# Dairy breed pros and cons



## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

I am wanting to get registered dairy goats. I currently have a large herd of Australian miniatures and hoping to get dairy goats so I can feed their milk to the mini kids that are bottle raised that we are keeping (ones we are selling will need to be on easier to feed milk for buyers)
We have 3 kidding seasons a year and at most 20 does kid in each season. So an average of 40 kids, say at most we will keep 10 kids. 
I have a BA X saneen Buck so was thinking of getting British alpine does. Maybe 1 saneen? Mix the milk for the kids? 
How many does would I need to be able to feed the kids? I want to eventually be able to rotate the does so they stay in milk for 2 years and rotate who gets bred. Would 10 does be enough? Too many? Not enough?
What split would you get BA and saneen? I am also open to other breeds (maybe toggs?)
TIA


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

Oh forgot to add.
We would like to be able to use the excess milk for our own use (drinking/ cooking/ soap making) so need enough that we get some extra as well.
And will these does be able to live with my miniatures? My mini girls all live in the same paddock with 5 boer does too. 
And I am strict on they have to be tested! My entire herd is tested and I'm not going to buy untested no matter what.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You should get a gallon a day from a large dairy goat. What are your needs per kid?


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

Our kids when drinking the most would be 1-1.5L which I think is 1/2 a gallon. So 1 doe should be able to feed 2 kids?


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Yes, 1 doe should be able to feed 2 kids. Also keep in mind that you have the production curve, so 2 months after kidding they may be giving a gallon and a half, but toward the end of the milking period they may only be giving a half a gallon a day or less. I've had Nigerians & Nubians and just got a Saanen/Alpine cross. Nubians are large and dramatic, sassy too, but are lovers. Saanen/Alpines are pretty calm, friendly, affectionate. Nubians have more butterfat in their milk so it's better for making cheese, soap, lotion, icecream, etc. but the Saanens tend to make more milk. (Someone told me once that their Saanen cross gave 3 gallons a day!) Not sure on any of the other dairy breeds. Good luck!


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

Contact the Dairy goat Society branch in you State They will be able to give you a list of breeders and the Federal Secratary will be able to answer all questions about testing and paperwork. Here in Queensland you have to be CAE Accredited to be able to show and sell and export. I breed Toggenburgs and used to have some Saanens but they felt the heat here and I've seen some with skin cancers on their udders.The gene pool for British Alpines is very limited and finding unrelated Goats is hard. I've had Toggies for many years I like their alround toughness .They seem to be able to handle our harsh summer heat and cool winter nights.Anglo Nubians handle the heat and dry conditions Saanens are big millers as are Australian Melaans. Not to sure about Australian Browns as yet as there aren't to many of them and none that I've seen in Qld. They all will give you enough milk to feed your family or orphan bottle kids. I make soft cheeses collect the cream for butter or ice cream and yes make soap.We eat the unwanted wethers so nothing is wasted. Teejae


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

teejae said:


> Contact the Dairy goat Society branch in you State  They will be able to give you a list of breeders and the Federal Secratary will be able to answer all questions about testing and paperwork. Here in Queensland you have to be CAE Accredited to be able to show and sell and export. I breed Toggenburgs and used to have some Saanens but they felt the heat here and I've seen some with skin cancers on their udders.The gene pool for British Alpines is very limited and finding unrelated Goats is hard. I've had Toggies for many years  I like their alround toughness .They seem to be able to handle our harsh summer heat and cool winter nights.Anglo Nubians handle the heat and dry conditions Saanens are big millers as are Australian Melaans. Not to sure about Australian Browns as yet as there aren't to many of them and none that I've seen in Qld. They all will give you enough milk to feed your family or orphan bottle kids. I make soft cheeses collect the cream for butter or ice cream and yes make soap.We eat the unwanted wethers so nothing is wasted. Teejae


I am in qld as well so that's very helpful to know about the saneens not coping as well in the heat. I am organising to go to a breeders house soon to look at his BAs  
I don't know much about the toggs, but there is one for sale near me that I was thinking about having a look at.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

All DGSA members know each other or know of breeders and who is selling what. Just ask them if they know Teejae stud  There arnt many Toggie breeders and our gene pool is also getting slim. Ive kept mine "closed" so Ive run 2 unrelated bucks to 2 differant family groups with occasinal outcrossing so not to many of my goat genes are out there,Teejae


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## cinderrella123 (Sep 11, 2016)

My first doe when i first ever started with dairy goats was a 5 year old registered Saanen doe she also had a Saanen/lamancha doeling who was 4 months old still nursing occasionally. 


she was my best milker although she did have one mean bone in her body she couldn't be trusted around children she would go up behind my nephew and would flat out run and try to head butt him. but the reason for this is the previous owners young daughter would beat her with sticks she had marks all over her body and she was afraid of kids she would shy away when someone was carrying an object in there hand. 


she was my best milker she gave me 2 1/2 gallons of milk each day even after her production was suppose to go down she never did. 






But I now have been raising goats for almost 4 years now and I am raising 2 Registered Lamancha Doe's they will be 6 months old here on the 21st of September. I love this breed because even in the hot summer they are both out in the field grazing with my 33 year old Mare they do go in there pen for a couple of hours but they spend most of the day out in the pasture. I will also be picking up a Registered 99.99 percent Boer paint here on the 27th of this month she is 7 months of age i love the Boer goats because they make the best pets and they are a dual purpose breed you can milk them but they don't make that much milk they make the best meat goats. :fireworks:


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

We don't have Lamanchas in Australia, teejae


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Really? I know there was LaMancha sperm sent with the Nigerian sperm, I believe more togg and some Saanen as well


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

There has been semen imported by some dairy goat breeders but are so far up grading cross breed. Can't remember what with but no pure yet. Won't be long,There are American Anglo Nubians and Toggs I've only seen photos


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

To the OP, Bree. I'm curious why you have so many bottle babies? You have a tested herd, so I'm assuming you are not worried about disease. If you routinely take all your babies and stick them on bottles, how do you evaluate mothering genetics? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding and these aren't all your babies, just the problem children? If so, you have a LOT of babies! 

I have a few bottle babies from time to time, but nothing to the point that I want to buy another breed just to feed them. Indifferent, inadequate mothering is a cull factor for me.

Love to know more.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Interesting discussion about what breeds are available in Australia. I wish I could send you my LaMancha...


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

We could export live goats... IF everyone would conform to the Scrapies program lol


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

We pull a few as I am slowly keeping doe kids from my more crazy does and keeping tamer kids by bottle raising. Wethers sell better as bottle kids too so we pull them to sell. So far from probably 50-60 kids born here I have had 3 kids rejected. 1 was part of twins and she favoured the doe kid on her FF but was much better 2nd F. The other was 2 very premie kids to a FF she took both and at day 2 rejected the smaller doe kid and was very nasty, by day 5 she rejected the small boy. Her 2nd kidding she had 2 normal sized not premie babies and took both. A lot of mini breeders pull every kid at a few days old so the kids are friendly and easy to sell and also some breeders are still untested. Because so many pull everything I do have an older doe that once the kid is 7-10 days she just stops feeding her.. we tried to keep her feeding and managed till 25-27 days last kidding until she would no longer feed at all or care for the baby. Our does are good mothers and we do try and let them keep a kid or sometimes 2 every kidding but also have to keep with the market a bit. If we kept all wethers on moms until weaning then we wouldn't be able to sell many which is hard on the income for feeding and caring for the others. I have culled 1 doe due to mothering. 2 times she kidded both times the kids got to 1-4 days of age or even just born and she would try and bite and throw them.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

I believe we have 75% Lamanchas now? Slowly getting there.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

I do have 2 BA sisters now they are 8 months old. They are growing up well and fit in perfectly for our herd. We will only have 4-8 kids that are kept here on bottles that will be on their milk. We have a togg x also that is 4 years old and an older saanen girl. Together we were getting 5-6 L from these two girls at the end of their producing. We got them and started drying them off straight away as they were very underweight and had to get better before producing milk again. They are now fat shiny and happy and one has just been put in kid


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Thank's Bree, that was a good insight into your market. You are great for taking the time...


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

We have been trialling a different method lately where we pull all kids into a yard next to the moms. In the morning we milk all the moms and then give all babies a bottle and all day they are with mom then split again that night. This way the kids get grain and hay over night and moms get grain and hay in the yard at night away from the rest of the herd and then grain on the stand in the morning.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

That way if a kid does sell before weaning they can go on the bottle but still get to be with mom if they don't. At 8 weeks I am thinking wean the wethers onto 2 bottle and no mom and the doe kids that are being sold also. Does that are staying would keep with the same routine until 3-4 months wean we would stop morning bottles on being let out.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I like it that you are still experimenting, fine tuning your management. So am I. I keep running into unexpected benefits and unforeseen roadblocks, which lead to lessons in goat psychology. I mean, these are REALLY complex animals, and I don't think I would have picked up on that if I had just stayed put doing what I do. Until I talked with you, I would not have thought about the ability of a doe to train herself to reject her kids, because she will lose them anyway. Thanks.


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