The local goat dairy (I say local loosely, they are in the same province) I have been told breeds for a three way cross Nubian x Alpine x Sanaan. Why do they do this? Just curious.

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), March 03, 2002

Answers

Having a dairy also, my guess is for increased butter fat from the Nubian and the milk production from the Saanan. Not sure about the Alpine in there, that must be for the beauty & attitude! We have Alpines.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

Saanen obviously for the amount of milk, and because you can't make money selling skim :) milk they had to add Nubians to have any kind of butterfat, out of season breedings also. I have been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to come up with one logical reason to then cross into an Alpine........................nope, can't think of one thing :) LOL Vicki, who has 1 doe and 2 bucklings as of today!

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 03, 2002.

I know why the Alpines are in there-no really---I read it somewhere....Length of lactation. So they are ttrying to come up with a hybrid with the best of all worlds. Wonder how it is working out for them?

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

Three way crosses are very popular among beef breeders, chances are the beef breeder mentality had rubbed off on these people or they heard somewhere that a three way cross is the way to go. it actually shortchanges you in the long run though, especially in something like a dairy animal that is going to be kept and bred a lot, not eaten in short order; because the more you outcross, the less predictable results you will get!

Even within a breed there is a lot of variation, so blanket statements about a breed do not always apply to an individual. I have seen Alpines with 4.2% butterfat, many are much lower, does that were over 200 lbs, does that were barely 100 lbs, mean Alpines, gentle Alpines, loud mouthy ones, quiet ones that barely make a peep, all different colors, body types, and udder types. Some Alpines a real milk wagons, others barely make enough to feed their kids. All this variation within just one breed! You can see why MORE variation is not really necessary. So even though we kid about mouthy Nubians, mean Alpines, quiet La Manchas, and gentle, calm Saanens, there are always exceptions- the quiet Nubian, sweet Alpines ( I happen to be blessed with a bunch of them ), obnoxious Manchas, and nasty Saanens. :-)

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 04, 2002.

Personally, I can see no advantage to the crosses in the long run. But, on the other hand if I were running a dairy, I would want some of each breed to level out the milk product I was shipping and I would be breeding for the best quality does I could get in each breed. I have a Nubian line that I believe, if I were on test, would place very high in the butterfat content as, particularly at the end of a lactation cycle, I am AMAZED at the amount of cream I get. On the other hand, total volume would be lower sooner, I think, that in most Saanan herds.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), March 04, 2002.

Gee, I don't know why people cross 3 ways.... But.... Last year I crossed 2 of the alpines to lamancha and then this year I bred those cross doelings Oberhasli.... I am really wondering what these things are going to look like.... I might have to hide them in the barn till they are sold. We do have a deposit for one buckling out of the cross does, to be used for packing. So hope for bucklings for me. I sure don't know what I will do if we get girls.

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), March 04, 2002.