I had a couple of mini Nubian goats a few years ago, got five kids, and stopped the population, but they’re great small goats for my new homestead.
They got a milk bucket under easily and played around the backyard. Later, I processed a buck and wethers for mutton first for their noise, and sold the doe.
Anyway, if you’re only hatching a plan to own herds for a limited pasture, I have a list of the best small goat breeds with their different uses and characteristics.
Why Raise Small Goat Breeds?
Small goats, also called miniature goats, are purebred small breeds or smaller versions of standard or full-sized goats.
Though they are small in stature, mini goats mimic the characteristics of their larger counterparts, with a better conversion ratio at times.
While mature standard goats grow to 20 to 42 inches at the shoulder, miniature goats average 16 to 29 inches. Also, the large dairy and meat goats weigh 125 to 300+ lbs, but mini goats are 40-120 lbs.
Though miniature goats are small, they offer significant potential and benefits for small homesteads and hobby farms.
Milk
Do you know small goats can give around 2⁄3 as much milk as a big dairy doe, even at half feed?
They also have a higher ratio of butterfat to milk, so their milk tastes sweeter than that of larger goats. Many people raise miniature goats for the same reason.
If you own two moms, you can get about a 1/2 gallon a day, but you need to separate the calves overnight.
Companionship
Many urban regulations allow people to own mini goats, whereas standard goats are not. These small herds are cute, funny, docile, and friendly, and make perfect pets.
You can take them in the car, van, or truck. They’re easy to transport. But you need to own multiple goats, not just a single one, as they are social animals.
Of course, a few small goat breeds are also kept for meat and dairy, but owning them as pets and then breeding them is really profitable.
Weed control
Brush-clearing goats are also great for weed control, and in the mini breeds, Pygmy or Nigerian Dwarf comes first. They can clear the land with efficiency.
If you own 4 mini goats and allow them to pasture on a half acre. They would browse there and eat from mid-March to late November. When winter hits, you can give them hay.
If their pasture area has the weedy grass, you can mow it once the grass seed moves to head around June.
Small-scale breeding
You can expect minis to give birth to 2-4 kids, but five is also common. I can tell you there is a strong market for these small dairy goats, as well as for pets.
Small acreage
As dwarf goats are small, you can house 3-4 mini goats in the same space that you would need for one big-sized goat.
They also take less pasture field and consume less feed and hay, which is perfect for a small homestead.
Easier handling
They’re small so that you can handle them effortlessly. You can keep them in an enclosure with fewer resources and avoid them easily when they are feisty.
It’s simpler to sidestep a dwarf goat than a full-sized one. Also, small animals cannot jump or break the fences as easily as big goats do.
Overall, small goats are ideal for a family-based homestead with children and adults with limited agility or strength. Also, they can be the best assets of hobby farms.
1. Nigerian Dwarf Goat
As the name suggests, Nigerian Dwarfs originated in West Africa and were imported to the United States between the 1930s and 1950s.
Originally, they were used as exhibition animals in zoos, but now they are used as companion animals and as small dairy herds.
You can tell them by their short, straight coat in a wide variety of color patterns. They are black, white, red, brown, and gold in color.
While adult bucks can grow 19 to 24 inches, does get 17 to 22 inches. They weigh between 40 and 85 lbs, with an ideal weight of 75 lbs.
Males can be productive as early as 7 weeks or 2 months, but goats need to be 7 to 8 months old, and sometimes breeders wait a year before breeding.
Anyway, does can produce 4-5 kids per birth, whereas 3-4 kids are more common than twins and singles.
Goats also give 3-4 lbs of milk per day with 6 to 10% butterfat. You can expect their lactation to last for about 10 months.
So, Nigerian Dwarfs are perfect for people who need small-scale milk production to support a family year-round.
Height: 17-24 inches
Weight: 40-85 lbs
Lifespan: 12-18 years
Best for: Dairy and pet herd
2. Pygmy Goat
Colonizers brought Pygmy goats from Africa to Europe in the 19th century, and then the herds were imported to the United States between 1930 and 1960 for zoo shows and research projects.
Pygmy goats share a similar origin with Nigerian Dwarfs, but they’re distinct breeds with different characteristics. While Pygmies are cobby and heavy boned, Dwarfs have similar body length and structure in proportion to a dairy goat.
Also, pygmy goats look more like beer kegs with legs to me.
They are available in several colors, such as white, solid back, caramel, silver, brown, and dark red, with various patterns. They also boast muzzle, crown, eyes, and ears, and sometimes a white or pale to mid-caramel tail with dark legs.
You can identify them with their short legs and head, erect ears, and a well-muscled, stocky body..
You can also see dorsal stripes and face markings, as well as white belly patches or bands on the coats. Their coats are straight and medium-length, varying in density.
Anyway, Pygmy goats are smaller than other goats, with a standing height of 20 inches at the wether.
Expect adult bucks to grow 18-24 inches, and does range from 16 to 22 inches. Also, goats weigh 40-75 lbs, and bucks gain up to 85 lbs.
While bucks have thick beards and a longer mane that extends around their shoulders, does show sparse beards. Also, ducks have thicker horns.
Thanks to their two-toed hooves, which help these small herds climb rocks or trees with ease.
Height: 16-24 inches
Weight: 40-85 lbs
Lifespan: 12-18 years
Best for: pets, brush control, meat
3. Mini Nubian Goat
Although they are considered mini, small Nubians are slightly larger than other small goat breeds. They’re medium-sized goats that are the result of a cross between a Nigerian Dwarf buck and a Nubian doe.
While mature Mini Nubian bucks grow as tall as 31 inches and weigh 135 lbs, does stand 23 to 29 inches tall and weigh 100 lbs.
What makes the mini Nubians different from others is their nose, which isn’t dished, but rather slightly to strongly convex. You can also witness their long, wide, pendulous ears, not thick but well-defined cartilage.
Mostly, Nubians are known for milk production and high butterfat, and they also produce more masculine goats than any other Swiss-origin dairy goats.
You can expect a single goat to give an average milk yield of 1525 lbs within 205 days, so you get 2 quarts or 5 lbs of milk every day.
They have short, fine, and glossy hair, so you don’t find any coarse hair on the coat.
Besides, these medium-sized utilitarians are hardy, friendly, and easy to milk. They are little brush and weed controllers.
If you want to keep Mini Nubians, you need to know they can be loud when they’re uncomfortable with the temperature inside (heat or cold), depending on your setup.
Unlike Nigerian Dwarfs, they eat more and poop more.
Height: 23-31 inches
Weight: 100-135 lbs
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Best for: pets, brush control, milk
4. Mini Alpine Goat
Mini Alpine Goats are pint-sized versions of standard Alpine goats, which are named after the scenic Swiss Alps. They are the result of breeding between a Nigerian dwarf goat male (buck) and an Alpine goat female (doe).
These are small herds, split between Nigerian Dwarf goats weighing around 75 lbs and Alpine goats averaging 135-170 lbs.
But mini Alpines can still manage to give almost as much milk as a full-sized goat. By the way, they are bred for the same purpose with quality milk.
Their milk is sweet and high in butterfat, which is perfect for cheese-making and many other dairy products.
While mature bucks grow to 29-31 inches tall, does stand between 28 and 29 inches tall. They can weigh about 90 lbs when they fully grow.
You can identify mini Alpines by their straight or slightly dished faces and narrow, erect ears. Besides, they come in different colors, patterns, and shades, each given a French name.
- Cou Blanc, Cou Clair, Cou Noir: white neck, light neck, black neck, respectively
- Sundgau: Black with white secondary strikings or markings
- Chamoisee: brown or bay color with black markings
- Cou Noir: Black neck and white hindquarters
- Two-tone Chamoise: light front quarters with brown or gray hindquarters
Height: 28-31 inches
Weight: about 90 lbs
Lifespan: 8-12 years
Best for: Milk and pet
5. Mini LaMancha Goat
When you allow breeding between a Standard LaMancha dairy goat and a Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, the result is a mini LaMancha, which is a small, hardy, and laid-back goat.
You can tell them by their long, slender neck and unique ears.
Their ears are either gopher, which lack cartilage but possess a ring of skin around the auditory canal, or elf, which is no larger than 1.5 inches long and has some cartilage.
Does can have both ear types, but bucks should have gopher ears.
Anyway, Mini LaMancha goats are larger than Nigerian Dwarfs, so you can expect them to grow around 27 inches. The full-grown goats weigh about 90 lbs, produce more milk than Nigerians, and have a higher butterfat content than the standard Lamancha.
You can expect them to give milk ranging from 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon.
Besides, they also gain more flesh than standard dairy goats in terms of feed-to-meat ratio. So, wethers or cull does make good meat goats.
Height: 27-29 inches
Weight: 90-120 lbs
Lifespan: 7 -10 years
Best for: Milk, meat, pets
6. Mini Saanen Goat
Mini Saanen is a mid-sized dairy goat, the result of breeding between standard-sized Saanen goats and the Australian Miniature Goat, Australian Bush Goat, or Nigerian Dwarf.
They are polled or neatly disbudded, vigorous with rugged bones, but should be feminine with no sign of coarseness. You can also tell them by their large eyes, medium-sized pricked ears preferably pointing forward, and a well-developed muzzle.
Known as the “Holstein of miniature goats,” Mini Saanens are white to cream in color, similar to their larger counterparts, and have a straight or slightly dished face.
Their coat is short and fine, so they are easy to groom if you keep them as pets.
Besides, Mini Saanens weigh between 50 and 100 lbs and range from 22 to 26 inches tall at the yearling. After maturity, they can grow taller with does up to 29 inches and bucks up to 31 inches.
You can expect 2-3 quarts of milk per day from Mini Saanens, with 3-4% butterfat, which is relatively lower than other miniature dairy goat breeds.
Height: 29-31 inches
Weight: 50-100 lbs
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Best for: milk, pet
7. Mini Toggenburg Goat
Do you know Mini Toggenburgs are the crossbreed of the standard Toggenburg and the Nigerian Dwarf?
They look smaller and more angular than the other breeds. You can tell them by their blue eyes, straight or dished face, and small, erect ears facing forward.
These herds range from light brown to dark chocolate, with unique white markings.
Those white markings include white-trimmed ears with a dark spot in the center, white facial stripes, and markings on their legs and rump. This is also visible with white legs below the knees (lower legs), and white triangles on either side or the base of the tail.
Their coat is short to medium in length with hair either short or long, but often soft and fine.
Anyway, Mini Toggenburgs can produce two or more gallons per day.
Height: 25-27 inches
Weight: about 120 lbs
Lifespan: 8-12 years
Best for: dairy and pet herd
8. Mini Guernsey Goat
This is a British goat breed, which hails from the Channel Islands off the coast of Britain.
Mini Guernseys are cream to gold, and range from a pale flaxen to profound bronze or russet gold. They also have a straight, dished face and erect ears set lower than those of other Swiss breeds.
You can witness partial to full roaning, along with some white patches on the goat. Also, their coats can be short, long, or both.
These goats can give 1 to 2 quarts of milk daily.
Height: 27-29 inches
Weight: 120-150 lbs
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Best for: milk and pets
9. Mini Oberhasli Goat
The Mini-Oberhaslis are known for their deep, rich, red bay color and chamoisee pattern. They are the crossbreed of Nigerian Dwarf and Standard Oberhasli
While does boast a rich red bay coat that varies from light bay to a dark bay or solid black, bucks are only red bay.
With their sleek and vibrant bay coloration, the herds also have black markings or stripes on their face, belly, back, legs, and tail.
You can also tell them by their short, elongated head, deep jaw, broad muzzle, wide forehead, and dominant eyes. Also, their ears are shorter and set lower, and pointed forward.
Height: 20-27 inches
Weight: 90-120 lbs
Lifespan: 8-12 years
Best for: low-drama dairy and pet goats
10. Mini Silky Fainting Goat
I find that mini Silky Fainting goats look like Angoras or Silky Terriers because of their long, silky coats.
Actually, they’re a result of a crossbreed between Tennessee Fainting Goats and miniature goat breeds. They’re bred to have a full, long skirt, long chest and neck fur, a full beard and muff on the face, and beautiful bangs.
But bucks are more likely to possess bangs and have thicker, fuller coats than does.
Prized for their attractive coats, Miniature Silky Fainting Goats boast a range of colors and patterns, including black, brown, white, gold, chocolate, cream, and blue, with a variety of shade combinations and color pallets.
So, they need extra care for their gorgeous long hair.
Anyway, Mini Silky Fainting Goats are compact, muscular herds that stand between 17 and 25 inches at the shoulder. While males get 60-80 lbs, females weigh 50-70 lbs.
With the myotonic trait from their lineage, these miniature goats faint or stiffen and fall over when they get startled.
Height: 17-25 inches
Weight: 60-80 lbs
Lifespan: 10-15 years.
Best for: fiber, pets
Final Thoughts
When you want to take out some of the smallest goat breeds, Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy, and mini Silky Fainting goats pop out with their popularity.
While Pygmys are shorter and stockier, Nigerian Dwarfs are proportionally built as they’re not heavy.
And I find that Pygmy goats are not voracious foragers and have some health complications so they may need more care.
Leave a Reply