# milking a boer/nubian cross



## billmac (Sep 8, 2008)

Has anyone heard of a boer / nubian cross being a decent dairy goat? I know the cross often happens but I suspect the kids are sold as meat. But I also read that boer milk is very good, and I wondered anyone used a cross for milk purposes.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

I have a Boer Sanaan (50/50) and she milks pretty darn good. Now I also own her daughter 75/25 higher being Boer, and I have colostrum in the freezer from her, but she didn't have a huge udder and to be honest I didn't milk her because I had enough to do.

But yes, depending on what udder trait tshe got - she very well could be a great milker! My Dora (best milker) is a Alpine with some Boer


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I have seen some ..really good sized udder's on boer/nubian crosses...so it isn't impossible....
I even have some fullblood boers ...that give us a gallon of milk a day.... :wink:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

My mom has a nubi/boer cross doe that was given to her with an 8 month old doe kid....Her udder was huge....but, the attachments were AWFUL and she had numerous bumps from what I suspect were "xtra" non function teats all over the 2 working teats. She was easily milked because she had these massive handful teatsbut because the attachments were so bad her teats were basically dragging the ground.

She was part of a meat goat herd and was used as a breeder, not for milk. Your doe could very well be a great producer, just watch those attachments when breeding any doelings you may keep from her.


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## goatkid (Jan 17, 2009)

My friend used to milk a couple of Nubian Boer crosses when she had her dairy to increase her butterfat. I used to milk a Boer/Spanish/La Mancha cross. These goats gave a decent amount of milk, but don't have as long a lactation as a pure dairy breed.


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## BeeLady (Dec 12, 2008)

I've never milked a goat, but any F-1 cross (full breed bred to full breed) often produces an animal with superior characteristics to either parent. Guess you'll just have to see which characteristics are improved and hopefully it will be the dairy. All bets are off, though for any does from this goat unless bred back to a 100% dairy breed.

If you were very lucky, you might even get better milking off of less feed due to the heterosis than you would expect from the feed:milk ratio off of a full dairy breed.


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## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

We milk Mini-Nubians here but not right now though.


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## barnyard (Feb 10, 2009)

I don't know about milking a boer/dairy cross, but this cross is becoming more popular amoung boer breeders. The boer/dairy mothers breed back to a boer produce a kid that is a very high percentage boer and due to the dairy udder, give a ton of milk. Many of the kids from these does crossed with good boer lines can consistantly wean a kid at 90lbs (@3 months). One reason I plan to breed my Saanens to my registered boer buck (when I get him) to improve our weights.


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