I am being a little silly with my post title, but I bet if we polled all the small homesteaders in the US, Nigerian Dwarf goats would be the most popular and “Best rated” breed among homesteaders with small family herds.
Quick Summary
Nigerian Dwarf Goats are the best all around breed for small family farms for several reasons. Our top 5 reasons that we love this breed (beyond the normal goat benefits of clearing land, giving milk, easy kidding etc.) are:
- Small size, produces family size quantities of milk
- Friendly and docile, fairly easy to contain and work well within electric fencing
- Good milk flavor and high fat content
- Easy to source new genetics, a lot of people have Nigerian Dwarf goats and you can easily find stud services and avoid keeping your own buck onsite.
- Can be bred year round, for a consistent supply of milk.
All the details for why we are in love with this breed
1. Small size, produces family size quantities of gentle milk
Small size
Nigerian Dwarf goats deserve their name as they tend to be quite small relative to other goat breeds. The does are 60 lbs. on average and the bucks/wethers are 70 lbs. They are small enough that I can pick them up and carry them when needed. They are also easy to transport. I recently had 6 of them in the back of my minivan ;)
Their small stature also makes Nigerian Dwarf goats a good beginner goat for children to handle. They are not intimidating and can be easily halter trained for participation in 4H shows. Nigerian Dwarfs are also a great petting farm breed. When well socialized they are polite and curious. They do not mind being greeted and touched by large numbers of children.
Milk quality and quantity
We love cows, They are sweet and can be so friendly too. However, some people in our family are mildly allergic to whey. Their skin and tummies are much happier when they consume goat or sheep’s milk instead of cow’s milk.
The average Mini Jersey cow produces 2-4 gallons of milk per DAY. That would be a lot of milk to handle for our little family. We do like cheese, but it would be overwhelming to have to manage that much milk and I fear that a decent amount would be wasted. By contrast, the average Nigerian Dwarf doe produces around 1 quart of milk per day on average. Overlapping the breeding so that we always have 1-2 does in milk provides an ideal amount of milk for our family of 7.
2. Friendly and docile, fairly easy to contain and work well within electric fencing
Our first little herd of goats were not trained to electric fencing. It took about 2 hours of standing at the ready to catch and untangle them while they figured it out. They had to learn to keep their distance from the fence. Sometimes when they were shocked they ran forward instead of backing up. Since that first day, they have not challenged the fence. I did make one terrible mistake the second time that we moved the goats. I set-up the fencing with one tight corner around a tree. The angle was less than 45 degrees and a goat got caught in it when she tried to back up. A hard lesson learned, but I will never repeat that mistake.
From our experience as well as talking with other Nigerian Dwarf goat owners, this breed does not tend to have the “escape artist” gene that makes so many people bemoan goat ownership. If they do put pressure on their fencing, it is usually caused by a lack of forage in their enclosure.
3. Good milk flavor and high fat content
A well nourished Nigerian Dwarf doe will give ample milk for her kid(s) and owners. I have not yet had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of goat milks but according to Summerhill Goat Dairy, different goat breeds’ milks have different flavor profiles:
Saanen Goats: (2.5-3% butterfat) and a neutral taste
Alpine Goats: Mild, sweet flavor (3.5% butterfat)
Nubian Goats: Rich, creamy milk (4.8-5.6% butterfat)
Nigerian Dwarf Goats: Sweetest, creamiest milk (6-10% butterfat)
Toggenburg Goats: Mild, clean milk (3.3% butterfat)
LaMancha Goats: Smooth, protein-rich milk (3.9% protein)
Oberhasli Goats: Richer milk (3.8% butterfat) with subtle musky notes
I am looking forward to having extra milk that I can use to make goat cheese and goat milk butter.
4. Easy to source new genetics
Nigerian Dwarf Goats graduated from the Livestock Conservancy in 2013. In 2011, there were about 6000 registered Nigerian Dwarf goats in the US. Current estimates for total numbers of Nigerian Dwarf Goats as of 2023 were just under 40,000. Since many local farms have Nigerian Dwarf goats, we already have a “driveway stud service” plan for the next couple years. That will allow us to avoid keeping our own buck onsite. Unlike with our rare Icelandic sheep, we will not have to drive 8 hours to find good quality genetics!
5. Can be bred year round, for a consistent supply of milk.
Nigerian Dwarf goats can be milked for up to 10 months. Does can also be bred at various times of the year. We currently have only 3 does and 3 wethers. Once we have expanded to have additional does in our herd, we will experiment with breeding 2 different groups to provide year round milk production.
Looking ahead
Our little goat herd is growing fast and doing excellent work on several special jobs including their new role as garden cleaners at the Washington Waldorf School. The children and faculty are enjoying the goats company and the goats are soaking up the new scene and all the love.
I will post more about that when they finish up their time there.
