# A docile breed of goat?



## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

My DH and I do not have our homestead YET. We are trying to do as much research as we can before we actually get the property. With that being said what we are looking for is a very docile breed of goat. We want all the animals to be docile and gentle if we can; however, we still need them to be good producers. We will most likely be in the southern Oregon area.

Any suggestions?

And thank you all for being so helpful and willing educate those who are truly wanting to be educated.


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## homebirtha (Feb 19, 2004)

What do you want them to produce? Meat or milk? Or just eat brush?


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

My Nubians and my La Mancha doe are pretty docile. Nubians seem to be the most docile toward each other and Alpines the most aggressive with each other. My most aggressive goats with other does are my Alpine/Nubian cross and my La Mancha/Boer?Spanish cross does. They are also the herd queens. All these does are docile with me. Bucks of any breed can be aggressive.


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## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

Are there any out there that do all 3? If not then probably:
1) eat brush
2) milk
3) meat not really an issue

We want "petting zoo" like animals. That are sweet in temperament and enjoy people. Also if at all possible we want them to not *need* grain. If they can be sustained on grass and brush all the better. We want to make our homestead as self reliant as possible.


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## toomb68 (Mar 16, 2006)

my advice would be to get goats that were bottle raised, or get a couple of kids this spring and bottle raise them yourself. i have a couple of lamanchas that are very friendly and docile.....more so than my dog, try to find someone local and go see some goats. most goat people i've met love to talk goats.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

If you milk your does or have pregnant does, they will need grain during lactation and in the last month of pregnancy. Other than that, they can easily live off pasture AND hay. (sometimes if your pasture is large enough, they won't even need hay during the summer months, but it would have to be pretty darn big!) If you don't want to milk goats and don't want to grain feed any, get a wether herd. They don't need grain and can live off pasture/hay for thier whole lives. 
Maybe a good option for you would be a wether herd with just one or two does, for milk production. That way the majority of your herd doesn't cost you very much, and you have more money to spend on the milkers for higher quality milk.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Hi, I have four different breeds of goat on my homestead and hands down Boer goats are by far the most docile here. The best all around goat would be a Nubian/Boer cross. You would get milk, meat, docile and size...Good luck


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## TSYORK (Mar 16, 2006)

I've got nubian, boer, and alpine; all are docile on my farm.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Boers are very docile if raised friendly, but don't give that much milk as they are a meat breed. I have docile Lamanchas and docile Nubians. My Alpines and Saanans tend to be a *little* more stand-offish and free-thinking. Really it depends more on the lines and how the goat was raised. If it was a bottle baby and was raised seeing you as mama, its usually going to be docile. 
Pick for temperment rather than breed if you simply want a docile doe you can milk, because there are "wildchilds" in every breed.  
Every dairy goat I have had has been a good forager/brush eater. Same for Boers. Does who are milking, late-bred or feeding kids will need some supplementation, but they all love to browse on brush.


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## xoxoGOATSxoxo (Jul 29, 2006)

Yep, if you want "petting zoo" type animals, I would get some babies that aren't alpine, and bottle feed them. Even a bottle raised alpine is a bit, er, "grouchy", in my experience. But most of my Saanens, bottle babies or not, have all been really nice. Most aren't too enthusiastic about brush, though. Expensive roses are more their style.


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## lamanchagoatgrl (Oct 27, 2006)

I'd say if you don't want to milk, and don't want to give a lot of extra supplements, then a few Nigerian Dwarf wethers would work well. They are very friendly if you raise them on a bottle, love to sit in your lap, and just generally be near you. My ND wether is going on 3 years old, and still tries to get in my lap if I sit down in the pen.  I don't feed mine grain, but he does get hay year round. Though NDs don't eat nearly as much as larger breeds, and tend to stay 'fat' on a lesser amount...


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

These are some real laid back gals..Hope you like the photo: LaMancha, Nubian, and the always mello Boer.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Good picture, Topside.


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## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

Great information and I love the Picture! I will do some more research on those breeds. 

I know that there is never a guarantee for anything from any breed. There will always be a rebel or two out there. But if there are breeds known for their sweet temperament towards humans then that is where I want to start my search.  

Bottle feeding is important it sounds like. Makes sense I guess.

Thanks


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## Sher (May 10, 2002)

Great pic John!

I think if you are looking for something to do all three, John is right in Nubian/Boer crosses. I have does with this cross and they have enough milk to keep ya going, and they are friendlier than all get out..and they like roaming and "snacking" as they go..lol.

Good luck on your choices...gotta say all the goats we have been blessed with are friendly..whether they started out that way or not.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

My only dairy goats now are alpines, and I've got two of 'em. They sure are goofy. They've got attitudes but they're not grouchy and are very affectionate to me. SOMETIMES they make you feel as though you are a minor inconvenience in thier highly important lives, though.  My minis always make me feel SOOOO loved, though.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Sher said:


> I think if you are looking for something to do all three, John is right in Nubian/Boer crosses. I have does with this cross and they have enough milk to keep ya going, and they are friendlier than all get out..and they like roaming and "snacking" as they go..lol.


Yes, a Boer/Dairy cross of any breed will do well for multi-purpose. I absolutely LOVE my Boer/Lamanchas and my Boer/Saanans.


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

homebirtha said:


> What do you want them to produce? Meat or milk? Or just eat brush?


OR FIBER. Remember people do have fiber goats. That is how you get your Cashmere and Mohair.
I have to say everyone will say the breed they have is the best. Really it is what you like and what you want them for. All goast can be very docile if they are raised with lots of love and attention.
I would say, go look at different breeds of goats, and you will find one that just pulls on your heart strings. Then you will know what you want.


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