# Portuguese Mountain Goats



## essencedafloresta (Sep 7, 2014)

Hello hopefully all is well! This is my first post and I am interested in buying a 2-3 dairy goats for the family. I am looking to use the milk for chevre and eventually some goudas.
I am located in Portugal, so I do not have access to some of the "brand-name" breeds available in the US.
What I have found alot for sale are Portuguese mountain goats. They are used for milk production, giving max 1.5liters of milk in a day, from what a breeder told me.
I am little in the dark with these gals though. I have read and studied alot of the popular dairy breeds in the US, and it's a little difficult to get some good info. 
Would you liken this breed to more of an alpine? Or something else all together? *So that i can get an idea of what they might require and the quality of milk they might produce.*
Below are some pictures.
Thank you!

There are also some other breeds i came across. If anyone can help me out I would truly appreciate it.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

One breed looks close to our Nubian and one looks close to our Alpine. Good luck on your search!


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

Those are some good looking goats! I would imagine that they are a natural mix of "breeds" or really a mix of genetics that have been in the area....that would serve to make them hardy and easy keepers by nature.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

Try looking for these breeds or a mix of them. the Serrana , Serpentina
, Charnequeira and Aigarvia
They have a mixed aptitude (meatl
milk), depending on production conditions
Serrana and Aigarvia, however, being the
best milk producers


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## essencedafloresta (Sep 7, 2014)

Thank you dreamacresfarm2, you seem to really be knowledgable about the breeds available here. I did some more research and i was able to follow their blood lines a bit more. It seems the Charnequiers and the Serranas are the two main groups of goats available in Portugal. The charnequieras being further divided into Algarve(Algarvia) and Altentejo(Serpentina), etc. And the Serranas are divided in Sailoa and Jermelista.
So from your research youve understood that the Serranas have better milk production? I do see alot of the cheeses made here are either from transmontana area or the alenteijo. 
The first two pictures are of the goats i am most considering right now. They are 3 mos into pregnancy and have birthed previously.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

It is nice to start with does you know have kidded before without problems - getting ones already bred means you don't have to deal with a buck at least this year - You can improve your herd by choosing a buck next year that improves what you have - ie need more milk production choose a buck that's dam and grand dam were heavy producers - then keep the best doe(s) from that breeding - I live in the USA but did research what was available where you live.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

Very nice looking goats. 

Check them out to make sure that they are disease-free. It's not in the group you are looking at, but is that a lump on the goat in the sixth photo down, in the lower left corner? You wouldn't want to get goats with CL.

Good luck. I had never heard of these breeds before, but I like their looks.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I LOVE the coloring on the goats in the 3rd and 4th pictures.


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

lottsagoats1 said:


> I LOVE the coloring on the goats in the 3rd and 4th pictures.


Yeah, me too. Remind me a bit of Siamese cats. Did you notice the wattles? They look like they were dipped in paint. I love wattles.  For me, they make a goat. (Of course, mine don't have them.)


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## ArborGoats (Jan 24, 2013)

I agree love the coloring on the 3rd and 4th goats! Not that coloring tells you anything other than pretty. 

I'd make sure to run your hands on some of the goats, feel their throat and neck regions for the bumps and lumps near the areas where the lymph nodes are. Some of those goats look like they have lots of hair so seeing might not be the easiest way to determine is something is lurking under that hair. 

Very cool goats and best of luck!


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I don't think that CL is a problem in Europe. That and CAE are the reasons we can't export goats.


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Wow, nice seeing some different breeds! As for the quality of the milk, maybe visit a breeder of goats that you are interested in, do a hands-on inspection as inspected above, and ask to try milking/taste the milk, to get an idea of the quality of milk and how these girls handle. 
Glndg, in the sixth pic I see what you're looking at, but it seems to me that all the goats at that place have that projection on both sides--really prominent shoulder bones?


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## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

Goat_in_Himmel said:


> Wow, nice seeing some different breeds! As for the quality of the milk, maybe visit a breeder of goats that you are interested in, do a hands-on inspection as inspected above, and ask to try milking/taste the milk, to get an idea of the quality of milk and how these girls handle.
> Glndg, in the sixth pic I see what you're looking at, but it seems to me that all the goats at that place have that projection on both sides--really prominent shoulder bones?


I noticed that too in the others, but I thought the one was in a slightly different place. Maybe not, you could be right. They do seem to have distinct conformation.
Vicki


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