# LOUD Nigerian!!



## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Hello again all,

I have seen many of you say time and time again that Nigerians can be kind of loud. So, when my 1 year old doe starts yelling, I try not to give it much thought; however, she does NOT STOP :GAAH: 

I don't actually mind the noise (my neighbors probably do, but I'm not really even too concerned about that). I just am concerned maybe something is wrong. Could she be lonely, even though her 2 babies are with her (they're about 7 weeks old now)? The babies seem fine, talking a little when they see me, but nothing too crazy. I only feed her in the morning - 6:30am every morning, on the milk stand. 

Maybe this is a dumb question, I just want my girl to be happy! Could she need some adult company? :shrug: We've talked about getting another doe in milk - maybe this would be a good time?


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

How long have you had her? It does take some time for them to adjust, especially if they originally came from a big herd. 

Can you tell what she's yelling at? Mine will see someone walk by outside the house and make some noise sometimes, kind of as a way to say hello and ask if we're coming down. 

Does she have enough hay/browse? Sometimes a hungry goat will be very talkative. Maybe she doesn't like the hay/grass you have out, and wants something different? 

Those are my guesses, anyway.  A doe can get companionship from her babies, but if she's in a situation she doesn't like the babies being there with her will not help. I learned that from several of my does will become very unhappy if they are left in the kidding stall with their babies, apart from the herd. An adult companion might help, but two goats will not always become happy friends.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Some good points! We've had her for just over 1 month now. Some days she is SUPER loud, and other days she's a little quieter - although it seems lately, it's been louder. 

She did come from a bigger herd, which is what I originally assumed the problem was, but since it's been a month I thought maybe she'd be past that by now. I don't think she can see anyone that would make her yell (unless we are outside of course) because our neighbors are separated by a wooded area. 

She seems to eat enough of the hay, but she does tend to leave a lot, which I just end up changing out because I want her to eat enough. 

Good point about the two does possibly not getting along - that's the main reason I haven't gotten another one yet.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

Yeah, I expect after a month she would be pretty used to her new place. 

Sometimes two goats meet and become good friends, while other times they don't. If you're wanting to get another goat anyway, I think it would be worth a try getting her an adult friend (of course, any excuse to get another goat is welcome in my book.  ) It could be that her babies are starting to get more independent and she just now noticed that she's without any other adult companions.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

You're doing exactly the right thing by feeding her grain at the same time every day! Don't go out & give goodies if she's yelling or she'll do it more. Goats have really long memories, way way over a month, so I personally wouldn't discount that she might be calling for her old friends or trying to summon new ones. Does she have things to climb on so she's not bored?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

How many pounds of grain is she eating on the stand in the morning? Feeding 2 seven week olds and being milked is a big demand so just want to make sure she isn't truly actually hungry!

You could consider leaving some alfalfa pellets out for her during the rest of the day after milking to keep her busier.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

Thanks everybody! 

There is definitely enough to keep her busy (I would think). We've got rocks and stumps to climb on, and my husband puts tree branches in there, which do seem to keep her the busiest. Giving Alfalfa during the day is a great idea! She gets 3 cups of grain per day on the milk stand, along with a little handful of black oil sunflower seeds and Alfalfa pellets. She only puts out around 1 1/4 cups of milk in the morning, but she doesn't seem chubby at all. Do you think I should try to give her a little more, or do you guys think that is enough? It seems like a ton of food to me! 

I will try to convince my husband that getting another doe will be a good idea


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I don't raise miniatures but 3 cups seems like very little grain for a doe nursing 2 kids and being milked. If she were mine, I would leave her another pound of alfalfa pellets out during the day to munch on. I bet she could use the extra calcium and protein. Maybe a mini breeder will jump in and give their 2 cents.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

Honestly, with my milking does I let them eat as much as they want while they're on the milking stand. If they're hungry they'll probably eat close to 4 cups each time, and if they're not hungry they just don't finish it all. I give them a mix of grain and alfalfa pellets.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

OK Great!! I will absolutely give her more food tomorrow! I'll see how much more she eats.. maybe that's our problem! 

In the mean time, I have some chopped and pelleted Alfalfa, so I'll leave that for her to munch on. Question though: I heard that Alfalfa may not be good for bucks/ wethers to eat due to high calcium content. Is this true? If so, I'm not sure how I'll leave it out for her without my curious little boy also chowing down!

Now I feel bad  I hope she isn't too hungry!! That's probably the cause of her low milk production as well :?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

The baby won't eat enough to matter. My wethers eat alfalfa with no problem.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Alfalfa is a-okay for bucks & wethers. Especially if they also eat some grass, browse, or grains then it is needed to balance the calcium to phosphorous ratio.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If she came from a large herd and is now by herself with just her kids, it is going to take a very long time for her to settle in. Safety in numbers and hers was cut down to just her.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

I totally understand! I feel so bad that she feels alone - sometimes I think the kids just drive her crazy. 

I am glad to hear about the Alfalfa though - sometimes it's hard to know what you're learning is sound advice or over the top. I guess I just have to continue to use a little from everyone and apply it accordingly.

Today, I filled up a big feed bin with Alfalfa chopped hay. She didn't seem to yell as much today; however, it's extremely hot, so all they were really doing was laying around.. Anyway, this evening I noticed that she had eaten a bunch of it, and she had a nice hay belly going on, which she hasn't really had too much in the evenings the past week or two (since I've been milking, really). 

I think we're on the right track!! Thanks so much, you guys


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

ksalvagno said:


> If she came from a large herd and is now by herself with just her kids, it is going to take a very long time for her to settle in. Safety in numbers and hers was cut down to just her.


Obviously, the solution is to buy all the goats you want! 
:grin:


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

catharina said:


> Obviously, the solution is to buy all the goats you want!
> :grin:


I know!:hi5: For some reason, my husband is all like "but more goats cost money...blah blah blah" - I don't get it.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

UPDATE: She's still yelling, and now her daughter has chimed in :hair: 

Roseanne (the adult) is actually a lot better, and I feel like she probably wouldn't even yell if Rachel (the 3 month old doeling) wasn't yelling.

Rachel started her yelling when I stopped giving her grain (about 2 weeks ago) - I stopped because I kept reading everything saying that they don't need it unless pregnant or in milk. They are OK all day until about 5:00pm and then they just stand on big stumps or rocks and YELL! We just ignore it the best we can. We have tried putting branches in there, Alfalfa/ timothy pellets, beet pulp, fresh hay.. It doesn't matter.

I feel bad because they can see my neighbor's side door, and I know they yell at them too. I'm not too worried about anything but being neighborly, because I KNOW I would be getting pretty annoyed by now if I couldn't even enjoy my country home.

Tomorrow, we are going to try to bring them to a different area to browse, and hopefully that will do some good.

Do you think I should start giving the doeling a little grain in the morning? Maybe getting her used to the milk stand? I feed at the exact same time each and ever morning - 6:30. The wether seems to be adjusting to the no-grain OK, but geeze, Rachel is freaking! Ross (our wether) does put his 2 cents in from time to time, but I think it's just for fun.

Any and all help is always appreciated!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I feed all my goats some grain. You ultimately have to decide what works best for your farm. You don't have to feed a lot of grain. It should never be a main part of their diet anyway.


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

Yeah, I give my kids a bit of grain as well. My milkers get as much as they want on the milk stand. Some of my Nigies are chattier than others. I have one doeling and she is LOUD! Especially when she's upset about something. The others call out when they see me, or when the see the dogs come out of the kitchen door in the morning (they know I'm up, lol), or when something is happening that they don't like, i.e. clipping or hoof trimming.

My bunch all get free choice alfalfa, even the guys. I don't have a wether, and my bucks have always gotten alfalfa. The breeder I purchased him from told me what she gave him, and she's been the guideline I've always followed.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

CrazyDogLady said:


> Yeah, I give my kids a bit of grain as well. My milkers get as much as they want on the milk stand. Some of my Nigies are chattier than others. I have one doeling and she is LOUD! Especially when she's upset about something. The others call out when they see me, or when the see the dogs come out of the kitchen door in the morning (they know I'm up, lol), or when something is happening that they don't like, i.e. clipping or hoof trimming.
> 
> My bunch all get free choice alfalfa, even the guys. I don't have a wether, and my bucks have always gotten alfalfa. The breeder I purchased him from told me what she gave him, and she's been the guideline I've always followed.


Yeah, I figured some would be noisy, others wouldn't; however, this little girl has something to say in the form of yelling from 5:00pm until bedtime- even if we've been in the house and she can't see us. I think I'll just separate her and the wether and give her a little grain.. hopefully this helps!

I assume your Alfalfa is in hay form and not pellets? The hay is hard to come by around here, unless I buy it pre packed at TSC. I've been giving pellets and chopped hay (which is CRAZY dusty!). They do like it though


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

ksalvagno said:


> I feed all my goats some grain. You ultimately have to decide what works best for your farm. You don't have to feed a lot of grain. It should never be a main part of their diet anyway.


Wise words. It can be hard to know what's best for the health of the animal with so many conflicting arguments about this thing or that. I sometimes forget that this is my own setup, and I should do what's best for us.


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## wndngrvr (Dec 10, 2011)

I have 10 Nigerian milkers - they get two cups of grain twice a day on their milk stand. Alfalfa in the morning - orchard grass or good field hay in the feeder during the day and alfalfa in the evening on top of the hay they left. Lots of browse during their daily walk. I kind of need to cut them back -some are pudgy. My three bucks get some alfalfa am and pm along with their grass hay. 
I used to feed lots of alfalfa to my buck years back -never had UC problems. My boys stay looking great all year. 
I add apple cider vinegar to one of their water buckets and we have pretty acid spring water -I think that helps with the boys. Mine prefer the ACV water to water without.
I had a lady with years of experience tell me that she feed only alfalfa to her bucks as that is what they had available and she salted their food with table salt to make them thirstier so that they drank a lot more water??? Maybe that helps also. I keep my water pails very clean and changed several times a day to encourage them to drink - also take the buck's beards off when they are in rut. Urine in their beard can dirty their water and slow down their drinking I would think. 
Don't know what really works - but I have been lucky.
Also a PS: I think Nigerians are noisy. Mine call for everything.


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