well, Zeke, I bought her for 50 bucks not knowing what she was, and then when I found out, she became the stem of goat jealousy among my other goat farmer friends. She weighed a good 80-100 lbs. but still looked sort of skinny, but I have been told that is normal. When we bought her in August last year she looked thin, then in Oct. she developed an udder, but didn't look pregnant at all, I figured since she was running with a billy at my place she probably just got pregnant. On November 11 though I heard her holler and when I got out there she had a HUGE billy baby!! Good breeder The milk was excellent, in taste and medium butterfat for my goat. She gave approx. 1 to 1 1/2 quarts per milking, even though her udder didn't look like it could hold that much. She was such a tame goat, skiddish when loose ( I would let them out of the pen to graze) and when she saw you carrying something, but when I put her in the stall to milk, and she had the food, I could do whatever I wanted to her and she would never squirm. I don't have a milking ramp thingy, I just sit on a bucket next to them, (yeah hurts the knees, and I won't milk again until I have a ramp thingy) She never had udder problems, however she is the one I had to put down, but that isn't due to her breed. Hope this helps, Let me know If I can help any more, here is a link I found useful. scroll down to the bottom for the goats Here is a link that might be useful: sheep and goat breeds

Does your goat still have babies on her? They eat a lot as they get older. Also if you have pulled them off of her she could be depressed. You could feed her shredded beet pulp that has been soaked in warm water. That will boost milk production. Start off slowly though, and give her a handful to start. I buy it at the feed store. I does come pelleted as well, but you have to soak it longer. It MUST be soaked first. You could try to add some sunflower seeds in the shell to her grain which might help. Is she eating all of her grain? I give a large scoop full (3 or 4 cups) at each milking. You could also try giving her warm water or putting some powered lemonade mix into warm water to get her to drink more so she will subsequently make more milk with more liquid intake. It is odd that she has cut in half what she was milking. You could try milking three times a day to boost her production as well. The more you milk the more she should produce. Also, has the milk changed in texture or flavor? She could have mastitis. But, unless her udder is hot to touch and hard on either side, and the milk would be clumpy. Does she have a temperature or does she act like she doesn't feel well? Maybe check her temp and make sure she isn't sick. Good luck, let me know if she improves. Bonnie

I read the story late last night when I was tired and vulnerable...and I admit I was moved by it and saddened. But I did not post at that time, because tugging at the corner of my mind, my sceptical side was trying to get my attention. So I waited and read it again this morning. And I agree with Sharon... it does seem contrived. For someone with no money to spend - not even $10 - the author seems to attend a lot of auctions. Even gas these days is expensive. Why does she go, when she so clearly hates the whole process? And lo and behold, every time Elmer winds up at the auction, there she is to note his condition and comment on the folks who bought him. I write fiction. I know the process of weaving a fragment into a story. Maybe the author attended the one sale where her neighbour was selling Elmer the first time and while there saw another billygoat in very poor condition and thought: "That will happen to Elmer too." And went home and wrote the story as a cautionary tale. It doesn't matter. The message is just as valid regardless of the veracity of the story. We all need to take responsibility for the animals in our care -- AND their offspring. I'll get off my soap box now!

Wow, brave soul, are you sure you really want to milk a pygmy goat? Have you ever tried this? It might be helpful to find someone with a milking pygmy doe and try it. I'm not trying to be flip but Pygmy teats are REALLY tiny. You also won't be getting much milk, I'm thinking cupfuls at best. Nigerian dwarf goats aren't much bigger than pygmys but are supposed to have bigger udders and are referred to as backyard milkers. You can't get a goat to lactate unless it has been bred. You can buy a goat already in milk that has kidded. Goats can be milked continuously for years if they are pretty heavy milkers to begin with. I milked one of my Oberhasli's continuously for 4 years, and got a gallon a day consistently. But, if a goat is a light milker, when they go into heat during their breeding season, their milk volume decreases and if it gets too low, they start to dry off in anticipation of breeding. To find a buck, you can look up the pygmy goat national registry to find one hopefully in your area. Usually the county extension office in your area can put you onto someone who has pygmy goats or maybe nigerians and a buck as well. I assume you want a pygmy because a dairy goat wouldn't be allowed in the city. You might want to check out Nigerians or see if anyone in you area has one you can see before you buy. Good Luck. Bonnie