Taking bets... (just for bragging rights, m'loves, lol)

Earliest expected delivery date, last Thursday. Latest expected delivery date, Thursday, the 27th. So far, she's only freshened 2x, each was a single, the first was a doeling (our hilarious, beloved Calypso), the 2nd was a beautiful little buckling, whom Marley rejected, and didn't make it. Marley is a Nigora - half Nigerian Dwarf, known for great milk, twins & triplets, and half Angora, known for incredible fiber and which typically throw singles or twins. She's been bagged up but soft, for a week, and starting to firm up, a bit. Taking bets for bragging rights - when, how many & what gender(s)??
(Side bet: will I be at work, getting ready to go to work, or trying to recover from work or fixing her mate's paddock [again], or recovering from that, when she kids, and will she love or reject it/them)

Is a boy (so far)

I missed out on the betting, but I do have a question.... or a few. What do you use your Pygoras for? I'm hoping you say fiber and milk. I'm interested in the fiber aspect, and curious to know if your new little buckling will be kept/used for fiber? And if you do use the fiber, what is an average yield in ounces or pounds per animal per year? A smaller animal for the fiber is appealing to me, as opposed to a full sized angora goat. But I have no experience with either for fiber.

Cindy Haskin wrote:I missed out on the betting, but I do have a question.... or a few. What do you use your Pygoras for? I'm hoping you say fiber and milk. I'm interested in the fiber aspect, and curious to know if your new little buckling will be kept/used for fiber? And if you do use the fiber, what is an average yield in ounces or pounds per animal per year? A smaller animal for the fiber is appealing to me, as opposed to a full sized angora goat. But I have no experience with either for fiber.

These are Nigoras - Nigerian Dwarf (for dairy) & Angora (for Fiber). They have fairly strict bloodline requirements, which exclude Pygmie goats, entirely. Not all dairy goats are allowed, with this breed, either, because the actual milk characteristics are specified, too - namely, higher-fat, sweeter-tasting. So, Nubians and Lamanchas, and most other dairy types are not allowed.

Pygoras are Pygmie (for meat) & Angora (for fiber), and have their own set of bloodline requirements.

This buckling will either be kept, for possible future stud, with a doe I don't have yet, wethered and kept as a buddy for his sire & and fiber producer, or traded/sold for another unrelated kid of either gender, in the same or a more advanced generation.

I love, Love, LOVE the fiber from this breed. I've not been doing it long enough to have an accurate average fiber production rate, as this is only my 2nd year, and the adults previous owner sheared 2x/yr. This year the only one or collected a full fleece from is this little guys big sister, and I've not weighed it, yet. Their mama's was not fully collected, and their dad's was left to blow out, on its own. That's also something very different from other larger fiber animals. Many Nigoras(not necessarily all) blow coat, like rabbits, so collection for mine anyway has been about a soothing grooming & bonding time, rather than a potentially frightening shearing.

Raising goats comes with a very steep, heart-wrenching learning curve, but is worth it, to me.

And, now he has a name! His sire is Koko Kola, his (much older) sister is Calypso, and his dam is Marley. So, they all have names I'd consider Caribbean/ African, in origin. We got the family from a(new) friend, Victoria - and this little guy feels very much like a victory, for us. He also has perfectly round spots, often referred to in goats as 'moon spots'. All this has added up to his name: Ziggy Moon (Ziggy means victorious)