# The best dual purpose goat breed



## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

What in everyone's opinion is the very best dual purpose(meat and dairy)goat breed is?
I plan to breed my Kiko/Boer buck(his daddy looked like a small bull) to my 2 Saanen does(big, themselves) this fall/winter.
Will this create, the best dual purpose breed?


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

If you want to stay true to a breed, I'd say Nubians would be the best. But, a lot of others would disagree with me and tell you to milk a Boer! It just depends on if you lean more toward milk, with a few kids to put in the freezer, or if you primarily want meat, and a little milk. There's no milk breed that's going to give you as much meat as a boer, and vice versa. If you cross breed, you're either going to start losing your meatiness, or your milkiness if you continue to breed to the same buck.


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Lada said:


> If you want to stay true to a breed, I'd say Nubians would be the best. But, a lot of others would disagree with me and tell you to milk a Boer! It just depends on if you lean more toward milk, with a few kids to put in the freezer, or if you primarily want meat, and a little milk. There's no milk breed that's going to give you as much meat as a boer, and vice versa. If you cross breed, you're either going to start losing your meatiness, or your milkiness if you continue to breed to the same buck.


Well, I also have a pure blood Saanen buck(he is young, not yet even 6 months old) that I figured I could breed to the Kiko/Boer/Saanen cross does, next year).....
Either way, I lean toward large goats, lol!
I have also, full blooded Nigerian Dwarfs, but them are more for pets than anything else.
Greg Zeigler,
Alger, Ohio


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## Natural Beauty Farm (Feb 17, 2003)

Well its a shot in the dark. 
You need to ask yourself:
Is the Saanen buck related to the does?
Are the does good milkers?
Were their dams good milkers?
Is there any milk on the Saanen Bucks side?
Is there any milk on the Kiko Bucks side?
If you cross the meat and dairy figure a 50% loss in production, can you live with that for the first generation?
If the Saanen buck is unrelated and you breed him to the crosses and get 75% of granddam's production and a meaty carcass is that what you want?
Are you willing to wait 3 years for this experiment to play out?
Now figure that the PB/A genes have been taken out of the gene pool and you are going to get bottom dollar for any kids you sell, because a dairy/milk person does not want meat genes and the meat person does not want dairy genes, can you live with that?


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Natural Beauty Farm said:


> Well its a shot in the dark.
> You need to ask yourself:
> Is the Saanen buck related to the does?
> Are the does good milkers?
> ...


My Saanen buck is unrelated, and I can wait 3 years on the experiment.
These animals will be for personal use(meat&milk), thus if there is a decline in either, that's no bother.
And yes, I'd like to get a meaty carcass, with about 75% of the original granddam's production....
My pure bred Nigerians is the only goats I plan on selling down the road.
Thanks:bouncy:


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## SLD Farm (Dec 19, 2007)

I think I would breed the cross back to a boer inorder to get a meaty carcass.


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## Feral Nature (Feb 21, 2007)

If you want purebred duel purpose dairy goat, go with Nubian, as they are "traditionally" thought of as the duel purpose breed. If you want a cross, I like LaMancha X Boer very, very much. However, I milk LaManchas and we eat the buck kids so our LaMancha herd is duel purpose. We also have Boer/LaMancha crosses that are magnificent.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Agree that the Nubian is the traditional dual-purpose breed, and I'm quite happy with mine.

That said, your suggestion of Boer/Kiko crossed to a Saanen is intriguing. Once you've considered all the questions NBF suggested, I'd say go for it! 

Keep us updated on your experience!


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

My Boer/nubian crosses have good milk and when bred back to our boer buck produce meaty kids. I did start with good foundation though. Good milk lines and good meaty boers.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

I use my Saanens as a dual purpose breed. The does produce a lot of milk, and the buck kids grow very fast. I generally have 50-60 lb buck kids at less than three months of age. They may have a higher proportion of bone than some other breeds, but the growth rate is faster than most. I have no problems selling buck kids or wethers for meat.


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

50/50 Boer X Saanen makes a beautiful dual purpose goat!

That 50/50 doe will milk very well (we have sold some that are milking 12 pounds/day - high butterfat too!) and when bred back to a Boer (or Boer/Kiko cross) buck will give you large meaty kids that grow like crazy.

We have sold 5 of these milkers in the last 2 years, and now are receiving requests for more of the same. Oh, and they sold for $400.00 each - milk stand trained - so folks aren't buying them because they are cheap!

(P.S> It is true that both our Saanens and Boers are very strong in the milk department, genetically speaking, your YMMV).


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

PotBellyPigs said:


> What in everyone's opinion is the very best dual purpose(meat and dairy)goat breed is?
> I plan to breed my Kiko/Boer buck(his daddy looked like a small bull) to my 2 Saanen does(big, themselves) this fall/winter.
> Will this create, the best dual purpose breed?


I'm 4 generations into making a goat of my liking. Basically a milk/meat that thrive on brush. That also suit my climate.... Cold and generally wet or icy with snow. Anyway here is my simple advise.

#1 the most important. I suggest you figure out what the perfect goat is in your mind. Before you start breeding. Switching after a sale or cull is costly or impossible.

#2 Remember the old tail of the monk and Peas. You can get yellow peas or green peas, big or small. See point one. But you can't get big green peas from a small yellow pea bush.

#3 Cull any that don't fit. This will be the hardest part. It's always the sweetest that are thin and tiny and give little milk. 

#4 No one will value your efforts. It will cost you a nice chunk of change. You have to wait till a generation grows to see what they are. For instance a 2 month old buck needs to be banded if he is to be good meat... Course he could be the bigger one or the healthier one?? Same with the does. you don't know how they will milk till you do. That's at about 2 years of feeding a goat that your unsure of.




Good luck!!! 
I have goats that give 3/4 gallon a day, Grow huge, Eat browse or hay in the winter(I only grain when I milk them or to move them from one pasture to another), Ignore the cold and damp, and most of all don't need medications all the time.


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## Bradygv68 (Jul 28, 2015)

I would suggest looking into Kinder goats. Google it.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

This is an old thread.


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## 258Pots (Apr 23, 2015)

Lada said:


> If you want to stay true to a breed, I'd say Nubians would be the best. But, a lot of others would disagree with me and tell you to milk a Boer! It just depends on if you lean more toward milk, with a few kids to put in the freezer, or if you primarily want meat, and a little milk. There's no milk breed that's going to give you as much meat as a boer, and vice versa. If you cross breed, you're either going to start losing your meatiness, or your milkiness if you continue to breed to the same buck.


A lady nearby has some of the thickest boars with great udders and milk production. Boars milk...


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