Spring is almost here, and there are TONS of advertisements for "Lagerians," "Mini Nubians," "Alpine Nigerian crosses", and the list goes on. So, are these really miniature dairy goats?? Lets find out before you buy that cute blue-eyed, floppy eared 'mini.' How is a Miniature Dairy Goat developed? and WHY?WHY?? Why develop a Miniature Dairy goat? -Development of a miniature dairy goat breed should be for the intent of producing high volumes of milk on a smaller more economical dairy goat. Miniatures are required to be recorded/registered in order to be recognized. As a result, they are also required to meet outlined breed standards. These quality controls make a well-bred miniature a highly valuable dairy animal, and helps set them apart from any other mixed breed. Why not just use a Nigerian? Nigerians are smaller than a Miniature Dairy goat breed, and do NOT produce the milk volumes of a well-bred mini. Making a well-bred mini a more economical, and higher valued dairy animal on any farm. Why not use a Standard breed? Standard breed goats are very large, can be hard to maintain/house, and in general do not make the perfect fit for everyone's circumstances. The miniature is smaller than a standard, BUT is still larger than a Nigerian, making them more suitable for families wanting a larger breed with out the expense, fear of over-crowding, or having to deal with large breed bucks! Aren't miniatures just a 'Designer Goat'? NO-- unless they are not registered or bred to standard-- Miniatures are required to meet all the same requirements of the STANDARD goat breed they represent, with the exception of height. They are expected to perform at least 1/3-2/3rds the same volume in milk production, have the same appearance, and conformation as the standard goat breed they are supposed to represent. No other 'designer' mixed-breed (boer-nubian, la-boer, etc.) has the same strict performance requirements. How are Miniature Dairy Breeds Developed?? A Miniature Dairy Goat breed is developed by FIRST breeding a registered Nigerian Dwarf buck to a Registered Standard Dairy Goat breed doe; BOTH of these foundation animals should have very strong complimentary dairy genetics backing up their pedigrees. And ideally should have production records themselves. The buck used should posses very dairy characteristics, and have complimentary traits to the doe he is intended to be bred with. (See Below). The doe should also posses excellent dairy quality. Should be very productive, and ideally have production evaluation records. (See Below). Offspring produced are then registered with either TMGR or MDGA to BEGIN a Miniature Dairy goat line. **All these things are necessary to produce a good dairy goat. And a MINIATURE dairy goat IS a dairy goat. Whose sole purpose on this planet is to PRODUCE milk. If poor quality animals are used in the development of a Miniature dairy goat line, then they will be pretty much useless for their intended purpose: DAIRY.
What a Miniature Dairy Goat should begin to look like...
|
|
|
Leave a Reply.
Welcome to the Suds Bucket!
Adventures, Experiences, Ideas...it's all here.
Archives
July 2022
March 2022
September 2021
August 2021
May 2021
April 2021
December 2020
October 2020
March 2020
March 2019
June 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
September 2017
July 2017
June 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
October 2015
August 2015
April 2015
November 2014
June 2014
May 2014
Categories
All
About Us
Breeding Minis
Buck Care
Dairy Goats
Herd Test Results
Jacob Sheep
Pigeons
Poultry
Udder Care