# 1st time goat owner....what breed(s) are my goats?Are they too old to breed?



## jbolt (Oct 9, 2013)

Hi, new to the forum and new to goat ownership, I was given a pair of sister goats. They are 2.5 years old, never been bred, and have never been around any other goats. They were bottle raised from a week old on. I have them because I like them for pets, and because I'd like to try my hand at milking. They get up on the stand to be brushed and loved on, and are good on a leash and can be taken for neighborhood walks  my questions are, what breed(s) do they appear to be, do they look like milking type? Are they too fat? They were even fatter a month ago when I got them, but they are on a strict diet now....are they too old to breed? How long do goats stay productive? What vaccines do I need to buy? I've wormed them, but I'm not sure what else to protect them from.....how much should I expect to pay for a stud fee? And what breed of stud would produce productive babies?


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## jbolt (Oct 9, 2013)

Here are pics


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

Pygmies? Could be nigerians, but they are pretty fat. How tall are they? No they are not too old to breed. They need cdt shots. Stud fee is usually about $50 for a nigerian but you will have to have tests for cae, cl, and johnes. Waddl will do all three for about $22.


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

How big are they, they look like Nigerians to me (lucky you to have tame pet goats!)...


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## jbolt (Oct 9, 2013)

They are maybe 36 inches at the shoulder. I thought maybe Nigerian x Pygmy just based on pics from Google. They are bigger than most Pygmys I've seen though.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

36 inches? That's huge! Too tall for a nigerian and pygmy.. They look overweight from the pics. Do they have fat pockets behind their shoulders? 
As for breed... Nigerian crossed with an alpine, maybe?
Stud fee would be about $50-$75 for a buck that is nice and is tested negative for CAE, CL, and Johnes. You will need to test your girls and they will need to be negative for those, too. $22 like enchanted said for the tests. Copper and selenium supplements before breeding.


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

36" thats huge must be alpines of some sort


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I think you need to remeasure them lol they don't look that tall in the pics compared to the fence. They look like pygmys to me. Short, chunky and stout. I think their color would be called black agouti. People don't normally milk pygmys but there's no reason you can't try. They aren't too old to breed, but being fat might have a harder time settling.

I've seen some pretty big pygmys, seems like when they don't get bred or are wethers they grow a little taller.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

I have no clue what they are, but my first guess would be pygmy. They are not too old to breed, but I would wait until you have them at a healthier weight since being fat can cause problems with both settling and kidding. Should you decide to breed them, I would also have an alternative plan for raising them in place because being too fat can cause fat deposits in the udder and reduce milking ability.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I'm gonna vote Nigerian dwarf cross...both they and pygmies can be milked..how do the teats look? Milkable? Congrats on your new life with goats! Have fun with them! 
The website: fiascofarm.com is a good one for all things: goat, too.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

20 inches at the withers is top height for pygmy does. I'd say they are a pygmy/standard cross. Alpine maybe? Definitely too big to be pygmies.


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

Yes have fun with them!


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## jbolt (Oct 9, 2013)

Meant 28 inches, typo


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