oberhasli/alpine cross?
- Thread starter cdennis
- Start date
freemotion
Self Sufficient Queen
All top dairy breeds! I'd go look at her.....I love hybrids. They can be quite hardy and are interesting to look at, too.
ksalvagno
Alpaca Master
As far as a good milker, that depends on the lines. If the price is right for you and everything, then go take a look at her. The butterfat content of the milk won't be as high as a Nigerian Dwarf or Nubian. It really depends on your personal needs. I have an Alpine mix that I believe has some Nubian in her. Her milk definitely has more butterfat than the average Alpine. She is one heck of a milker and milked for 20 months straight and I'm still trying to dry her off. She must have been bred to a Nubian because her last offspring had long ears. I have bred her to one of my Nigerian Dwarfs for next spring.
- Thread starter
- #4
cdennis
Chillin' with the herd
ksalvagno,
Do you like the nigerian dwarf's? I know a lady who is also selling one of those but I couldn't find as much on the breed where people said positive things, maybe I am just in the wrong section.
Do you like the nigerian dwarf's? I know a lady who is also selling one of those but I couldn't find as much on the breed where people said positive things, maybe I am just in the wrong section.
ksalvagno
Alpaca Master
I really like my Nigerians. But they certainly don't give as much milk as a full size dairy goat. But I have had alpacas for over 13 years and full size goats are about the same weight as alpacas. I'm just tired of dealing with the larger size animal. Plus I have more than a couple of goats so I will end up with plenty of milk. I know people complain that they are noisy but I haven't found that to be true of mine. Sure they are all loud when they want to be fed but once they are out on pasture, they are quiet. If you get good milking lines, you can get a good amount of milk from the Nigerians.
People who own Nigerians love them, people who own regular size dairy goats usually hate them. I got Nigerians because they were the best fit for my personal need. They are becoming more and more popular in my area.
You have to decide how much milk you want and if you want to do things like make cheese and yogurt. I have that one Alpine mix and she will easily give me a gallon a day of milk. Luckily I can feed animals with it because I don't go through close to that much. I want to make cheese someday but right now, regular cheese making is not an option. I just can't fit it into my already busy schedule. So you need to consider those things to. What will you do with all the milk? It can build up quickly. I thought I drank a lot of milk until I was getting 3/4 of a gallon a day from my alpine who had been milking for over 12 months at the time.
People who own Nigerians love them, people who own regular size dairy goats usually hate them. I got Nigerians because they were the best fit for my personal need. They are becoming more and more popular in my area.
You have to decide how much milk you want and if you want to do things like make cheese and yogurt. I have that one Alpine mix and she will easily give me a gallon a day of milk. Luckily I can feed animals with it because I don't go through close to that much. I want to make cheese someday but right now, regular cheese making is not an option. I just can't fit it into my already busy schedule. So you need to consider those things to. What will you do with all the milk? It can build up quickly. I thought I drank a lot of milk until I was getting 3/4 of a gallon a day from my alpine who had been milking for over 12 months at the time.
Ariel301
Loving the herd life
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2010
- Messages
- 1,405
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 104
If all you want is milk, that could be a good doe. You need to ask about her mother and paternal grandmother, how did they milk? How does this doe milk, if she has been milked before. If she is in milk, try milking her yourself.
As for the offspring being Oberhasli/Alpine/Saanen...I'm not a particular fan of that much crossbreeding, but that's just my personal thing, I breed for purebreds. I do have a couple of crosses though, and they are nice milkers. What do you plan to do with the kids? Depending on the market where you are, it may not be easy to sell crossbred and/or low quality kids, they may go for a low price as someone's dinner, especially males.
I had an Alpine/Oberhasli buck for a while, he was pretty but not really quality enough for my breeding needs, as far as body type and personality. The farm I got him from did that cross a lot though, and they were a commercial dairy. They seemed to like them.
As for the offspring being Oberhasli/Alpine/Saanen...I'm not a particular fan of that much crossbreeding, but that's just my personal thing, I breed for purebreds. I do have a couple of crosses though, and they are nice milkers. What do you plan to do with the kids? Depending on the market where you are, it may not be easy to sell crossbred and/or low quality kids, they may go for a low price as someone's dinner, especially males.
I had an Alpine/Oberhasli buck for a while, he was pretty but not really quality enough for my breeding needs, as far as body type and personality. The farm I got him from did that cross a lot though, and they were a commercial dairy. They seemed to like them.
