By Diane Walser
Minis are a dairy breed. They are a cross between a standard size dairy doe such as Alpine, La Mancha, Toggenburg, Saanen, or Nubian with a Nigerian dwarf buck. Why do such a thing when we have these long standing, well recognized breeds? As it turns out, size matters. In these days of expensive feed and space challenges, large goats take up too much space and eat too much. They can produce a lot of milk too. Really small goats produce less and can be more challenging to milk. Enter the Goldilocks of goats – the mini breeds.
I raise Mini Nubians. I thought I invented the concept when I started my herd in 2018. I had a Nubian doe I wanted to breed and my neighbor had a *B Nigerian dwarf. I was later informed by my good friend at House on the Hill Dairy that I had actually joined an alt-goat cult. I started breeding and collecting MDGA and TMGR registered Mini Nubian dairy goats.
The goal of developing the mini breed dairy goats is to produce an animal that is half the size of a standard dairy goat, but nearly as productive. In fact, Minis can and do often produce around 80% of the volume of the average standard sized dairy goat even though they are half as big. How big are they, you ask? The average full grown Mini doe weighs 100lbs. In order to meet breed standard, does should be at least 23 inches at the withers and cannot be taller than 29 inches. Bucks cannot exceed 31 inches at the withers. The different Mini breeds also have certain breed characteristics they must meet in order to look like small versions of the standard sized breed. Mini Nubians should have pendulous, bell-shaped ears and arched roman noses. Some breeds such as Mini Oberhasli and Mini Toggenburg have color pattern requirements. These traits can be very challenging to attain and then to breed true through the generations. For example, Nigerian Dwarf goats have erect ears and dished noses. When we breed a Nubian to a Nigi, the resulting 50/50 lands somewhere in the middle is likely to lack the arched nose. The ears tend to fall into the “airplane” category. Fortunately, both Nubians and Nigerians come in the same variety of coat patterns, so any resulting colors are acceptable, including blue eyes.
Ultimately, Minis are dairy goats and they are subject to the same conformation standards as any standard breed dairy goat or the smaller Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. The best reference for ideal structure can be found in the ADGA linear appraisal scorecard. Unfortunately, Minis are not eligible to participate in Linear Appraisal because they are viewed as the doodle dog of the dairy goat world. That is a perception that can be changed by Mini breeders and something I plan to address in a future post when throwing my opinion into the debate “why generation should matter”.
Structural conformation is critically important. This is not a question of vanity, but one of longevity and production. Dairy goats typically need to be bred annually to produce milk to their full potential. That means carrying and birthing litters of 1-5 kids per pregnancy and then supporting a capacious udder for up to 305 days each year. A productive Mini udder should be able to peak at a gallon a day. Typically, we measure milk in pounds. One gallon of milk is about 8.6lbs. Don’t stress out if your first freshener is falling short of this goal. Goats are not fully mature until they are three. Typically, they will not reach their highest productivity until their third or fourth freshening. You can see this common trend in the milk records on the CDCB website. The average number of productive years for a dairy doe is 10.
Now, let’s review why some of us have gone rogue and chosen to eschew the tradition of standard sized dairy goats or jump on the smaller Nigerian Dwarf trend. Let’s face it, choosing to opt out of the institution that is ADGA is not an easy choice. There are less opportunities for showing and the benefits of Linear Appraisal are denied. So why commit our time and resources to a “cross-breed”? Why try to re-invent the dairy goat? It always comes down to money. A standard size goat can easily be 200lbs. A goat that weighs twice as much, eats twice as much, creates twice as much waste, and takes up twice as much space, but they generally don’t produce twice as much milk. Minis are a joy to milk. They are the perfect height off the ground to fit the milk bucket or the pump inflations. Their teats tend to be a perfect size to get all four fingers on for hand milking. Medium sized goats are easier to handle individually and generally safer to move amongst within an enclosed space as you don’t get crushed or knocked over, or in the case of Nigis, tripped. They are the true Goldilocks of goats. They are just right.
Unfortunately, Minis are not all sunshine and roses. Blending two radically different body types – even with impeccable pedigrees and milk records – can lead to franken-goats with awkward proportions. It is nearly impossible to direct what traits will be expressed when we mix a long, tall goat with a short, stout goat. This is an extreme outcross and therefore, consistency and repeatability are very difficult to predict against foundation animals until the breeder is multiple generations (years) into the project. So what are some example challenges beyond not meeting the surface level breed characteristics? For example, combining a Nubian with a wide, flat rump and a Nigerian that also exhibits a wide, flat rump will not necessarily translate to a Mini with a wide, flat rump. The stature differences can pull the resulting kids’ bodies out of proportion. It’s entirely possible to end up with a goat that appears narrow or gets shorter rear legs that pulls the rump angle down or increases dorsal process. A common issue in 50/50 Minis is a downhill goat – posty rear legs and shorter front legs. These structural issues will cascade into attachment issues with the udder. That can translate into problems like pockets in the fore-udder, insufficient lateral attachments, and poor udder height. Milk production is another unknown. High production in both foundation animals does not directly translate into high production in the resulting Mini. It’s entirely possible to get a larger sized mini with Nigi-sized production. One excellent feature that does tend to translate well is the higher butterfat from the Nigerian side. Mini milk is delicious!
What does all this uncertainty mean? Establishing a new breed is a big responsibility. My dad loved to say, “Patience is a virtue”. Breeders need to take that to heart and be careful to register only the best, most consistent stock. How? We all know, there is no perfect goat and there is definitely a time and a place for accepting a less than desirable trait to try to pass on a favorite feature. Genetics are so challenging and just when we think we have predictability in a line, we get an outlier expressed. I have full faith that we can conquer the barn blindness and succeed. I am passionate about the viability of Minis. I am grateful to the long-established breeders who produce excellent stock and share their knowledge. I believe Minis are the future of micro dairies and home milkers during these times of shrinking land, increased feed costs, and decreased free time. I look forward to furthering my Mini Nubian program and continue working to develop our Goldilocks goats into highly competitive dairy animals.
