Parham Farms & Proverbs 27 Dairy Goats

Proverbs 27:27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food,
for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens

Our breeding program is focused primarily on milking for the family
homestead. We are breeding for overall hardiness, udder size &
attachments, teat size & placement, milk production, milking
temperament, as well as dairy character.

The herdname we chose, Proverbs 27 wasn't available to us thru
the American Dairy Goat Association due to another ADGA member
having a similar name. In an effort to have the same herdname for
for all of the registeries, we are in the process of changing our official
herdname to "Parham Farms".

Herd health is extremely important to us. Our stock has all come from herd(s) that are free of and
test regularly for CAE, Brucellosis, TB, Johnnes & CL. We do draw blood for annual testing and are
happy to draw blood and run tests for any buyer as a contingency of, or prior to, a sale at the expense
of the buyer. Our herd wide tests were run in December 2009 and January 2011. All of the stock at
Parham Farms tested negative. We test through Biotracking and/or WADDL.

If you are buying a dairy goat for milk, ANY BREED, be sure to get one from someone who milks,
and look for milking stars/awards (*M *D *P *S *B +S +B ) in the pedigree. Show wins aren't
necessarily indicators of good milk production. Not all dairy goats are the best milkers and it costs
just as much to feed a poor milker as it does to feed an excellent one. No one can tell you if a maiden
doe will be a good milker for certain, but you certainly increase the odds in your favor dramatically if
her dam and the sire's dam are both good producers.

Nigerian Dwarfs

are now recognized as a purebred by both the American Goat Society
and the American Dairy Goat Association. They are a small goat, does to be less
than 22.5 inches at the withers, and bucks to be less than 23.5 inches at the
withers. Typically, adults weigh between 45 and 65 lbs. They are easy to handle
and manage even for small children, physically disabled and elderly adults.

Nigerian Dwarf does can give a surprising amount of milk despite their small
size. An extremely well bred, properly managed milking doe can produce about
1/2 a gallon of milk daily during peak lactation on much less feed than a standard
size goat requires. The smaller yield makes Nigerian Dwarfs the perfect goat for a
small family that doesn't need a gallon a day milker. The keys of course are WELL BRED
and PROPERLY MANAGED. There are many Nigies out there that produce less than a quart
per day. Optimal feed management with any dairy animal requires a well balanced
ration and some skill, as well as milk testing from DHI lab, and interpretation of
special analysis like MUN (Milk Urea Nitrogen. Having a good local extension office
familiar with dairy animals can help a great deal.

Nigerian Dwarfs come in all colors and patterns and can even have blue eyes. They are
gentle and easy to train. Although most are naturally horned, we and most other breeders
disbud them at a young age (3-7 days old) for safety to the goat, the herd, caregivers, and
visitors. A horned goat can easily catch it's head in a fence, accidentally gouge an eye or
cause other injury to herdmates and caregivers.

MiniManchas

are a cross between a standard LaMancha and a Nigerian Dwarf. The breed is recognized
by the Miniature Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) and The Miniature Goat Registry (TMGR). These breeds
are still in development, so most stock available is still considered to be "experimental" but can
breed up to American Status. MiniMancha's combine the gentle nature and good temperament of the
LaMancha with the smaller stature and higher milkfat of the Nigerian Dwarf. The combination of the two
ideally yields a midsize animal that provides more milk than a Nigerian Dwarf, but is not nearly as large
as a standard Lamancha. The Nigerian Dwarf also contributes extra milkfat to the equation for sweeter milk,
better suited for making cheese and butter as well.

The maximum allowable height for MiniMancha does at the withers is 28" and for bucks is 29." The face is
straight and with the ears being the most distinguishing characteristic of the breed. The ears are
characterized as either Gopher which lack cartilage but do have a ring of skin around the auditory
canal or the "Elf" which has some cartilage and should be no longer than an inch long. In does, both
ear types are equally accepted but bucks must have "Gopher" ears to be registered as any status other
than "experimental."

Miniature Dairy Goats average about 2-3 quarts of milk daily with well bred and managed does
producing as much as one gallon per day at the peak of lactation. Optimal feed management
with any dairy animal requires a well balanced ration and some skill, as well as milk testing
from DHI lab, and interpretation of special analysis like MUN (Milk Urea Nitrogen. Having a
good local extension office familiar with dairy animals can help a great deal.
You can learn more about miniature dairy goats at the the website of the
Miniature Dairy Goat Association



Goats are more fun than you can imagine, they play all sorts of games.
They love to play hide & seek, to chase us around the barn, & games
like 'Simon Says' and the 'Hokey Pokey'. Here's a photo of Snickers doing
the 'Hokey Pokey', he's at the part "put your left ear in..."


Dollop loves to play 'Simon Says' as you can see in the photos below, she
is doing her best to mimic Ken's actions....Simon Says WHISTLE!!

....Simon Says SMILE like this!


Words just cannot describe the joy that these little goats bring us!



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