Notes from The NorthbranchThe Importance of Breeding for Both
When I took early retirement, I removed myself from the urban forefront, started painting again, and learned how to be "agri-cultured." From a distance, I'm sure it appeared I'd given up a perfectly good career to play farm girl/amatuer artist. The question is not whether I am still working, so much as it is for whom. The truth is, instead of working for "The Man" in exchange for a salary (and a pension, and benefits, oh my!) I now work even harder in exchange for peace of mind... and at the risk of sounding like a halfwit, there are a bunch of animals here that are convinced I work for THEM.
Learning the art of animal husbandry late in life seemed to promote a cause-and-effect view of things, wherein I tend to spend an inordinate amount of my time working out all the things that COULD go wrong and taking the proactive steps to avert possible disaster. I supplement rather than medicate, check famacha scores, run fecal tests, and allow my herd to languish in my indoor arena during days of inclement weather while I work outside in it. In defense of my behavior, I find it is much less worrisome to clean up after them, than to run the risk the dominant ones will take over the communal shelters in the outdoor paddocks and force those of lower ranking to stand out in the freezing rain. In short, I try to do whatever I can to ensure my livestock do not become dead stock.
My American Nigoras, for example, are very valuable to me. They provide me with a copious amount of the creamiest milk which, in turn, gets processed into all-natural probiotic yogurt, cheeses, lotions, and the BEST tasting ice cream EVER. I hand milk, so in the interest of saving time, I try to keep few the numbers that are selected each year to grace my milking stand. Still, I end up with more milk than I can use, thanks to my breeding choices which are governed by luck, study, trial & error, and more luck. Genetics is a murky business, known only to God, so you might say I have benefited greatly from the "luck" part.
The Nigora is touted to be a true dual-purpose goat, proven to excel not only in dairy, but also in fiber production. This unique feature cannot be claimed by any other breed of goat, all of which may only excel in one or the other. On the homestead, the dairy element has more value to me, but breeding for milking prowess alone is an irresponsibility I am unwilling to shoulder. To aggressively breed for improved milk production by overloading the percentage of dairy genetics without consideration for fiber attributes will produce offspring that are lacking in fleece within one or two generations. The same holds true the other way around. To focus exclusively on only one prong of the equation is to miss the point of the Nigora breed entirely. For this reason, I am also careful to pay attention to the fiber characteristics of my goats, even though I do not (at the moment) use the harvested fleece myself.
Although it sounds too good to be true, it IS possible to have a Nigora that has the capabilities of increased dairy capacity, larger teats with more open orifices, and receptiveness to the milking stand, THAT ALSO sports a luxurious curly fleece of long staple fiber that self-sheds. Consider the attached photo of one of my homebred Nigora does at today's milking - her fleece is of top quality, even as she is beginning to seasonally drop her fiber. The close-up reveals an udder that is perhaps not what the ADGA would consider show quality, but is appealing and unapologetic nonetheless. Notice too, the 3-quart capacity milk pail that is brimming even without stripping the doe completely, as she is still nursing her kids. The veracity of the milk draw is quantified in the last photo in quart jars, after it has been strained and filtered, to take into account the layer of foam in the milk bucket.
On my journey to engender better representatives of the Nigora breed, each generation from the foundation becomes more difficult to attain through unrelated pairs, which is more than just a personal choice - I believe this is a critical component while the breed is being forged. The Brass Ring in all this is reaching the F6 generation, which is required in order for the Nigora to be recognized at legitimate breed status, a goal that, for me, will require several more years (or perhaps a decade) at the pace I have chosen.
Thankfully, I am not alone in this endeavor and genuinely appreciate the other Nigora enthusiasts who share in my aspirations. We will all need to help and encourage each other along the way, for the choices we make today set the framework for the future of the breed. And though I may not reach F6 within my lifetime, I am content to know that I will be adding some awesome genetics to the cause -
After all, as ML Richardson once said, "Creating the perfect Nigora is an art."