestock. They are not pets. (although I love all of my girls and boys
Pygmy goats on the other hand are pets. For a purist like myself, Dairy goats do not have horns. There are a lot of threads on this forum about that. I'm sorry, but in my mind if they have horns they are not dairy goats.
If you buy ADGA or AGS registered Nigerians you are getting (hopefully) pure bred animals. They are not crossed with standard goats, Pygmy's or Fainters. While unregistered stock could come from good lineage, more likely it does not. It is much more likely it is not in fact a Nigerian Dwarf at all, or it most likely has some other breed crossed with it.
The Nigerian Dwarf has a very interesting and unique history. I would recommend you learn their history.
We do show our animals. But, we are also trying to improve the breed. It has a lot of upside potential as a dairy animal. I would stand by my recommendation to buy AGS or ADGA registered animals even if you are not planning to show your animals. Just my opinion, plus your kids are more valuable.
I disagree with her statement about many dairies not having purebred stock. Most dairies don't have ND's or I do know of one that incorporates them to increase butter fat. Most of the working dairies I'm familiar with have registered purebred's Saanens, Alpines or recorded grades.
I would still stand by my recommendation that if you are just starting out you start with AGS or ADGA registered stock who have been disbudded. That is just my opinion.
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
You test for CAE by drawing blood and sending it to a lab. A lot of people can draw their own blood which greatly reduces the cost of having a vet do this.ArtisticFarmer said:
We are not there yet.
- Thread starter
- #20
ArtisticFarmer
Chillin' with the herd
Oh, I should be able to do that. I've had it done many times to myself (along with other things involving blood and needles.) So I shouldn't have a problem. Where do I get the blood from?OneFineAcre said:
