# Tell me about YOUR LaMancha



## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

So lately, with my little Nigerian Roseanne giving minimal amounts of milk, I've been digging deeper into other breeds (I'm still going to keep my 3 Nigerians, I'd just like to add to them). My initial go-to was Nubians because they are unbelievably cute, and they butterfat content is high. Plus, they are (somewhat) easy to come by around here. However, after reading about how much of a handful they can be, with special regards to noise level, I have been exploring the possibility of different breeds, and I think LaManchas might make a nice addition to our herd.

From my research, they seem like great goats: calmer, friendly, good production, hardy. What I want to hear is your ACTUAL experience with these girls (and guys). Many times, the literature varies greatly from actual experience. What are your favorite and least favorite qualities? How much do you feed them and how much are you actually getting in milk production? Are they friendly and quiet?

I'm not crazy about the ears, but as my husband will point out - we don't have goats because they have nice ears  

Thanks guys! I look forward to hearing what you've got to say!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

A friend of mine had LaManchas and I spend a good bit of time with her, so I got to see hers pretty often. Those girls lived up to all the Mancha standards. But I totally agree with you when it comes to the ears. I have Alpines and LOVE them. I got 1/2 gallon a day from my 3rd freshener, milking her once a day. She was nursing triplets as well. I give my girls free choice alfalfa hay, and varying amounts of grain. If needed I top dress with calf manna or BOSS. And of course, loose minerals, copper bolus, and selenium/e gel. Friendliness depends completely on how they were raised. One of my girls is very friendly, the other is super skittish. I've been working with the skittish one and she is getting a lot better. The friendly one was well socialized when a baby. I honestly can't say Honey's breeder did more than give her a CDT shot and put feed out for them. So anyways, I highly recommend Alpines!!


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> So anyways, I highly recommend Alpines!!


Noted! Thanks so much for your point of view! I honestly hadn't given too much thought into Alpines - although I do love their coloring. onder:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I have LaManchas. Love the breed. Said I would never own them because of the ears. Never say never.

The only time they are noisy is feeding time. Their loudest doesn't even compare to the Nigerians and Nubians. They are affectionate. Easy to care for.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Sounds great! Especially the non loud aspect  Anybody else?


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Best breed by far in my opinion. Great production and personality. My only noisy girls are my nubian/lamancha crosses. All of my purebreds are extremely quite and super sweet.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

ksalvagno said:


> I have LaManchas. Love the breed. Said I would never own them because of the ears. Never say never.
> 
> The only time they are noisy is feeding time. Their loudest doesn't even compare to the Nigerians and Nubians. They are affectionate. Easy to care for.


I learned never say never with goats too :lol: How is the butterfat in LaMancha milk?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It is ok. Not like Nigerian or Nubian.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Getting a bit tired of the opinion that Nubians are noisy. Mine aren't. Only at feeding time when I'm late, or if something is very wrong. They can be opinionated, but I find they are extremely affectionate, easily trainable. I do all care and milking by myself. I'm creeping up on 60, and wouldn't have them if they were difficult. Just my experience.
I find most animals' behaviors (with some exceptions) are in how much time you spend with them and how you train them from the ground up. All mine are raised from kids, so it might be different if I got adults from another herd.
Just something to consider.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I have Nubians, Manchas, an Oberhasli. I have had Alpines, Saanens, Nigerians and a Togg cross, along with Boers and Pygmies. 

I love my Manchas.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

goatblessings said:


> Getting a bit tired of the opinion that Nubians are noisy. Mine aren't. Only at feeding time when I'm late, or if something is very wrong. They can be opinionated, but I find they are extremely affectionate, easily trainable. I do all care and milking by myself. I'm creeping up on 60, and wouldn't have them if they were difficult. Just my experience.
> I find most animals' behaviors (with some exceptions) are in how much time you spend with them and how you train them from the ground up. All mine are raised from kids, so it might be different if I got adults from another herd.
> Just something to consider.


Don'y worry, I haven't ruled them out quite yet! Being the owner of Dobermans, I understand that what people say about animals doesn't always correlate to actually owning them. The same is true with raising from babies rather than taking on someone else's problem.

I appreciate your feedback and will really take it into consideration! Maybe I'll just have to get one of each, that way I'll have it all :fireworks:


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I've had Nubians, Nigerians and LaManchas... the LaManchas by far were my favorite and I did end up with just lamanchas for a short while.. three breeds was tough to keep up with with a small amount of space and only enough room for a few bucks.. lol! 

They have a quieter voice for sure.. I never found my other two breeds to be much of yellers, except at dinner like any of them lol! But Nubians just have a voice that carries more lol! And then the high pitched Nigie voice lol! I really loved my LaManchas


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I only have one full lamancha and I love that girl! I have a bunch of her offspring but they are boer cross. She is such a loyal old gal, she's not annoying like my Nubians being up my butt or rubbing on me all the time but she loves to be loved on but doesn't push about it. She is smart which can be bad at times lol she knows how to open gates so with her being retired but still wanting a buck gates need to be tied. She is sexiest and won't let men touch her (her one daughter will ditch me if she sees my husband lol) she will let my mom milk her but she's not happy about it. When I milked her I threw a pan of grain on the ground and just sat on the ground and milked her. She would let the kids milk her as long as I was there. She would get brows and oat hay because she made so much milk and I wasn't a big fan of milking unless I had kids to feed, she would get enough grain to keep her happy while I liked her and she would raise twins and I got a gallon of milk from her. I do miss having her in production because my freezer was always full of milk but not any more  if I were to ever go into milk goats I would have lamanchas hands down. I know their ears are stupid, I really don't like the ears either but I'm so happy I looked past that and got Gabby


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

Its no secret I LOVE MY MANCHAS!!! Sweet milk and plenty of it, Very quiet with great dispositions!!!


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

I love dobs- been owned by one and someday i will be owned by another!!!


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

We have two Nigerians (dam and daughter) and two LaManchas (dam and daughter).

I LOVE our LaManchas. They are smaller than Nubians and easier to handle, but they are not so docile as to be boring. They have tons of personality. Ditza has been bred twice and she loves being milked (ok...or maybe getting grain) so much that she literally GALLOPS to the milk stand when it is her turn. (And sometimes when it isn't...) She and Aviva are smart and funny and silly. My girls have taught them several tricks and commands. Milking is a dream with lovely teats that you can actually get your hands around (as opposed to Nigerians). The milk tastes great too - and is all the better when mixed with Nigey milk. I do yogurt, farmer's cheese, ricotta, and cream cheese, caramels, custards, fudge. It all comes out great.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I have them all. I really like the lamanchas. The (lack of ) ears tend to grow on you. The Alpines can be pretty mean to each other, but the lamanchas don't take any grief from them. I won't get controversial about Nubians, but they are not my favorite breed. I think it takes a special type of person to really like them. I am not that person.  

Oberhaslis are very sweet. Toggs are great too as are Saanens! All can be ignorant, smart, quiet, loud, etc. it is a hard decision to choose the perfect goat for you and your situation!


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Wow you guys! Thanks so much for these comments! 
GoatsRock: are you thinning your herd any? We're close and can I come pick up 

I think a Lamancha will fit in nicely. It sounds like they live up to their reputation of a good all around dairy goat, and I never thought about mixing the milk with the Nigerians to slightly up the butterfat content.

I do love my little Nigerians. I got them because I am new to goats, and wanted something small I could handle. Well, turns out I should have started with a full size breed to learn the basics of milking BEFORE trying to milk her micro teats! Oh well, she's still a keeper in my book. I do look forward, though, to being able to milk a good sized teat!


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

Harriet_and_Hens said:


> Wow you guys! Thanks so much for these comments!
> GoatsRock: are you thinning your herd any? We're close and can I come pick up
> 
> I think a Lamancha will fit in nicely. It sounds like they live up to their reputation of a good all around dairy goat, and I never thought about mixing the milk with the Nigerians to slightly up the butterfat content.
> ...


Yes, I think if you get an experienced, full-size milker, you are going to have a much easier, happier experience. I don't really find Nigerians easier to handle, than full-size. Yes, they are smaller, but they are still very strong, and if they want to go against you, they can still cause a whole lot of trouble. I'd rather a sweet, docile giant than a punky mini. Though if I had to choose between two punky goats, of course I would choose the smaller one 

I have two does that are 3/4 Nubian, 1/4 Sannen/Alpine. They are very, very quiet. So it really depends. They're a little more, lets say, paranoid, than my other goats, quicker to startle and rear up at something harmless, more defensive for sure. Whereas my Saanen was so calm, so smart, and just so personable. Extremely pleasant to be around; a whole different experience. And I think LaManchas would be more on that end of the spectrum, though I don't have direct experience with them myself. So it really depends what you value most. The Nubian ears just kill me, and I think I'll be going more in that direction as time goes on, because I just love looking at them, and they make nice milk.

Is your goat pen within sight or hearing distance from your house? Even my noisy goats were quiet unless they saw or heard me. So if you're out of sight, out of mind, then a noisy one might not be much of an issue anyway.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

lilaalil said:


> Is your goat pen within sight or hearing distance from your house? Even my noisy goats were quiet unless they saw or heard me. So if you're out of sight, out of mind, then a noisy one might not be much of an issue anyway.


Yes, the goat pen is in sight of the house. The noise has been an issue since day 1 -- they just yell and yell (mostly in the evenings). They even do it when we haven't been outside all day; I think they're just noisy girls (the wether doesn't yell much, just the does). I'm hoping with the days getting shorter that over the winter they will forget to yell in the evening and hopefully they won't carry on next summer? Who knows.

Thanks so much for your thoughts!


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

You can learn about our queen LaMancha by going to Youtube and searching for "Ditza the goat" I have 3-4 videos there that really show her whacky personality.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

OHHHHHH MY FAV BREED!! I love my Lamancha. I have 7 does...all are super sweet...yummy milk...cutie pie babies...


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

I have LaManchas, Nubians, Nigerians, and a Toggenburg. The LaManchas are by far my favorite!! One of the Nubians was a horrible random all-day screamer as a kid, but she settled down after she kidded the next year. Otherwise I haven't noticed a noise difference between the breeds. The adult Nubians are the most demanding and insistant about wanting attention and wanting it NOW. The LaManchas are the calm sweethearts of the bunch. The Nigerians are a like little bulldogs and actually seem stronger than the standard does(low center of gravity? Lol!). And the Toggenburg is Herd Queen, so she's just a pushy brat haha.

However, of this year's kids, I do have a little group of 4 LaManchas that are referred to as "The Posse". They are always with each other, and always ganging up on anyone else in the pen and generally causing the most havoc. If you enter the pen, the Posse follows you around, butting anyone else away and hogging the attention. Little stinkers.  They made it rather difficult to trim everyone's hooves this weekend.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

But what about the really nasty ear infections that LaManchas can get? I've heard from some LaMancha owners that ear maintenance is definitely required regularly!


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

SalteyLove said:


> But what about the really nasty ear infections that LaManchas can get? I've heard from some LaMancha owners that ear maintenance is definitely required regularly!


 Only one of my gopher-eared does ever needs her ears cleaned regularly. I only have a few gopher eared ones and she's the only one that has problems. I've never had an issue with the elf eared does before.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I only had one get a ear infection...she was an older gal, and I was out of town..my kids never saw it...I found it when I got home..it was bad but most mine hardly even need cleaning...I massage them almost daily and so keep a good eye on it..


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

My lamanchas like the ear message. One has had ear infections. But, after ear drops ( boy was that fun), antibiotics and warm compresses, she has been fine. Just message them and wipe the wax off that can accumulate around the ear opening with a wet wipe.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

SalteyLove said:


> But what about the really nasty ear infections that LaManchas can get? I've heard from some LaMancha owners that ear maintenance is definitely required regularly!


I've only had one doe who was ever a problem ear-wise (she's gone now, though for other reasons). My other does and kids have had zero problems.

Once we realized that the problem doe needed help we were able to keep infections at bay by giving her ears a quick wipe twice a day with an anti-bacterial wipe. You can use a commercial wipie, or a paper towel moistened with origional Listerine or a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol.


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## GodsGarden (Feb 6, 2015)

I have Lamanchas for over three years and I haven't had any problems with ears. A few have gotten a tad waxy but I clean it out and keep an eye on it and nothing after that. Except the buck but that is a completely different reason, lol.

I love Lamanchas. I might be a bit biased having never owned a different breed but I fell in love with the earlessness! It is so cute. The babies are darling. Their temperaments are great and their personality vary and are so endearing. I could talk forever about their personalities. They really are a pleasure to own. They aren't escape artists or anything. Never had one even try to open a gate or jump over or dig under. In my opinion they are calm and easy to train. They know the order I milk them in and all stand (or been trained to stand) very well on the milking stand.

If they see me they will give an initial yell out but don't stand there yelling. Except one, if she is hungry and it is feeding time (or she is in heat) she will yell! Full out holler!

Production can vary but seems on average they will give over a 1/2 gallon on once a day milking. My best milker will give 5 quarts on once a day milking.

As for hardiness, being from Colorado and at a high altitude it can get really cold. I have a small girl that I have to blanket when it dips below 15 F. They have a nice completely closed in part of the barn but doors are open in other areas. The hardiest goat I blanket when it gets -10 F to -20 F below. Peace of mind for me.

And really? How could you say no to faces like these?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Aww. Baby lamanchas are so darn cute! All kids are cute but they take the prize!


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## Dairy_goat (Apr 11, 2015)

I have 3 purebred Lamanchas. I DO have to admit, they each have their own individual personality. My one doeling is easy going and one of the lowest girls on the pecking order, her "attitude" is basically invisible. Her twin,however, is polar opposite. She.drives.me.INSANE! I added a new alpine doe to the "doeling" herd, and the lamancha kid was fighting like crazy with the adult doe to be the herd queen. I moved her into another pen, same thing; she was fighting with the big does a lot. I finally moved the lamacha kid into the last pen that I could think of, "the littles" pen with my small fainting goats, and they get along PERFECTLY so far. I don't know why she was doing that.

_And_ I tried to keep her in a pasture with her field mates, but she would jump a 4 foot fence at a stand still to go where ever she pleased. (My dad witnessed this on multiple occasions.) I also recently got an amazing (but HUGE) lamancha doe, and she is as sweet as can be. To sum it up, they all have their own quirks and personalities. I love lamanchas, but ditto what Suzanne said, look into Alpines ;-)


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

You guys all have me convinced! I am officially keeping my eyes and ears open for a lamancha doe (or 2) to add to our herd!


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

:thumbup:


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## GodsGarden (Feb 6, 2015)

No! You defiantly need three! At least! lol :smile:


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