The perfect Dual Purpose Goat for large herds or small spaces.
Nigerian Dwarf Goats were originally imported from their native Africa to be raised in zoos as food for big cats. They caught the eye of the public and soon moved out of the zoo and onto farms and backyards everywhere. Nigerians are rapidly becoming one of the most popular small breeds of livestock in the U.S. There are a myriad of reasons for it.
First, they are a great dual purpose dairy and meat goat, which is why we chose them for East of Eden. They have the highest butter fat of any domestic goat and produce nearly as much as their full size cousins. Also, they can milk for about 300 days a year. That’s impressive. They have good meat to bone ratio for their size and the meat is mild and lean.
Secondly, their compact size(about the same as a Springer Spaniel), makes them ideal for small spaces. But they are equally comfortable in a large herd.
Third, Nigerians can breed all year round, and frequently have twins and triplets. A friend of ours recently had 4 does give birth the same week, one with twins, one with triplets and two with quads. Shazaam!
Fourth, Nigerians have great temperaments and are quiet. That makes them ideal for families with children or in subdivisions and other populated neighborhoods.
Fifth, they are weed assassins. Our first two goats cleared off the fence line of a one acre pasture in no time flat.
Sixth, Nigerians produce excellent fertilizer. You can leave it lay, or collect it, compost it and feed it to your roses and vegetables. You’ll be the envy of the flower club.
Finally, Nigerian Dwarf Goats are just plain CUTE! We find them absolutely adorable.
Our plan is to provide goat’s milk cheeses and goat meat beginning in the autumn of 2011. Young goats may occasionally be offered for sale to good homes. Watch the Store page.
Alpine Goats are dairy specialists. Originally from France, these beautiful caprines, produce an excellent sweet milk, and in copious quantities. The butterfat is lower than in some other breeds (3.2%), but rarely has the strong flavor that some other breeds have.
Alpines are a fairly tall breed and quite elegant in movement. At full maturity, grass fed does can produce a gallon a day. Those fed a traditional diet that includes grains sometimes produce double that.
Like all goats, Alpines are excellent foragers, but they have more discriminating tastes that our Nigerians and find some local hay varieties (like Bermuda) to be unacceptable. Mixed grass hay and alfalfa are more to their liking. They are superb destroyers of wild blackberry patches and kudzu.
Kiko
Probably the most important change in our farming operation is the addition of Kiko and Boer meat goats. Both breeds
Boer
are hardy and fast growing. The Kikos were developed in New Zealand and are providing hybrid vigor and strength to many existing meat herds. The Boers, originally from South Africa are the best known meat breed in the USA. They are striking in appearance and have wonderful temperaments.
We are looking to transition our primary meat production from pastured poultry to meat goats.
SOOOOO adorable!! =)