Nutrient Requirements of Goats: Angora, Dairy, and Meat Goats in Temperate and Tropical Countries

Nutrient Requirements of Goats: Angora, Dairy, and Meat Goats in Temperate and Tropical Countries

Fox's Passion Nigerian Goat Farm, milking Upclose (1)

New Kids on the Block!

So it's been awhile since we posted last! Lots of things going on on the farm...

Some sad notes we lost 5 of our laying hens to a neighbor's dog who plucked our chickens right of the fence while they were peacefully roosting for the night. At first we thought it was a stray dog but the following week we saw the dog in the alley again and I watched run off back into a neighbor's yard and into the house and we said AHHA! So we talked to the neighbor and told him of the damages and he said how do you know it was my dog? I did not make a huge deal due the delay in finding out it was his dog but did let him know that if it were to happen again he'd be responsible for replacing any dead birds. He agreed and I went ahead and put up a 4 foot poultry fence extension to my existing fence to prevent any birds from roosting at night....but after the incident the birds didn't want to roost there anyways.

On a happier note...our lil' Daisy kidded on October 1st sometime between the hours of 2pm and 9pm. She gave birth all by herself with no complications to 2 lil' boys! One of which has blue eyes! We were not expecting them at all we thought she had well missed her first due date and we were expecting them sometime in mid-October...nope we were wrong she was about 3-4 days off her original due date...thankfully we expanded and reinforced the existing pen/chicken coop all with salvaged materials (can we say thank you craigslist...)

Laura and I named them Knickers and Trousers. They are super friendly and of course adorable, curious as ever, listening to mom, and found mom's udder with no problems.

Daisy has become quite the mother, very protective but has no problem with allowing us to pick them up and coddle them. As the weeks go by we will be dehorning them, vaccinating them, deciding if we are going to keep one or both of them, neuter them, and of course register them.

In about 2 weeks we will start to milk Daisy and be trying our hands at making cheese, yogurt, sour cream, butter, and soap. Hopefully, it will become second nature.

Our fall garden is prepped and ready to be planted as well!

We will be adding pictures very soon!

Thanks for reading about our trials and tribulations on our Urban Farm!

Whewww! A lot has gone down here at the farm!

Well I'll tell ya the a lot has gone down here at the farm over the past few months...some good some bad...

Some bad news first...due to a stray dog in the neighborhood we lost 5 of our lovely chickens, one rooster and four hens, their bodies have been added to our garden and we will be nourished by them in an alternate way.

On a somewhat happier note, a few of our chicks which became roosters were sold to the local feed store...otherwise our neighbors might kill us! :)

On the happiest note! Our Miss Daisy was bred to Waggs who is part of a local herd! (His picture is posted in our previous blog). Daisy is due sometime at the end of August or Early to mid-September!! We are super excited to see what she has in store for us in that ever growing HUGE belly of hers.

Laura felt her babies kicking around inside while she was feeding Miss Daisy carrots...must be happy little things!

We are currently taking bets on how many babies she will have...the range is from 1-6 with 2 to 3 as very common phenomenon.

To replace the dwindling numbers of the flock we purchased 4 little mixed pullets today from a local on craigslist. They are super adorable and pictures will be up shortly. These little ones pal around with each other but also have been brave and have been hanging with the big girls...very independent. One of our Featherfooted Light Brahmas has taken upon herself has stepmom...she follows them around making sure no one messes with them...making sure they don't eat something they are not supposed to eat. Very very adorable.

Anyways...that's the quick and dirty about what's been going around Storybook Farm!

More to come soon as I just finished my step 1 medical board exam and now I have 2 months off yay!

Daisy: The Bachelorette

Hey guys we have decided on a herd to go with and have narrowed it down to 4 bucks from this herd...So help us decide who Daisy's STUD-MUFFIN will be!

These guys are from Sacred Spirit Ranch here in AZ...below is more info on the bucks on their website...
http://sacredspiritranch.weebly.com/herdsires.html

We are planning on breeding Daisy at the end of April and she'll be with the ranch for 30 days...so help us choose!

Inspirations SM Bamboozled U (Boozle)

Bamboo Acres Golden Boy (Gold)

Prairiewood Banzai Pipeline (Wags)

Red Lotus ME Kinataro

Daisy the Fugitive...

Well a couple nights ago I arrived home to find Daisy our goat in the house. Not a big deal by any means because we used to let her in the house to watch a movie with us on the couch. But tonight was different our herding pup Drover was in his kennel and couldn't get Daisy out of the house. Daisy saw this and being smart goat decided to take full liberties in the house. She decided to help herself to the fruit bowl in the kitchen eating 3 or 4 pears and some cat food.

She also decided to live large and take a nap on the bed and of course leaving a small mess of "alfalfa pebbles" on the sheets...what a mess!

As I walked in the house the and let Drover out Daisy made a B-line for the doggy door to get to her pen...well her pen was still latched so she inadvertently showed me how she escaped!

She had dug out a hole where I had filled in from taking out an old bush...she slide right underneath the fence with easy like a mouse under a door...I was impressed!
I blocked her exit and that seemed to put a stop to her escapes for now...

A little history about Nigerian Dwarf Goats

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/86/86-4/nigerian_dwarf_dairy_goats.html

Breed Focus:
Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats
History in the Making

Like many breeds of domestic livestock, the history of the Nigerian Dwarf is incomplete. Through the years and stages of development, records were not always kept, or they were sketchy at best. Developing the history of the breed is much like putting together a jigsaw that is missing many of its pieces. To produce the present day Nigerian Dwarf, one has to use a combination of documented facts, speculation, deductive reasoning and a little imagination. What is known is that throughout tropical West Africa, there is a type of goat referred to as the West African Dwarf (WAD). These goats are used as a food source, providing both meat and milk for the local population. Due to economic hardships, keeping "pets" is not an option. It appears that today little thought is used in breeding and a survival-of-the-fittest phenomenon is taking place.

Denning Hill Michi Kasu in the pasture. Photo by Cheryle Moore-Smith.

In the writings of Albert Schweitzer a local goat is often times referred to, credited with supplying the milk for the hospital Schweitzer worked at in Lambrene in the country now known as Gabon. The imported breeds, typically known as dairy breeds, weren't able to withstand the tsetse fly, and therefore were not productive. The WAD goats continued to survive and thrive. Throughout books on Dr. Schweitzer, pictures of goats similar to those referred to as Nigerian Dwarves in the U.S., can be found.

The beginning of the breed in this country lies in zoos. Exactly how the WAD came to American soil is one of the missing pieces in the puzzle. One theory is that as big cats were shipped to zoos, goats were loaded onto the vessels as a food source for the cats while in transit. The goats that weren't consumed went on to the zoos. The first miniature goats to appear in this country were part of zoo exhibits and research institutions.

As early as 1918, Joseph Crepin reported in the second edition of La Chévre that WAD goats had been imported to the United States. Additionally, there were a number of documented importations from the 1930s to the 1960s. As they grew, it became necessary to reduce the number of animals, and individuals had an opportunity to own these unique goats.

Originally, all small goats of WAD origin were indiscriminately referred to as pygmies. In the beginning, "pygmy" was used more to describe a size of goat rather than a specific breed, much like "Swiss" is often times used to refer to the various erect-eared breeds hailing from Europe. As time went on, breeders began to notice differences in type within what had become the Pygmy breed. There were two distinct types: the shorter legged, heavier bodied, round-boned animals more typical of what is known today as a Pygmy, and the more refined, angular animal that has become today's Nigerian Dwarf.

As breeders began to communicate, they discovered there were others in the Unites States and Canada that had similar observances. Mrs. Bonnie Abrahamson of North Ogden, Utah, was one of the first to notice the distinctive difference while working in a zoo in California. Mrs. Abrahamson brought several black and white animals that she referred to as "Nigerian Dwarves" to an AGS Pygmy certification committee. Despite their more refined bone and dairy appearance, these animals were accepted into the AGS Pygmy herd book.

At about the same time, Mr. Heabert Woods of Alexandria, Indiana, had animals similar in type to Mrs. Abrahamson's but brown in color, which were refused entry into the National Pygmy Goat Association (NPGA) herd books because of their color. These two breeders petitioned the International Dairy Goat Registry (IDGR) to open a herd book for Nigerian Dwarves. IDGR opened a separate herd book for the breed, complete with a standard emphasizing dairy characteristics, and on July 24, 1981, Mr. Robert Johnson's Bullfrog Alley Johnny Jump-Up #2, a buck bred by Mrs. Abrahamson, became the first Nigerian Dwarf registered by any registry. By January 1987, there were 384 animals registered in the herd books of IDGR as Nigerian Dwarves, with 93 of those registered in the previous year alone. In part, largely due to the fact that IDGR does not sanction shows, the popularity of the registry has waned over the years.

Old Mountain Farm McDermott and kid. Photo by Cheryle Moore-Smith

The early Nigerian Dwarves were seen most often in three distinct color lines, all of similar type, even though many of the early breeders attempted to keep each color line separate from the others. A majority of these early animals were brown, black or gold, all with or without random white markings. Possibly because of the limited number of representatives of the breed, breeders did begin to mix the color lines fairly early on, although references to specific color lines could still be found as late as 1988.

In 1984, the American Goat Society (AGS) opened a herd book for Nigerian Dwarves, and by September of the following year, 82 animals, representing breeders from eight states and Canada had been registered. The first AGS registered Nigerian Dwarf distinction goes to Wright's Pansy, AGS #D-1f, owned by Francis Wright of Indiana.

Mr. Woods was instrumental in getting a separate herd book for the breed with AGS, and was made chairman of the Nigerian Dwarf Committee. Mr. Wright and Pat Freeman of Dutton, Ontario completed the original Nigerian Dwarf Committee for AGS. To form the foundation of the breed, applications were submitted to the committee, along with a clear photograph of the animal and a measurement of the animal at the withers. If the committee unanimously agreed that the animal, which had to be at least one year of age, met the breed standard, the animal was then eligible to be registered as a purebred Nigerian Dwarf. Animals that were accepted for registration using this process are oftentimes referred to as a "committee animal." Some of the animals submitted, such as Mrs. Abrahamson's, were previously registered as Pygmies. It also would include animals with unknown backgrounds that showed true Nigerian Dwarf characteristics, and as time went on, animals that were of registered ancestry but which did not have current paperwork. Many times, it was easier to submit the animal for certification than to retrace the paperwork for several generations.

The original closing date for the herd book was set at December 31, 1987. A change in the standard that year, however, would allow animals that previously were ineligible and the date was extended to December 31, 1990. In 1990, with fewer than 400 Nigerian Dwarves registered, the AGS Board voted to extend the deadline until December 31, 1992, to allow for a sufficient genetic base of foundation stock. The certification process ended in 1992. All animals registered through his point, whether by ancestry or committee approval, carry the "f" suffix to their registration number to indicate that they are considered a foundation animal. Unfortunately, accurate records were not kept indicating how many animals were admitted via certification, but by the end of 1992, approximately 2000 Nigerian Dwarves had been registered with the American Goat Society.

There was still some concern that the breed needed a broader genetic base, and a progeny program was put into place until December 31, 1997. An unregistered animal would still be considered for registration if, when bred to several different AGS registered Nigerian Dwarves (three for does, four for bucks), the animal and all surviving offspring met breed standard and received unanimous approval of the Nigerian Dwarf Committee. Again, accurate records were not kept, but one committee member recalls very few of these coming through committee. In keeping with AGS' philosophy of closed, purebred herd books, since January 1, 1998, the only way to be registered as a purebred Nigerian Dwarf is to be the offspring of two registered purebred Nigerian Dwarves.

Old Mountain Farm All That Jaz. Photo by Wyl Smith.

All breeds begin somewhere, but where we are going is more important than where we started. Using the wide genetic base created though the open herd book, breeders are now molding the breed into a superior milk-producing animal that also happens to be small. While the Nigerian Dwarf and Pygmy share common ancestry, they have clearly become two distinct breeds through the efforts of breeders. The popularity of the breed has continued to grow, in part because of AGS sanctioned shows being held across the country.

The first show that offered a separate sanction for the breed was the 1985 AGS National Show held in Graham, Texas. Only two exhibitors of Nigerian Dwarves were present (Shaula Parker and Kathleen Claps), and the breed wasn't official, but there has been no looking back since. Pine Cone Valley Black Satin, a doe that is listed as an original import, owned by Ms. Claps, had the distinction of being crowned the first AGS National Champion Nigerian Dwarf. While the popularity of shows skyrocketed after this, another AGS National Show would not be held until 1996. Through the hard work of the Nigerian Dwarf breeders, and AGS sanctioned National Show has been held every year since.

As the primary registry of the breed, AGS has registered more than 41,000 purebred Nigerian Dwarf goats to date (April 2008). AGS maintains a closed-herd book on which both the NDGA (Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association) and the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) have based their herd books. The Nigerian Dwarf which was until recently considered a rare breed has grown in popularity over the years. The number of animals registered with AGS each year, continues to increase.

Used by permission from The American Goat Society, For more information visit www.americangoatsociety.com

Introduction to our farm

We are a photographer and naturopathic medical student duo trying our hands at urban farming. Our goal: is to live sustainably, share our experience and bounty with our community.

We currently live in a small historic district in central Phoenix. Our footprint is less than 1/6th of an acre shared with 3 dogs, 2 cats, 1 Nigerian Dwarf, several chickens, and 1 lame duck Loli.

We currently have 20 chicks which we decided to offer sponsorship from our community...we were surprised at the response from friends, family, and children!

It has been enjoyable to receive handmade letters from the kids who have sponsored baby chicks. We sit and read the letters to the corresponding chick, document with a picture and send a chick made letter back to the child...

Another thing that I've been on the prowl for is finding a sire for our goat Daisy. It has been an obsession of mine for over a month and I am eager to start getting milk in the upcoming months (that is once we get her pregnant).
We've looked up recipes for goat milk fudge, soap, butter, and of course cheese!

As we develop our urban homestead we hope to keep our followers informed of our hopes, dreams, successes, trials, and tribulations.

Happy Reading!

Dave and Laura