Should I breed a Mini alpine with my Nigerians?

[mistivydel]

Hi all,

I've just been an observer until now, but I've found this forum extremely helpful as a new goat owner trying to figure it all out. I have two Nigerian Dwarf does who were supposed to be pregnant when they came home with us a few months ago, but after seeing them come into heat three times right on schedule I have to think that they probably never settled and we'll have to try again.

I'm having an extremely hard time finding another Nigerian farmer nearby (I'm in Northern California, near Crescent City) who would be willing to lease a buck for breeding, but now I found someone in the next county over who has a Mini alpine buck available for "dates". I'm keeping my goats for home milking, and I'm wondering about whether it would be a good idea to breed my girls with a mini alpine or if that would affect their kids' ease of milking? I want to be careful about having does with too small teats especially, since I really want to hand milk only. Are there any other issues that could come up with breeding my two purebred Nigerians with a mini-alpine??

Thanks for your help, in advance!

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

I dont think teat size should be your main concern. You should be worried about kid sizes and her having difficulties birthing larger kids. I wouldn't recommend it. Try and aim for a buck that is around the same size or smaller then your girls. The mini alpines are a nigerian/alpine cross so I would think he would be too big because you always have the "standard size" part of the alpine in them. I bought (for waaay too much) a nigi pair and the doe was bred at 7 months to a mini mancha buck that was larger then her. I was SO happy the breeding didn't take! The people bred her because she was too loud during her heat to be a backyard goat and the mini mancha was the only thing they could find. I dont think its worth the risks though.

Also how old are they? and Have they kidded before? Good luck finding a nigerian or pygmy to breed them to!

 

[mistivydel]

Thank you, that's really good to know!

One of them is 2 yrs and she has kidded one time before, but the other is only around a year and it would be her first pregnancy.

I'd love to hear anyone else's experiences or suggestions!

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

HI! Im in Nor Cal- near Sacramento, Grass Valley area. I have a pure ND buckling, is registered. Im sure he'd be happy to visit your girls. Not sure where Crescent city is, Ima go google it real quick....

My buck just bred my does, so I know he knows his business!!

WOOP!! Nevermind- you guys are SERIOUSLY in NOR CAL!! That would be a looooooong trip for all!!

If I was you, I would try to find a nice pigmy or pigmy cross. Definately need SMALL babies for small moms.

Be patient- ND's come into heat every month, all year long, so youll have plenty of time to find the right buck.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

Yeah they're wayyy up there! Lol I got tired of trying to work out taking my doe to the buck to get bred I just went and got a nigerian buckling. He's only 2 weeks right now so we have a looong way to go before I can breed him to my girls.. I figure I can stud him out when he's not with one of my girls.. or he can live separately with my wether. Good point about nigerians being year round breeders too. Definately dont rush it.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I agree with the others. It would not be the best choice to breed an ND doe to an Alpine buck. Though NDs usually have uncomplicated births, their small frame could definitely cause some problems in delivering the larger kids that would result from that paring. It is best to find a buck that is the same size as your does or even smaller if you can.

You might check on some of the goat registries to find people near you (Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association or maybe the American Goat Society).

 

[mistivydel]

I'm thinking that all your advice makes sense, I really don't want to give my goats any risk of a difficult birth. Especially the younger one!

Yeah, we've been thinking about maybe just getting a buck as well. We definitely have the room for it, so if a good opportunity comes up to get one before we figure out the breeding we'll probably do that.
I will check those registries too, thank you!

 

[mistivydel]

Can anybody instruct me on how to post a picture on here? She said she's not sure what breed he is (??) but thinks he's a Nigerian. I have a picture of him and would like to get your opinions on the breed...

 

[PendergrassRanch]

I have a buck you can buy/rent. I'm in Lake county though. He was sold to me as a Pygmy but I have been told that his coat pattern doesn't exist in Pygmys so he is probably a ND/Pygmy.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

You have to post a certain number of times before you can post a pic.. If you want you can email me the picture and I can post it for you until you can post pics.

Here's a thread with how to post pics though when you do get there.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=97