Briar Rose Farm

Australian Miniature Goats, Elfs & Nigerian Dwarfs >>

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Our first love was with the Australian Miniature Goat including Elfs which have a tiny little ear, Australia's original. A vastly colourful breed that cant be found anywhere else in the world. More recently as we work towards running a small dairy our next chapter lies in additionally exploring the genetics of Nigerian Dwarf Goats which were imported into Australia in 2013. All 3 types are a very similar height. Ours average between 50 and 55cm at the wither for does and up to approx 60cm at the wither for wethers and bucks once they reach adulthood at around 3 years old. They all make perfect pets (not bucks), are wonderful with children and adults when handled correctly & regularly and they also can be very productive milkers. Both Australian minis and Nigerians can produce on average between 500ml to 2 ltr a day, perfect for a households basic needs and their milk is also quite high in butterfat so can be used for delicious cheese. We sometimes use a machine for milking but often hand milk as well. We find them to be robust and resilient animals that convert the protein in their feed easily to muscle or milk. 

They are very social animals and must go as a minimum in pairs unless you have other goats for company. The more the merrier.  Affectionate, cute, inquisitive and full of character. Each animal has its own very distinctive personality. 

You need a PIC  number for your property for any more than 1 livestock animal in SA as a legal requirement (fees apply):

https://pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity/animal_health/property_identification_code_pic

 

Wethers and does make the best pets. Entire bucks are best left for breeding as they can get pretty smelly when they come into rut and hormones can make them a bit un predictable to anyone not familiar with their behaviour, we will not sell bucks unless you are a registered breeder.

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Our babies are sold on the bottle at around 3 weeks old when we have ensured they are established, strong and feeding well on 2 bottles a day with hay, branches and grain offered along with fresh water daily. They are de budded, ear tagged, NVD supplied, castrated if needed and vaccinated with Glanvac. For older animals we will also trim their hooves (needs to be done every 3 months or so) and drench them if due. When not on goats milk we use and recommend full cream milk from the supermarket not the fodder stores and we mix it at a ratio of 1 cup of powder to 1ltr of warm water, our mini kids get between 750ml to 1ltr per day and we reduce the amount slowly towards weaning time as they are eating larger quantities of hay and grain.

 

Please be aware that goats or mini pigs are not suitable for residential backyards. 1/4 an acre for a pair of dwarf goats is the minimum we suggest. For all livestock you need a PIC number issued by PIRSA. For Pigs you also need a Pig Pass registered. If you are in a residential setting you can still experience the joy of owning a Briar Rose  baby but are limited to our gorgeous Guinea Pigs. The comfort I find in cuddling our GPs is immense. They are fascinating and full of personality.

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Wethers $375 each

Does $775 each (Australian Miniatures & Elfs)

Does $1275 each (Nigerian Dwarfs)

Bucks $500-$1500 each

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Goats must all have access to draught free shelter at all times as goats hate the rain, are not protected from it with their hair and can get sick if left in the elements! Young kids also need to be protected from predators like foxes, eagles and dogs. If you cannot provide a secure paddock with good fencing, shelter and/or are unable to feed your animals on a daily basis you are not quite ready for them. Please wait until you are completely set up before bringing your animals home or committing to them as it will save many hours of stress down the road for you, me and the animal. You will have a much better experience with them if you wait until you are totally prepared.

 

​Goats are perfect on small lifestyle acreage as well as bigger properties and we have found them to be very kind on the fences if they are content with company, routines, food and shelter. They will test them though so they need to be tight and at least 1.2 metres tall and tight enough they can't squeeze underneath. There are always some exceptions and some can be Houdini's if given the chance. Make sure they can't use a top rail to gain purchase and learn to jump too as its a very hard habit to break. Nobody wants a fence jumper so their future is not a nice one if this habit isnt stopped literally the first time it starts. Bottle babies in our experience who seek out your company tend to be more mischievous but we adore their affectionate natures. Particularly watch for rails they can crawl up or use on the top of fences to gain purchase and jump onto and over. Rail fences and pallet fences act like a ladder to a goat.

 

They all love fresh food especially branches, but only make changes to their diet in small amounts at any one time so you don't upset their tummies. It is not wise to let any of  them gorge themselves on new feed, introduce it slowly otherwise you could really upset the balance of their stomach. Do not allow goats to eat chicken or pig meal as it could contain meat products. Please take care to be familiar with what is toxic to your animals though as it is certainly very false that they can eat anything and some very common plants can be deadly so please BEWARE and always check before giving them anything your not certain of! Always feed goats off the ground too to reduce their exposure to parasites.Please select the info tab above for much more detailed list of requirements and recommendations.