Animal Spotlight-Nigerian Dwarf Goat

Meet Ziggy, he is our purebred Nigerian Dwarf buck.  His registered name  is 'Holly Ridge Caspia', although we affectionately call him 'Zig'.

Nigerian Dwarfs originate from West African goats brought to the United States reportedly between the 1930s to the 1950s.  (Knowing my African friends penchant for trying to eat my goats, I'm surprised there were any goats left in Africa to make it to the US!  Maybe it's because of their small size . . .  not enough to bother with for a meal :-).)  Here you can see the size difference between Zig and Willie who is a mix of Nubian, Alpine, and Boer.

Nigerian Dwarfs are miniature dairy goats. However, despite their smaller size, they actually have a fairly high milk production (1-2 quarts a day) with a high butter fat content great for making cheese and butter.  

Nigerian Dwarfs are known for their friendly disposition.  Zig is no exception.  He is comical, inquisitive, and definitely an attention seeker.  He loves to be petted and to playfully do the 'I-can-push-harder-than-you' goat thing.

Nigerian Dwarfs come in a variety of colors and patterns and typically weigh about 75 pounds.  Zig's coloring is described as gold and white, moonspots.  In these pictures, he is sporting his summer 'wardrobe'.  His coat is normally thick and long and much too hot for our SC summer.  Goats lose a lot of heat through their horns and as you can see Zig has no horns.  Some goats are born hornless (polled), but in Zig's case, his horns were removed/disbudded by the breeder prior to us purchasing him.  This is a common practice with dairy goats, although we have not chosen to do this with our goats.  Zig found last summer to be way too hot and so we clipped his coat several times.  

Other than entertainment, Zig's purpose on the farm is "Baby Daddy".  He was responsible for all 7 of our kids last year and 2 of our does are pregnant by his endeavors this year.  He is a very reliable 'worker', always willing to do his job!

So what do you get when you breed a Nigerian Dwarf and a Saanen  . . .

why a Mini Saanen of course!

Boo (in the foreground) is all white.  Maggie May, although of the correct heritage, is multi-spotted which is not considered an acceptable breed standard by the Mini Dairy Goat Association (MDGA). But we love her just the same!

And this is Biscuit, who is a light cream color.

Well there, you've had an introduction to some of our goats.  There's more to come with due dates of February 12, 14 & 22!

Debby

Shepherdess