Aura Acres
Nigerian Dwarf Goats
Welcome to our website! I'm Stephanie and my husband is Bob. We live in Inyokern, California which is at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains and only about 125 miles from Death Valley. Does that give you a clue that it gets really hot and windy here. We have 5 acres and since our human children are grown, we now have our Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, miniature horses and miniature long hair Dachshunds.
Our newest endeavor and joy are our Nigerian Dwarf goats. We started with a couple does on May 26, 2008 and went to our first
show on June 7. At the show we had our first goat milk ice cream and met lots of wonderful people. We had such a good time that we plan on going to more shows in the future. We also want to have a small herd of goats to milk and enjoy as our pets. We might even try making some goat milk cheese and soap. We
hope you enjoy visiting our site.
The Nigerian Dwarf is a miniature breed of dairy goat originating in West Africa and developed in the United States. The balanced proportions of the Nigerian Dwarf give it the appearance of the larger breeds of dairy goats. The Nigerian Dwarf has a higher percentange of butterfat and produces a good a quantity milk for it's small size. The Nigerian Dwarf differs from the Pygmy in that the Pygmy is a more cobby and compact animal with heavier bone, shorter legs, larger but short head, rounder flatter shoulders and a shorter rump. The Nigerian has a longer leaner neck, more level rump, rear-angled ribbing indicative of dairy animals, sharper withers and more refinement. The Nigerian Dwarf is known for being reproductively sound and doesn't have the kidding difficulties that the Pygmy is known for. The Nigerian will breed all year round with the buck kids becoming fertile as young as 3 months of age. It is not uncommon for Nigerian does to produce from two to five kids.
American Goat Society (AGS) and the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) standards for Nigerian Dwarf goats state there is no minimum size for either sex, however, does must not be over 22 1/2 inches tall and bucks no more than 23 1/2 inches at the highest point of the withers. Any color or combination of colors is acceptable.
According to the Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association (NDGA), the ideal height of Nigerian Dwarf goats is 17" to 19" for does with does up to 21" allowed in the breed standard. Ideal height for bucks is 19" to 21" with bucks up to 23" allowed in the breed standard. Ideal weight is suggested to be about 75 lbs. Animals are disqualified from the show ring for being oversized for the breed standard and/or for other faults: having a curly coat, roman nose, pendulous ears or evidence of myatonia (a breed characteristic of fainting goats).
Aura Acres Nigerian Dwarf Goats
PO Box 1142
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-3232
Email: stephanie@auraacres.com