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Author Topic: Anyone got British Alpines?  (Read 5767 times)

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Anyone got British Alpines?
« on: January 05, 2015, 06:52:43 pm »
i have been trying unsuccessfully to sell 3 Boer X kids from 2014 and someone has asked if I would swap 2 for a 4 yr old BA. I have been contemplating getting another goat I could milk but have no idea if this is a good breed to get and whether it is a good swap. I doubt she has been hand milked and she is horned. Although horns don't bother me personally, I am concerned about bullying as I sold my AN X as she had a habit of butting the others.

Melmarsh

  • Joined May 2014
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2015, 08:10:35 pm »
In my opinion horns or not she will fight for pecking order with whoever you decide to keep her with. B.A breeders love their goats but like all breeds they have some generalised  idiosyncrasies. Speak to a local breeder , look up their breed society on line and go from there. If you know nothing about the goat, go and see her and make up your own mind as to weather she is for you, chances are she is a cross bred unless she has papers, ask to see her milked and see how she behaves. Don't swap one problem for another !! Good luck  :innocent:

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2015, 09:35:57 pm »
It would also depend at this time of year if she was in kid, and if not why not and would you ever be able to get her back into kid? Unless she is registered I would be very careful about any claims made about her... sorry to be negative. BA's are (sometimes) quite high-maintenance goats, as in highly-strung...

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2015, 09:50:25 pm »
Thanks, that's helpful. She is not in kid but that is partly because the lady doesn't have a billy and bought her in kid to a Saanen. Slightly unsure as to why she is trying to sell her but wants replacements. Will probably decline as my gut tells me to and wait for something else.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2015, 11:40:13 pm »
There is a BA herd near us and one of the family says that BAs are for people who like a challenge.

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2015, 05:36:26 am »
Though I have had a BA in the past and found her very easy.

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2015, 09:57:11 am »
I used to keep BA's and they were great milkers.  They were easier to keep than anglo nubians but not as easy as british saanans.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2015, 03:29:04 pm »
One of my Saanens had a kid by a BA and talk about Houdini -  the slightest hint of a gap and he was trying to get through it.

ballingall

  • Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2015, 07:20:12 pm »
We don't have any BA's currently, but have had the odd one in the past. They are perhaps livelier than other breeds, and also more stand offish- ie less affectionate to humans.

I do like them as a breed, but I do think it is odd why they want to swap you for her, which would put me off.

Beth

Bumblebear

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Norfolk
    • http://southwellski.blogspot.co.uk/
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2015, 09:55:50 pm »
We have 2 BAs, they are very affectionate and not escape artists at all!  They were our first goats and we've had them nearly 3 years.  Simone, our nanny produces between just over a litre of milk (in winter) and up to nearly 1.75 in summer!  They can be a bit prissy about a new person milking them (we have housesitters when we go away) but in general they have great personalities and we (including our 5 year old) adore them :)

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2015, 10:08:08 pm »
I have milked one and she produced a lot of milk. I never measured it so can't say how much but I would say more than three litres a day. She also squatted slightly while I was doing it which made the job easier.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2015, 10:17:25 pm »
We have 2 BAs, they are very affectionate and not escape artists at all!  They were our first goats and we've had them nearly 3 years.  Simone, our nanny produces between just over a litre of milk (in winter) and up to nearly 1.75 in summer!  They can be a bit prissy about a new person milking them (we have housesitters when we go away) but in general they have great personalities and we (including our 5 year old) adore them :)

You mean she produces 1.75 kgs per day in summer? That's maybe not very much.... A good BA (or any Swiss breed) would be expected to give at least 4.5kgs per day at peak lactation... and some show lines do a LOT more (and are correspondingly higher maintenance of course).

Bumblebear

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Norfolk
    • http://southwellski.blogspot.co.uk/
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2015, 11:11:40 pm »
Haha, slightly misleading as we only milk once a day ;). I forgot to mention that!  We went down to milking once because we were drowning in it.  We also limit the diary nuts.  We only wanted enough for our meagre needs :)
« Last Edit: February 02, 2015, 11:54:02 am by Bumblebear »

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2015, 09:02:04 pm »
I've just been offered a trade - a 2yo BTxSaanen for the hire of my billy. Downside is I will have to introduce her to being milked but plus is I should have milk by winter.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Anyone got British Alpines?
« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2015, 09:29:29 pm »
Sounds like a good trade to me.

 

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