Author Topic: Anglo Nubians (Read 7134 times)

Teresa · « **on:** June 07, 2010, 08:15:43 pm »

I was captured by the Anglo nubian goats at the Bath and west show on saturday and want to find out more about goat husbandry. What are they fed?
What diseases do they and get and need innoculating against?
Can they live with other animals? Etc
I'd like some milk from them too and i know this involves them having young but do you wait for the kids to have their fill and take some afterwards or partially supplement the kids?
How much would a breed such as the anglo nubian cost?
How long do they live?

Can anyone point me in the direction of a book or husbandry course where i can learn more please!

MiriMaran · « **Reply #1 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:28:18 pm »

I love the look of Anglo Nubians - so majestic. Sorry I can't answer any of your questions as I know nothing about goats, but just wanted to tell you what good taste you have!!

Teresa · « **Reply #2 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:31:43 pm »

Is that a pointer you have in the picture?

MiriMaran · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:34:57 pm »

Yes he's a short-haired/wire-haired cross.

Teresa · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:35:37 pm »

lol i have a wire haired pointer!! could their be a connection between the goats and dogs?

little blue · « **Reply #5 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:48:05 pm »

I have goats........ but theres people on here far more knowledgeable than me!

basics include - feeding small amounts of concentrates, esp when giving milk, lots of hay, grass, brambles, veg, things like willow, beech, hawthorn, more hay!

try and buy "CAE negative" tested goats, to save future problems. check for mites, worms etc.

goats are traditionally companions for racehorses (the phrase "gets my goat" is allegedly from when a goat was stolen before a race to upset the horse)
they need a "herd" of pref other goats, can live with/near donkeys, ponies, llamas probably alpacas!

as for the milking, its your choice whether you bottle the kids, or share, or wait til they are weaning before taking the milk for yourselves.

I don't know what ANs cost...

there are some good books about, Katie Thears "starting with goats" is quite straightforward. alot of books are American, but of course the information is pretty much universal. browse amazon, and check your local library.. I've got a great goat book from ours thats been renewed more times than a few, good kidding pictures!!

Teresa · « **Reply #6 on:** June 07, 2010, 08:54:18 pm »

Whats CAE? I've also heard of scrapie i think

little blue · « **Reply #7 on:** June 07, 2010, 09:04:56 pm »

caprine arthritis encephaelitus (?sp?)

if your goats are negative tested, and the billies are before mating, its not anything to worry about! a good goat book will describe it briefly.
basically kids get brain & nervous problems, not pleasant and mostly fatal.
adults can have nervous problems, and severe arthritis, and may have a shorter lifespan,

Its a virus, in the same "family" as HIV, transmitted through colostrum, sex and very close contact.
a blood test should check, but ask for the certificate before parting with your money, at stud.

having said that, many keepers don't have their animals tested, so its kind of up to you whether to know your animals are free of it, or stay in blissful ignorance - its not very common i dont think, but obviously buying cae free animals will reduce the instances of it occuring.

...blimey, sorry, that was a bit of a ramble! And I don't mean to worry you at all...

Teresa · « **Reply #8 on:** June 07, 2010, 09:08:58 pm »

The more i know the better! It's much better to reduce and eradicate such viruses than ignore them so i definetly would want to make sure of it if (when

) i buy a pair of goats that they are clear of it.

little blue · « **Reply #9 on:** June 07, 2010, 09:33:53 pm »

good for you!!

Anke · « **Reply #10 on:** June 07, 2010, 09:54:44 pm »

Teresa, the British Goat Society has quite a good website, www.allgoats.co.uk or allgoats.org.uk, can't remember, and goat book wise, the Sussex County Goat club book(let) "Goatkeeping - a booklet for beginners" has I think just been re-issued with all new info on tagging etc in. It was the first one that I bought, and that was three years before I managed to get goats... The other one (from abebooks.co.uk) is "The new goat handbook" by Ulrich Jaudas. Very informative, and not too long or scientific either...

Have fun researching!

ballingall · « **Reply #11 on:** June 07, 2010, 10:57:33 pm »

Hi Teresa,

I like your taste- Anglo-Nubian's are of course the best kind of goats there are! I have 10 at the moment (eek thats a lot- must cut down!). One of the best ways to do some research, is find some goatkeepers who live nearby, and see if you can go visit them (ideally a couple of goatkeepers). That lets you see how different people keep their goats, some people have acres of land, some keep goats in a little backgarden. There isn't a right way or wrong way of keeping them, you need to develope a way that suits you!

Little blue mentioned CAE, I would recommend you try to get goats which have been tested negative. They are like sheep in that they need wormed, if you live in a fluke area, they could need dosed for that twice a year. Also, there is a vaccination which helps to protect them against various diseases. There are a couple of different brands, Heptavac-P and Lambivac are two of the vaccine brands.

Anglo-Nubians don't give quite as much milk as some of the Swiss types of breeds, and they tend to have more kids than the Swiss breeds as well. Triplets is not abnormal for them, and quads are fairly regular, with some goats even having quins. However, it should be possible to get some milk for you and some the kids. Again there are different ways of doing this. You can take the kids away from their mother, hand milk the mum, and bottle feed the kids. Then you can keep some of the milk for yourself- as long as they are producing enough to feed the kids. Or you can leave the kids on their mum's, and wait until the kids are a few weeks old, then shut them away from mum overnight, and take some milk for yourself before letting the kids back to her.

Most importantly, goats are herd animals and need company- you need more than one, or they have to have something to live with, a donkey, pony, alpaca etc. And, they need shelter. They are not like sheep, and cannot live outside with no access to shelter. They need access to a shelter, from heavy showers, and cold weather.

Best of luck- if you are looking for some contact names, I can probably find out a few for you. The Anglo-Nubian Breed Society is good for some contact names too. http://www.anglo-nubian.org.uk/

Beth

Roxy · « **Reply #12 on:** June 08, 2010, 12:36:34 am »

If I had a choice, it would definitely be the Anglo Nubian - I have 22 goats, and my favourites are Cain and Abel the two Nubian boys. I just love everything about them. I love it when walkers go past the field, stop and stare at the two tall boys with the long ears, and discuss what they are. They have been called llamas, alpacas, even deer!!!!