# Best cross breeds ever?



## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I am super curious about cross breed goats. I was wondering what your personal favorites have been, and why you liked them. I've seen some people purposefully cross, and wondered what they were looking for...


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

BoerXstandard dairy = kids are more meaty than dairy kids if you plan on butchering the kids but want milk from a dairy doe.

Breeding either a Nubian or lamancha to an alpine or saanan. You get the high production from the saanan or alpine and a higher butterfat from the Nubian or lamancha in the offspring.

I like Nubian alpine crosses. Cool colors, hybrid vigor, and the milk qualities mentioned above.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Boer/Nubian.


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## jaimn (May 16, 2015)

:nice thread: Good question, but you will likely get as many responses as there are crosses! I am guessing that the basic answer will be - what are you looking for? 

Like dogs, cows, etc. people gravitate to what they know, or have experienced. I have had many dogs, but love the Doberman, will not buy another Great Dane, and my children are scared of weanie dogs!

I had one Alpine doe that was a decent doe, but terrible to walk. Her kids are the same - sweet but don't try to lead them anywhere, and they are the first to fight. But there are those that love their Alpines. Same with Boers - all my first kids were Boer cross, which I will not repeat any time soon if I can help it, though it is a much-loved breed. However, I do think that they are the cutest kids - I have to check myself when I see people posting their Boer kid pictures. ;-) . My Kiko doe gives more milk than my Oberhasli (both nursing still though) and I love her disposition, but can't wait to sell the other Kiko (anyone? I'll give a TGS discount!!!! Getting eager to sell~~~~!!!!!)

So, what are you looking for? Milk cross? Meat cross? Yard art?

I look forward to what others have to say.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

ND x Nubi and ND x Munchie. I love both of the standard breeds, but I hate Roman noses and earless goats. Crossing with a ND compromises both traits. But I haven't had experience breeding either


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

My favorite lamancha boer. They come out such nice thick kids every single time. For the first time I did alpine boer and I think I like that cross as well but still lamanchq is my favorite especially the personality. Nubian and boer seems to be a hit or miss for me. The kids always grow very fast but most of the time they are small framed like the Nubian. I'm not sure why the lamancha comes out so much better and grows just as fast but they do. Only down side is those ears take a LONG time to breed out of them lol so there is no hiding what they really are lol


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I'm just curious right now. My babies can't be bred for a year still. I've only heard of crossing ND over standard on purpose for 2/3 the milk and 1/2 the appetite. Has anyone had that go wrong? A goat with a standard's appetite and a ND production? With boer/Nubian or alpine, do you still get enough milk production? Or does it decrease with the boer blood?


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## COgoatLover25 (Dec 23, 2013)

I'll just pretend you didn't say that Suzanne_Tyler lol! 

Anyways, I've never owned a cross but if were going to it'd be a La Mancha x Alpine cross. All the ones I've met have super personalities and the cutest ears!


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Nubian x Lamancha. I love the "Jester" ears, the added size and butterfat they get from the Nubian, the added production and nice udders they get from the Manchas and they are usually not as loud, dumb and obnoxious as the full Nubians are.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

singinggoatgirl said:


> I'm just curious right now. My babies can't be bred for a year still. I've only heard of crossing ND over standard on purpose for 2/3 the milk and 1/2 the appetite. Has anyone had that go wrong? A goat with a standard's appetite and a ND production? With boer/Nubian or alpine, do you still get enough milk production? Or does it decrease with the boer blood?


I think it decreases with the boer blood. I mean my dairy were nothing to sneeze about, they had a lot of milk but there udders never looked like some I see on here, well except for my lamancha she would raise twins and still give me a gallon a day but she had a horrid udder attachment. Anyways back on track here lol take gabbys daughter for example, her udder is way bigger then most of my full boers but is nothing compared to mama. But for me being not a fan of milking I like that! I don't have to milk her like I did her mom but if I wanted to steal some milk I could. She could easily raise triplets while most of my boers always have a runt if I let them keep all 3. 
As for the ND and standard breeding I really have no idea. I'm thinking its for a smaller goat but not tiny like the ND and still gives you plenty of milk. Being smaller would mean they eat less but I'm not sure why not just go with ND unless maybe teat size is being considered.......honestly I have no idea I'm a meat goat kinda gal lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I have FB boer who can raise trips with no issues and have a nice udders. Some lines have great udders, so if you put them with a good nubian, they will be great milkers and grow well for meat production as well. It is the best of both worlds if you choose correctly. Plus, they are beautiful to look at.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I do have ones as well but the majority of them just don't. Well they can do it but will have one kid that I'm not overly pleased with the way it grows out


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

This is so fun to hear about! The registries for breeds can't give you this kind of first hand information! I love TGS!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:hugs:


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Alpine/Nubian crosses all the way! Love their goofy, flappy, airplane ears! Every goat has its own unique ears, but all are funny. I really like their personalities--more laid back than the Alpines but not so lazy as the Nubians, and they're not usually as noisy as Nubians either. This cross can really produce some awesome colors. I also really like their heads. They tend to have very balanced heads with just the hint of a noble, convex profile.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Dang, I forgot about that cross... I LOVE airplane ears.


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## JerryR (May 18, 2016)

Im just starting out myself and my goats are just kids too. I was looking for a good duel purpose goat so i got a pair of nubian, that ended up being nubian alpine x. well my buckling had CAE so he is gone. i went and got a boer togg x. after all the research iv done i think it will be a good mix.


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## ryder225912 (Dec 25, 2013)

Boer x Toggenburg has been my favourite. My Togg doe ALWAYS produces big wide chunky kids when crossed onto our buck. I'm always tempted to retain all of her doe kids because they're so nice.


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

My fave is Boer /Lamancha, you never know what ears they will have! 12 week old Letty with mom Cylipso, she is huge, over 50lbs!


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

So, I might as well get in on this one also. I am a complete newbie to the goat raising as I've posted on another place. I have 2 babies (got almost a month ago) they are almost 3 month old brother and sister (he's wethered). They are boer x Nigerian cross. I do not know about personalities, etc but from what I read. I would like to purchase next year a few more doe and then maybe a buckling for the future. My preference would be goats that are gentle, playful, kids friendly (as we have grands and then church kids her often), and on the smaller not giagantor size. I would like to milk I believe as a healthy way of living and possible have once in a while one for meat (maybe...I don't know if I'm that gutsy or not. I get pretty attached)
Anyways, what would be the best options for that kind of a goat for me? I maybe wanting too many qualities in one type. 
Do all goats do well with chickens?
I have an acre that I am working with also on growing pasture.
No laughing at all my statements or questions


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

Oh, and these are my babies I have!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I had a boer nigi, she was one of my favorites!!
Pretty much everything but the milking and size any breed can do. I think the most kid friendly though is a Nubian. Some people do dislike them because they are loud but they are so sweet. I've had 2, the first one was like a dog, this one I have now sandy is sweet as can be and a clean freak and will lick you from head to toe. She though is super quiet. 
But they are big lol there is kinders, they are I believe pigmy Nubian cross but to me I'm not sure why Nubians are considered loud, those pigmys never shut up! There's just nigis and even being a die hard fan of boers those kids are the cutest things in the world. Every time I see one I have to remind myself every bird and critter here in the mountains would snatch them up. There's a thread going KW kidding or something like that, for sure the KW part and you can see how cute they are!!! I know nothing of the personality though. But from my understanding they are getting mini everything by breeding say a lamancha, Nubian and such to a nigi and they are smaller then what they should be and since both sides are dairy you should get good milk amount still.......but this is my understanding I'm a meat breed gal


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

Jessica84 said:


> I had a boer nigi, she was one of my favorites!!
> Pretty much everything but the milking and size any breed can do. I think the most kid friendly though is a Nubian. Some people do dislike them because they are loud but they are so sweet. I've had 2, the first one was like a dog, this one I have now sandy is sweet as can be and a clean freak and will lick you from head to toe. She though is super quiet.
> But they are big lol there is kinders, they are I believe pigmy Nubian cross but to me I'm not sure why Nubians are considered loud, those pigmys never shut up! There's just nigis and even being a die hard fan of boers those kids are the cutest things in the world. Every time I see one I have to remind myself every bird and critter here in the mountains would snatch them up. There's a thread going KW kidding or something like that, for sure the KW part and you can see how cute they are!!! I know nothing of the personality though. But from my understanding they are getting mini everything by breeding say a lamancha, Nubian and such to a nigi and they are smaller then what they should be and since both sides are dairy you should get good milk amount still.......but this is my understanding I'm a meat breed gal


So, maybe I don't want mini ones. Hmmmm, so hard to know. It is so different than me and the dog breeding. I studying genetics before I started. I knew what I was doing. This, I'm learning as I go along. I don't like that much.
I would love to have a conversation about the meat goat. I have never ventured on eating much variety so this is a new thing. I don't even know where to go to try it.
I wish I could visit people, see their babes and talk their ear off with questions!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Well, where are you located?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

One thing I have learned about goat people is they love to talk goats. I don't even really consider myself a big people person, I don't like rude and inconsiderate people, but even I just had new people to the goat world out here and we talked for hours about pros and cons and what they would want with their goals and so on. So I'm sure you can find someone close by to talk to. 
To be honest I'm a chicken lol other then trying goat in a burrito once that was smothered in beans and rice and other stuff I've never tried it lol I'm afraid to go to the store and get some meat and have it end up being some nasty old buck. I've seen what a lot of our beef comes from so I don't want it to ruin me  but I don't like milking so I go with meat. But one day I'm gonna try it! I have some nice wethers this year so I think I'm gonna do it


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Well, where are you located?


Altus, AR
Where are you located?


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

Jessica84 said:


> One thing I have learned about goat people is they love to talk goats. I don't even really consider myself a big people person, I don't like rude and inconsiderate people, but even I just had new people to the goat world out here and we talked for hours about pros and cons and what they would want with their goals and so on. So I'm sure you can find someone close by to talk to.
> To be honest I'm a chicken lol other then trying goat in a burrito once that was smothered in beans and rice and other stuff I've never tried it lol I'm afraid to go to the store and get some meat and have it end up being some nasty old buck. I've seen what a lot of our beef comes from so I don't want it to ruin me  but I don't like milking so I go with meat. But one day I'm gonna try it! I have some nice wethers this year so I think I'm gonna do it


If you aren't into the meat...why have meat goats? Do you sell them to people for meat? No one around here really have said anything about eating goat. It's a hunting sort of community that we were transplanted in because of ministry.


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

Is there a way to find out if there are people semi close to me?


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

I'm in Arkansas, I will PM you


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

I'm about to have a ND/lamancha mix in a few weeks. My pet lamancha snuggled my kids that were born earlier this year, talking baby talk to them and watching them, and she went into heat within days of the arrival of my buck so I figured I'd either have a nice mini to milk, or tacos.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

deniseross said:


> If you aren't into the meat...why have meat goats? Do you sell them to people for meat? No one around here really have said anything about eating goat. It's a hunting sort of community that we were transplanted in because of ministry.


Yes. I sell for breeding stock as well as for actual meat to other people. It's a bit long story of how I got into goats, basically I wanted to get rid of my brush and weeds and since I'm a stay at home mom make some money too. But well you have goats so I'm sure you can see how that went down the drain


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

Popular crosses here are Anglo Nubian and Saanen,teejae


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

I'm curious about this too, and being fairly new to goats, don't have a ton of first-hand experience of different cross-breeds. Now, with a Saanen/ Nigerian cross, one would think things would average out; you'd get less milk than from a Saanen, more than from a Nigerian, and the butterfat would be between the two. But does this ever no work out? Like sometimes you end up with a tiny amount of milk, that also doesn't have any of the Nigerian creaminess? That sounds silly, now that I'm typing it out...


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

I love the boer X Nubians. Good milk and meat production.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I'm all the way in NC


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## deniseross (Jun 10, 2016)

This is all so weird to me, all the crossing thing. When I raised doxies, I was totally pure breed all the way with never a hint of a mixture. I'm having to retrain my brain.


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## Crazy4Goats (Jul 18, 2015)

deniseross said:


> So, I might as well get in on this one also. I am a complete newbie to the goat raising as I've posted on another place. I have 2 babies (got almost a month ago) they are almost 3 month old brother and sister (he's wethered). They are boer x Nigerian cross. I do not know about personalities, etc but from what I read. I would like to purchase next year a few more doe and then maybe a buckling for the future. My preference would be goats that are gentle, playful, kids friendly (as we have grands and then church kids her often), and on the smaller not giagantor size. I would like to milk I believe as a healthy way of living and possible have once in a while one for meat (maybe...I don't know if I'm that gutsy or not. I get pretty attached)
> Anyways, what would be the best options for that kind of a goat for me? I maybe wanting too many qualities in one type.
> Do all goats do well with chickens?
> I have an acre that I am working with also on growing pasture.
> No laughing at all my statements or questions


I have two purebred Nigerian Dwarf Does named Cedar and Aspen. They are sweet, on the smaller side, VERY people friendly for they were bottle fed. I don't know about chickens but my goats love my horse but hate our dogs and cats. I am also new with goats. I've had mine for almost a year now and they are almost two. Good luck with the goat world!






This is Aspen jumping on me  Cedar stands on my lap.


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

deniseross said:


> If you aren't into the meat...why have meat goats? Do you sell them to people for meat? No one around here really have said anything about eating goat. It's a hunting sort of community that we were transplanted in because of ministry.


Apparently I am into meat goats.lol Quite by accident but my husband and I have fallen in love with Myotonic or Fainting Goats. They are a meat breed. I could never eat my current guys. I went into owning them with the mentality that they are pets, and I can't eat a pet. Told DH that if he wants to raise them for eating he has to tell me ahead of time that they are for eating so I go into it mentally prepared. lol


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## CountryBreeze (Dec 1, 2014)

PurpleToad said:


> Apparently I am into meat goats.lol Quite by accident but my husband and I have fallen in love with Myotonic or Fainting Goats. They are a meat breed. I could never eat my current guys. I went into owning them with the mentality that they are pets, and I can't eat a pet. Told DH that if he wants to raise them for eating he has to tell me ahead of time that they are for eating so I go into it mentally prepared. lol


It's funny you mention fainting meat goats because I was just about to mention a cross which I found to be a bit useful for having more meat on a fainting goat. I currently have a fainting/Pygmy cross. He's to special to me to ever butcher but I noticed something with his cross. He is a little bit smaller than an average fainter (due to Pygmy traits) but honestly he gets really plump. He gets so round that he often looks pregnant. (which I assume is from his Pygmy genes) So in my opinion if someone doesn't have a lot of land but wants meat goats I would highly recommend this cross. They are a bit smaller than an average fainting goat and yet they still get a lot of meat on them.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I'm going to be crossing my obers and Nubians..... Hoping that will make a good cross..


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

CountryBreeze said:


> It's funny you mention fainting meat goats because I was just about to mention a cross which I found to be a bit useful for having more meat on a fainting goat. I currently have a fainting/Pygmy cross. He's to special to me to ever butcher but I noticed something with his cross. He is a little bit smaller than an average fainter (due to Pygmy traits) but honestly he gets really plump. He gets so round that he often looks pregnant. (which I assume is from his Pygmy genes) So in my opinion if someone doesn't have a lot of land but wants meat goats I would highly recommend this cross. They are a bit smaller than an average fainting goat and yet they still get a lot of meat on them.


Just curious because what I love about my fainters is their inability to jump. Are pygmies jumpers? My worry about crosses would be introducing a jumping tendency. I'm having bad luck with jumping goats.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I'd like Nubian/Boer or Nubian/Saanen depending on what you are going for...meat or milk. If mostly milk I'd do Nubian/Saanen if for meat then Nubian/Boer.


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## CountryBreeze (Dec 1, 2014)

PurpleToad said:


> Just curious because what I love about my fainters is their inability to jump. Are pygmies jumpers? My worry about crosses would be introducing a jumping tendency. I'm having bad luck with jumping goats.


Surprisingly he's not much of a jumper, he loves to climb on anything and everything but certainly lacks when it comes to jumping. Surprisingly, usually if he even bucks or leaps (when he is in a crazy mood) high enough for all 4 legs to come off the ground his fainting traits kick in and he would end up stiff as a board when he's back on the ground. So I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about one jumping a fence. The only escape method he uses is flipping up the latch and opening the door on the pen when I don't put the lock on it. Lol.


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## PurpleToad (Feb 14, 2016)

CountryBreeze said:


> Surprisingly he's not much of a jumper, he loves to climb on anything and everything but certainly lacks when it comes to jumping. Surprisingly, usually if he even bucks or leaps (when he is in a crazy mood) high enough for all 4 legs to come off the ground his fainting traits kick in and he would end up stiff as a board when he's back on the ground. So I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about one jumping a fence. The only escape method he uses is flipping up the latch and opening the door on the pen when I don't put the lock on it. Lol.


lol I'll have to keep this cross in mind if we ever start breeding our own goats. I'd like to but it will be awhile before I can get set up for that, between fencing, buildings and having to get breeding stock.


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## CountryBreeze (Dec 1, 2014)

PurpleToad said:


> lol I'll have to keep this cross in mind if we ever start breeding our own goats. I'd like to but it will be awhile before I can get set up for that, between fencing, buildings and having to get breeding stock.


Haha, I'm in the same goat boat as you. Still have two rows of fence to put up, tons of area planning to do, lots of building to do, and of course lots of financial saving to do before I can get into breeding stock of my own. But it'll all be worth it to be able to show your own bred stock in the arena (if you plan on showing as well) and hear the heart warming bleats and...high pitched screams of of little baby goat kids.


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