Nigerian Dwarf Goats are well suited for small farms or homesteads because of their small size but they can give a LOT of milk for their size. NDGs in milk average about a quart a day over the course of their lactation (milked 2 times) but many give much more than that! Our best doe is giving a 1/2 gallon per day for nearly all of her lactation! For a small family, two high quality milking does can provide enough milk and cheese for the family. The milk from Nigerian Dwarfs is the highest in butterfat of all the goats making it ideal for cheesemaking. It's sweet and delicious just by itself and rich enough to substitute for half and half in coffee!
Before you embark on a new adventure with Nigerian Dwarf goats, it's important to clearly understand your goals. If you want pet goats, male neutered goats (called wethers) make great pets and are easy keepers. Grass hay and plenty of browse (plants, trees etc) will keep the boys happy. On the other hand, if you want goats for milk, you'll want to have a good understanding of their nutritional needs so that they can be the healthiest happiest goats possible since they are feeding YOU. Goats, being herd animals, need the companionship of another goat to be happy! If you get one, you must get another for the buddy-factor. A goat raised without the companionship of another animal that speaks the same language will not be a happy goat and can even die from loneliness.
If you decide you want to raise dairy goats for milk, you will need to breed your does and to do that you either need a buck, or access to a buck. Keeping a stinky boy with the milking does can result in stinky milk and unhappy harassed does since the boys have a one-track mind, so it's much better to separate them into separate pens-- one for does and one for bucks. Then of course you'll need another buck for companionship or a wether to keep your boy from getting lonely. Sometimes you can locate a buck to breed your does without having to purchase one. This works well for some people although it's more difficult to be sure when your does are in heat without a buck around to alert you!
There are many excellent resources on raising goats. This article on Wikipedia is great for information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Dwarf_goat
This forum has been invaluable for me to get support on my learning journey with goats: http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/
Before you embark on a new adventure with Nigerian Dwarf goats, it's important to clearly understand your goals. If you want pet goats, male neutered goats (called wethers) make great pets and are easy keepers. Grass hay and plenty of browse (plants, trees etc) will keep the boys happy. On the other hand, if you want goats for milk, you'll want to have a good understanding of their nutritional needs so that they can be the healthiest happiest goats possible since they are feeding YOU. Goats, being herd animals, need the companionship of another goat to be happy! If you get one, you must get another for the buddy-factor. A goat raised without the companionship of another animal that speaks the same language will not be a happy goat and can even die from loneliness.
If you decide you want to raise dairy goats for milk, you will need to breed your does and to do that you either need a buck, or access to a buck. Keeping a stinky boy with the milking does can result in stinky milk and unhappy harassed does since the boys have a one-track mind, so it's much better to separate them into separate pens-- one for does and one for bucks. Then of course you'll need another buck for companionship or a wether to keep your boy from getting lonely. Sometimes you can locate a buck to breed your does without having to purchase one. This works well for some people although it's more difficult to be sure when your does are in heat without a buck around to alert you!
There are many excellent resources on raising goats. This article on Wikipedia is great for information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Dwarf_goat
This forum has been invaluable for me to get support on my learning journey with goats: http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/