Australian Miniatures, Elfs, Nigerian Dwarf Goats & Harlequin Mini Meat Sheep, >>
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Our first love was with the Australian Miniature Goat, Australia's own. A colourful and robust breed that cannot 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. We have now added a small mob of registered Harlequin Mini Meat Sheep to our farm as well, and have found that they are much more suitable 'mowers' than the goats are. They are self shedding, low maintenance and quite docile in nature. Brilliant additions to a hobby farm as pets or to raise for your own meat. All our goats and sheep are registered, unless otherwise advised.
All 3 types (elfs included) are a very similar height when mature. Ours average between 50 and 57cm at the wither for does and up to approx 63cm at the wither for wethers and bucks once they reach adulthood at around 3 years old. They all make perfect pets, 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 or soap making. We sometimes use a machine for milking but often hand milk as well. We find them to be intelligent 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 and they certainly are more content in groups of 3 or more.  Affectionate, cute, inquisitive and full of character. Each animal has its own very distinctive personality. 
Wethers make the best pets. Entire bucks are only sold to breeding homes 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 behavior, we will not sell bucks unless you are a registered breeder.
​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 required.
When not on goats milk we use and only recommend full cream milk powder from the supermarket, not the fodder store milk replacement options as we've had bad reactions to them in the past including bloating etc. We mix the full cream milk powder at a ratio of 1 cup of powder to 1ltr of warm water, our mini kids get between 500ml to 1ltr per day. The amount is reduced slowly towards weaning time as they are eating larger quantities of hay and grain. A helpful information pack with instructions and the teats the kids are used to are provided with all our bottle babies.
 
Please be aware that goats are not suitable or generally allowed in residential backyards. 1/4 an acre for a small group of mini goats is the minimum we suggest. 
​You need a PIC  number for your property for any livestock animal in SA as a legal requirement (fees apply) so please be sure to apply if you dont already have one:https://pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity/animal_health/property_identification_code_pic
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Wethers $375 each
Does $775 each (Australian Miniatures & Elfs)
Does $875+ each (Nigerian Dwarfs)
Bucks $500-$1500 each Australian Miniature only
Sheep wethers $150
Sheep ewes $300+
Sheep rams $300+
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***If you cannot provide a secure paddock with good fencing, shelter and/or are unable to provide feed for 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 must all have access to draught free shelter at all times as goats will get sick if not provided with a protected space! Young kids also need to be protected from predators like foxes, eagles and dogs. 
​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 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. Nobody wants a fence jumper so their future is not a nice one if this habit isn't 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 and they could get very ill. Please take care to be familiar with what is toxic to your animals 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.