The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: fizzgigg on June 07, 2010, 09:55:26 pm

Title: cross breeding goats
Post by: fizzgigg on June 07, 2010, 09:55:26 pm
just got to ask you lot as i havent kept goats long and i want to weigh up the pros n cons before it comes round time for breeding i have 2 saanen does and was wondering about the pros and cons of crossbreeding and any ideas fo a good breed to cross with? my reasons for thinkinking is i have kept and stil do keep numerous animals and cross breeds always seem to have the upper hand, dont get me wrong im not against breeding with the same breed or line breeding (if its done propperly) but i have no intension to show my goats and using them for milk (and possiblly meat and hides) but priority is milk so what are your thoughts
 ??? :goat: ???
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: chickenfeed on June 07, 2010, 10:00:28 pm
nothing wrong with cross breeding they even have a slot in the show ring under the AOV banner
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: Anke on June 07, 2010, 10:17:20 pm
This is quite a difficult one, it firstly might depend on the nannies you already have got (are they registered with BGS? and what's their pedigree re milk) and then on what you want to do with the kids (if selling kids as future milkers, use a good billy with milking figures to his name and cross breeding is quite common, kids can be registered under HerdBook). Although I have this year gone the pure-bred line, I am not sure if the kids would be worth more purely because of that.

If you have a good billy near you it might be a good starting point...
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: ballingall on June 07, 2010, 10:26:34 pm
There's nothing wrong with crossing types of goats, though I do think some breeds cross better together than others.

Saanen's I think cross nicely with Boer's, which will get your Saanen's into milk, and give you some kids which would be good for meat and hides etc. But you can cross them with any of the major dairy breeds and get what we call AOV (Any Other Variety). The kids you get will still produce a good volume of milk, or could be used for meat.

The pure bred route means it is more worthwhile registering them, and the kids can be sold as pure bred, which makes them more valuable.


Beth
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: Roxy on June 08, 2010, 12:50:12 am
I have only bred from the Sannan and British Alpine.  The BA I put to a British Sanaan, and one year got Alpine coloured kids, and the next pure white.  This year, I put the small sanaan to our British Alpine billy, and got two pure white kids.  I am hoping they will be bigger than mum, as the billy is a big lad.

In the Autumn, I will put the two Alpine x Anglo Nubian nannies to the Alpine billy.  They are big goats, so we should see some big kids.  I do not show, just have them for milk, and the males for meat.

Some of my smaller nannies (nubian x and sanann plus a very small alpine) I put with the very stocky pygmy billy, and have been fortunate that the kids have come out as neat little pygmys, which are nice.
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: fizzgigg on June 08, 2010, 08:52:19 pm
thank you for your replies deffinately plenty to chew over and think about  ;D
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: little blue on June 08, 2010, 09:59:03 pm
we have sanaan and toggie females, and mated them with a Bagot billy.  he is larger than a pygmy... but not much!
the choice had alot to do with circumstances at the time we needed him, but of course, the kids shouldn't be very large so easier kidding.
like you, its the kidding to get milk that we need.   ours aren't registered though both pure bred

fizzgigg: what breed are your goats? 
            and do you know if there are billies in your local area?!
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: fizzgigg on June 08, 2010, 10:35:59 pm
my two are saanens ther is one or two i just have to find a way of getting on the right side of the farmers who have them alot of the farmers round here like to keep very quiet about what theyve got and the man i bought them off sold them to me as a doe with a buck at foot and its was a doe with a doe at foot he has billys i think they were toggenburgs but im a bit dubious about going to him im just gonna put a few feelers out amongst my friends im sure some one will have something compatible. :hshoe:
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: little blue on June 08, 2010, 10:53:44 pm
... best way, to start with
Title: Re: cross breeding goats
Post by: Roxy on June 08, 2010, 11:58:25 pm
Fizzigigg, you are not far from me.  You could borrow one of my billy goats when the time comes if you want.