The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: firemansam on September 10, 2012, 06:03:59 pm

Title: Is it a pygmy
Post by: firemansam on September 10, 2012, 06:03:59 pm
I have seen a pygmy goat nanny for sale, but it has toggles, and is slightly taller than the other pygmys. Do pygmys have toggles? Or is it a toggenburg cross?
Title: Re: Is it a pygmy
Post by: bangbang on September 10, 2012, 06:34:30 pm
All our pygmy's vary slightly in size all, as for toggles some have them and some dont.
It's the luck of the draw in my opinion. We've had kids where billy and nanny had - but
the kid didn't. One kid had a high toggle and a low toggle.....must be the fashion at the time  ;D
Title: Re: Is it a pygmy
Post by: Anke on September 10, 2012, 09:55:09 pm
If it is a bit bigger than other pygmies in the picture (?) - I would hazard a guess that it is a cross.... especially if it is an unregistered one... But depends what you want your pygmies for - if just for fun I don't see that size would matter so much... but if you want to breed I would think they would have to be registered etc etc.
 
Title: Re: Is it a pygmy
Post by: Brucklay on September 11, 2012, 08:26:44 am
As BB said our pygmy's are all registered and do vary in size - one wether was a single kids and has always been big with a big appetite!!


One of our girls is very small, just opposite ends of the pygmy spectum - but if she isn't registered then and you don't think she looks right then possibly a cross.
Title: Re: Is it a pygmy
Post by: Roxy on September 11, 2012, 10:08:31 am
One of our unregistered pygmy girls has toggles - her brother didn't.  Neither parents had toggles, but dad has a big beard, but none of the kids inherited a beard.
As to size, although unregistered, most of our kids are small, but not as small as my registered nannies were.  Father is what I would call oversized, but we do use him on the smaller dairy goats too, and these kids tend to stay smaller than their mum. Our other pygmy billy, Elliot, is a lot smaller, and his last owner said he was from registered parents, but she was adamant he was big for a pygmy, but as I pointed out, the males will be bigger.
Unless you really want a small pygmy, then I would not worry too much about the size.