MORE ABOUT THE NIGERIAN DWARF GOAT FROM AFRICA

What I say here is from my own experience with my herd. Some may not find the same is true for all goats. The main reason I have the Nigerian's is because of my accident. The milking aspect runs a close second. My findings are that a Nigerian will eat 1/3 of what a standard goat eats and produce ¾ the milk. If money is a factor, when isn't it, then the Nigerian is easier on the checkbook.

Now, the feed that they eat to produce milk for the house is different than for raising kids. When I have mom's raising kids they go out on pasture to graze all day. A good quality goat feed that is medicated is fine and can be in a pellet form or molasses in it. They do like the sweet feed better. The reason for the medicated is that kids can eat too much on pasture and get sick and a kid that is healthy on Sunday can be dead on Thursday if it comes down with coccideosis. They will get the runs very quickly and saving them usually won't happen. I will keep the kids on their mom for about 3 months if mom is in good condition. If there are triplets and one is larger than its siblings then I'll wean the larger kid at 8 weeks and let the other 2 continue to nurse mom.

When I decide to wean then they are separated and if I milk for the house I slowly change the feed, this will take a week to 10 days of adding the new feed and less of the old feed till the goat is changed to the higher protein. Mom gets a 16% protein, dairy feed and she will have to come off the pasture as anything she eats, including weeds, will make the milk taste bad. A pen with shelter, water, grain feeder and alfalfa hay are a must, as is a very good fence. If you can fence in a gold fish, you can fence in a goat. Nigerian's aren't the fence jumpers the big girls are so I use hog panels and wire them to T posts. Milking is done at every 12 hours. Think about it, if you milk at 5 a.m. then you have to do it again at 5 p.m. Feeding will happen about ½ hour before milking begins. So, figure out what time is best for you. I won't get into the milking as there are several books that cover that. I will say that my milking supplies come from Caprine Supply and they are very informative about raising kids on bottles.

Personally, I hardly ever take a kid off of its mom. Guess I look at it differently than most. Here is my thought. God made a goat to produce milk for 10 out of 12 months. So, I let my moms raise their kids on demand, whenever the kids tummy says it has to eat. At 3 months of age is when I wean if the kid and mom are doing well. Other factors come into play at times. If mom isn't keeping a good weight then I'll by all means wean earlier. Weaning at 3 months will still give me 7 months milk supply and someone is always kidding out of sink with the herd so my supply is not interrupted. If I showed my girls then I would have to change things to do it the way the show people do it. I'm not saying you have to do it the way I do, it works for me so I do it that way......BACK