Nigerianinfo

Nigerian Dwarf goats originated in West Africa. As implied by the name, the Nigerian Dwarf goat is a small breed of goat. Much smaller
than your average dairy goat, but their conformation is the same. They are dairy goats and can yield a surprising amount of milk for their
small size, up to 6 to 10 pounds a day.

In Canada, Nigerian Dwarf goats are registered with the Canadian Goat Society who first recognized them as a distinct breed in 1985.
Bucks cannot be any taller than 23" at the shoulder and does must be 22" or less to fit into the breed standard. Their ears must be erect,
not pendulous and they must have a straight profile. Roman noses and dished faces are disqualified. Nigerian Dwarf goats come in all
ranges of colours from basic white to mottled brown, black, and cream coloured or any combination thereof. Only silver agouti colouring
is considered a moderate fault. Often, Nigerian Dwarf goats are seen with bright blue eyes, similar to what a Myotonic goat breeder
would call ICE BLUE. There is marbling of blue eyes on occasion but the eyes are still considered blue. Often, a young goat with bright
blue eyes will have marbled eyes as they get older.

Nigerian Dwarf goats originated at the same time and place as African Pygmy goats but are a distinctly different and separate breed.
Where Pygmy goats are stocky and heavily built, Nigerian Dwarf goats have more length of body, a lighter build, and longer legs.

Nigerian Dwarf goats are gentle and easily handled. Even the bucks are calm and quiet. They make wonderful pets, even for children and
tolerate a good deal of mishandling. Most Nigerian Dwarf breeders will disbud the goats when they are very young because removal of
horns after they have grown is painful and messy. As you may have read in our POLICIES page, we do not disbud or dehorn goats as we
feel it is cruel and inhumane to do so. We feel all potential goat owners should be trained to handle goats with horns and to educate
their family members on how to avoid injury from enthusiastic goats with horns.

Nigerian Dwarf goats mature early and can be successfully bred as early as 7 weeks although that is NOT reccommended. Any reputable
breeder will wait until the doe is at least one year old, many wait until they are two. Bucks can be used for breeding as early as three
months of age. With proper care a Nigerian Dwarf goat has a life span similar to other goats but they are fast to grow and fast to
mature.

Kids are generally about 2 lbs at birth but grow very quickly. Does often have multiple births. Twins are the norm but triplets and even
up to five is not unheard of. The does usually kid easily without assistance and make very good mothers. Nigerian Dwarf goats also
blend into existing herds with ease. They need no special requirements with the exception of fencing that will accomodate their small
stature.

There are few breeders of Nigerian Dwarf goats in Canada and the number of registered goats is small but it is climbing slowly. This
breed is far too cute and playful to let its' numbers decline.

At the Stables, we have chosen to all but stop breeding Nigerian Dwarf goats due in large part to a lack of breeding pens and nursing
pens. This coming year we will be breeding only one Nigerian Dwarf doe. All our others are for sale at this present time.