# How many breeds do you own?



## OpieDoodle (Nov 15, 2015)

I'm just curious as to if any of you own more than one species/breed of goats or if you stick with one type.

If you have more than one do you keep them together or in separate areas?


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## Alleysalley02 (Jun 25, 2015)

I know lots of people with more than one breed. Most of them keep them together all breeds get along (usually). As long as you know which ones are which, you should be fine. Also bucks should stay with bucks and doe with does (unless you are breeding).::


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

I just have one breed - Nigerian Dwarfs. I did have two pygmies, but I sold them because I wanted to focus on just breeding Nigerian Dwarfs. I'm hesitant to mix standard sized goats in with my miniatures because I think they'd get beat up, but I've been at farms where large and small goats get along fine.


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## Alleysalley02 (Jun 25, 2015)

ShireRidgeFarm said:


> I just have one breed - Nigerian Dwarfs. I did have two pygmies, but I sold them because I wanted to focus on just breeding Nigerian Dwarfs. I'm hesitant to mix standard sized goats in with my miniatures because I think they'd get beat up, but I've been at farms where large and small goats get along fine.


They really do get along fine, I agree with you I would be scared to put my miniatures in with standards too. But just like horses big goats love smaller goats.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

I have Australian miniature goats and boer goats. I have had them all living together with the does with no problems. My mini herd queen and her second in command were still in charge and the over herd queen became 4/5th on the pecking order. 
I did run a full boer buck with my mini bucks for a while and I found that some of my minis picked on the big boer. The boers seem to have such a kind nature. Have also had a full Sanneen wether run with my bucks and does at different times and he fitted in with any of them.


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## EvelynsJoy (Oct 30, 2015)

We have Nigerian Dwarves (6 does, 1 wether) and a Alpine doe. They all get along well with each other. The Alpine (Betsy) is the herd queen, she knows she's the top goat.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I have 2 Nigerian wethers that live with my LaMancha buck most of the time. The big goats don't hurt them or even really notice they are there too much. One of them is very tiny and he is higher in the herd than some of the full sized wethers. I had them with my does to start out but, they were getting incredibly fat :lol:
My goats are all different except for the doeling line I'm working on. Saanen, Alpine/Nubian, LaMancha, Nigerian they don't know that they are different... They don't think that way.


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## LibertyHomesteadFarm (Feb 1, 2014)

I have Nigerians and Oberhaslis.
My Oberhaslis seem to know that they are much bigger and rarely spar with the dwarves; my Ober herd queen will occasionally "play" with my former Nigerian herd queen, but the nigerian gets out of temper because she can't make the Ober budge. LOL!
My Nigerian bucks will try to fight with my Ober buck, but he generally ignores them unless he's really bored. Eventually the dwarf bucks will get tired of ramming the "brick wall" and fight among themselves.
I've never had a problem with the different breeds seriously fighting/hurting each other, however, the Nigerians tend to be rougher with each other than they get from the Obers.


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## LibertyHomesteadFarm (Feb 1, 2014)

My GCN lambs mostly ignore the goats, but they follow my LGD around like their mother!
My GCN ram lamb will casually spar with the bucks occasionally, but it never gets serious.

As gentle as they are with the goats, LGD, and us; the ewe lambs HATE the cats and the family dog. The will charge the cats/puppy and try to squish them into the ground if they enter the pasture...talk about "gentle as a lamb" LOL!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I only have Boer goats


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Nope, only Nigerians.


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

Lamancha, Obers, Nubian, Nigerian, Saanan


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

Standard Nubians, Mini-Nubies and one mini-Boer...


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## MoonShadow (Mar 1, 2015)

I had a pygmy and an alpine together once. My pygmy(Tweedledum) and the alpine(I don't think we kept him long enough to give him a name) did not get along! The alpine was super pushy(not just to other goats but to people too) so he found a new home. I penned Tweedledum with 2 sheep and they got along fine and as of now I have 5 Nigerians with a sheep and they have always gotten along splendidly, Mr Bo the sheep loves his goats, he protects them very well!!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have mostly boers, some boers crossed with kiko, lamancha and Nubian, I also have 1 Nubian and 2 alpines, well and a lamancha but she is retired now. I basically stick with large breeds since it's hard enough keeping the right bucks with the right does I couldn't even imagine having a little breed female around my boer bucks


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

Four boers and one nigerian dwarf. The boers pick on and go after the nd relentlessly so I keep them close but separated. Every time I tried to integrate them, the four boers ganged up on her and wouldn't stop. When one boer got tired another would pick right up. Had to give up on it. They are happy and safe being close but separate.

kbt


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

4 Nigies and one Nigie/Nubian. The buck is the cross. He is a typical buck from what I've read. Once the new barn is in, he will hang out with my weather. Everyone gets along reasonably well. The buck, Smokey and my herd queen, Rosey are my biggest personality problems. Smokey wants to mate everything and Rosey wants to fight everything (dogs included). I hate to break it to her that she'd probably lose if she took the doberman, lab or husky on. She might win with the mini-pincher.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

AncientBlue said:


> She might win with the mini-pincher.


I'm not sure I'd bet on that one... I have 1 elderly boy and used to have a pair of mini Pinchers. They are not afraid of anything. 
One time my adult daughter brought home a guy that the dogs determined was a jerk. I couldn't even stop what I saw coming. They split up, one fading back behind him and the other confronting him rather subdued. 
At some unspoken signal, they both leaped, and the jerk ended up with a 12 lb minpin hanging off of each hand... We had to pry them off :lol:


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

We have LaManchas and Nigerians. They live together in a dry lot with occasional excursions into our yard for extra browse.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I have 2 Oberhasli does, one ober/Saanen doe, 1 Nubian doe, 2 Nubian doelings, 1 Nubian Lamancha doeling, 2 boer/Nubian mix does, 1 boer/nubian buck, one ober buck, and one mini ober buck....


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I have 1.75 breeds :lol: I have Alpines and 50/50 alpine boer cross, and her doeling, a 25/75 alpine boer cross. So I'm juuuust on the safe side by not having more than one breed


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

I have 5 goats that are 3 different breeds. 3 mini lamanchas, 1 boer mix, 1 who knows what maybe saanen mix. They are pretty much just for pleasure at this point, so I'm not too concerned on breeds. I do have a preference towards lamanchas and nigerian dwarfs. None of my goats are very big, so there's been no problem mixing everyone.


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## RaineyDayFarms (Oct 10, 2013)

Boers and mini silkies and 1 nigerian.


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## thegoatgirl (Nov 27, 2011)

One it is - Alpines - and one it shall remain. :lol:

Although, I have been very tempted to get a Munchie or two.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I have a lamancha, 2 mini manchas (doe and buck) an alpine/lamancha X, a boer, a Nigie weather, a boerX weather, a boer/nub buck.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Wr raise saanen.lamancha and nigerian...all the ladies are together....big bucks are separate from mini bucks. ..we have sheep that are separate but many times we run them together when the goats need help with grass control. ..


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## Failingfarmer (Nov 24, 2015)

I believe I have pygmy and Nigerian I haven't tried putting them together yet. I dream of having lots of larger goats someday.


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

I have mostly Alpines, a few Nigerian and Nubian does and a ND buck. I keep the little buck separate from my big boys because they really like to fight and I had a horned wether that almost killed him so now he just has a small Alpine buddy


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Nubian
Lamancha
Oberhasli
Alpine
Nigerian Dwarf
and coming in the spring of 2016!!!!!!

Mini Manchas
Mini Alpines
Mini Nubians
Oberians


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## fcdairygoats (Jun 24, 2013)

Right now I have Nubians and one lonely pygmy goat. I had lamanchas but didnt like the breed. I had a saanen and loved the sweet girl. Plan to add Saanens to the herd when I am done with school and have a better job. Just wasn't the right time to run two dairy breeds since I raise for milk/show.


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

Let's see...:book:

junior does
2 Togg/Saanen/Nubian
5 50/50 Saanen/Nubian
1 dunno (mini somethin')
2 Nubian/Nigerian Dwarf

senior does
1 Toggenburg
3 Nubian
4 Saanen/Nubian
1 Nubian+unknown

1 Saanen/Nubian wether
2 Saanen/Nubian bucks

the wether runs with all the does right now and the bucks have their own space. I'd love to add LaMancha and Boer one day. :greengrin:


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## West4hGirl (Dec 13, 2015)

I have Myotonic does and a Boer doe that I keep in the same pen. The Boer will push them around a little but they all get along fine.


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## VVFarm (Dec 14, 2015)

I identify as a breeder of Boers. Though I have several (and prefer) Savannas. Now there's a bunch of Savanna/Boer crosses running around here! As well as several Nubian/Boer crosses.
Three pregnant Nubians, One of whom is due soon!!!! One one Nubian weanling 
My sweet Alpine passed away last summer but her memory touches the whole farm. Does the memory of one's first/favorite goat ever fade??:angelgoat:


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I have Alpines and Nigerian Dwarves, and in the spring I will have some mini alpines. They mostly get along. I have two very small nigi wethers and when they try to fight the alpine buck, he is very sweet to them, and doesn't try to hurt them. Two of my three does are alpines, mother and daughter. The mother is a little bossy sometimes, but the daughter is the herd queen and she is best buds with the little one, so that helps.


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

VVFarm said:


> My sweet Alpine passed away last summer but her memory touches the whole farm.


I'm sorry you lost your Alpine. What was her name?


VVFarm said:


> Does the memory of one's first/favorite goat ever fade??:angelgoat:


If you mean the heartache over the loss...It gets easier. It takes time. I had two yearling does who I bottle raised get mauled by dogs in the neighborhood over the space of a few months. It took a *long* while until I could look at pictures of them without getting sad.

If you mean do you forget them...things can get fuzzier over time. The one thing I wish I could remember was the exact sound of Zoe's voice. She was a talker and had a big pair of lungs, but its been so long and more goats have come and gone that I can't remember clearly what she sounded like anymore.:sigh:


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## cybercat (Oct 18, 2007)

1 it is enough. You just can't beat a nice herd of La Manchas. :snowbounce:


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## Luckthebuck234 (Jul 15, 2015)

We have 4 Nigerian Dwarf 
and 2 Nigerian/Pygmy
But the nigerian/pygmy girl is so tiny I am kind of worried 
to breed her, I am still thinking about it.:shrug:


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## oxhilldairy (Mar 24, 2013)

Alpines (6) ,sable(1) ,lamanch/bore(1). And lamanch/Pygmy (1)


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## VVFarm (Dec 14, 2015)

thegoatmama said:


> I'm sorry you lost your Alpine. What was her name?
> 
> If you mean the heartache over the loss...It gets easier. It takes time. I had two yearling does who I bottle raised get mauled by dogs in the neighborhood over the space of a few months. It took a *long* while until I could look at pictures of them without getting sad.
> 
> If you mean do you forget them...things can get fuzzier over time. The one thing I wish I could remember was the exact sound of Zoe's voice. She was a talker and had a big pair of lungs, but its been so long and more goats have come and gone that I can't remember clearly what she sounded like anymore.:sigh:


Thank you. Her name was Trinket. She was a little scrap of plain brown goat. She had been a runt & bottle fed. My mentor gave her to me for free since she was small. However, there was nothing small about her personality! She was a silly, tenacious, stubborn bundle of personality. She was more like a dog & I loved her to bits. She actually turned out to be an excellent milk producer despite her size. She died of a clostridial infection. She was vaccinated but in need of a booster. 
Oh my!! The way you lost your girls is terrible!!! I can just imagine your furry, sadness and ache. I'm sooo sorry!:-( I hope that you can somehow remember Zoe's voice... Perhaps a sweet dream?


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## Gerard-Dawn (Sep 5, 2014)

We have:

- 7 Nigerian Dwarf
- 11 Pygmys
- 4 La Manchas

Looking on adding more La Manchas once we add more grass pasture on our vacant land.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

We currently have two minimanchas. We had two Nigerians but their dispositions weren't great with our small kids. We're getting a lamancha/Nubian doeling this spring! Very excited about her, her mom milked a gallon a day for 22 months before they had to dry her off for pregnancy.


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

VVFarm said:


> Thank you. Her name was Trinket. She was a little scrap of plain brown goat. She had been a runt & bottle fed. My mentor gave her to me for free since she was small. However, there was nothing small about her personality! She was a silly, tenacious, stubborn bundle of personality. She was more like a dog & I loved her to bits. She actually turned out to be an excellent milk producer despite her size. She died of a clostridial infection. She was vaccinated but in need of a booster.
> Oh my!! The way you lost your girls is terrible!!! I can just imagine your furry, sadness and ache. I'm sooo sorry!:-( I hope that you can somehow remember Zoe's voice... Perhaps a sweet dream?


Trinket is an adorable name! She must have been a joy to have around.
Ugh, clostridium is a mean, mean thing.

You're dead on there. It made me hate dogs for a time, something I never thought would happen.
I miss the little things they'd do. Thank you for that. A dream would be so nice. :angel:



deerbunnyfarm said:


> We currently have two minimanchas. We had two Nigerians but their dispositions weren't great with our small kids. We're getting a lamancha/Nubian doeling this spring! Very excited about her, her mom milked a gallon a day for 22 months before they had to dry her off for pregnancy.


A gallon a day? That's great! I'd be excited too. :greengrin:


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

My husband is super excited for her. He has been more hesitant about the goats but he calculated out how much money we'd save in a year not buying milk and now he's fully on board!!!


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## thegoatmama (Mar 19, 2015)

That's awesome! :dance:


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

Nubians, one Nubian/Angora, Alpine, Guernsey, Guernsey/Nubian, Boer, and I love them all for different reasons.


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