Dairy/meat goats

[Treetop]

Ive shared some info about some of the other animal projects Ive had. i thought Id throw this out there.

First I will say fresh goat milk is GREAT!!! The meat is also VERY tasty. I love it. If youve had goat milk from a store it might not have been so good. The proteins break down and change the taste when its heated to high. Fresh though it is great if your a milk drinker of course.

I tried a few full sized goats first. they were a bit nuts. I ended up eating them. Its not to say all full sized goats are nuts, its down to individuals for the most part. I just got whatever ones i could. a friend convinced me to take more time to find tamer goats, VERY glad i did.

I have to say I prefer the goats in "mini" or dwarf sizes. a mini goat is a full sized goat breed crossed to a nigerian dwarf, they end up between the two in size. To me its the perfect size, the goat doesnt want to cooperate its easy to make them. Easier to fence them as well which is important with goats.

The smaller ones are also more efficient. Meaning less feed for the same amount of milk, especially if you pay out more cash for proven better lines. The nigerian dwarfs can give up to a half gallon if you get the best of the breed! and you can feed 4-5 of them for the amount of feed most full sized goats need. Most full sized goats top out at 1 gallon or less, and some get up to 1.5. So you can get nearly double the milk for the same feed if you compare the best of each.....

Most in the mini size you find will give a half gallon, which is pretty good for their size and still more efficient then the full sized guys. they CAN give up to a gallon in the mini size but only if you used very top end animals in their breeding. But you can easily get half gallon a day mini sized goats for cheap. If initial cost is an issue, a mini giving a half gallon a day will cost WAY less in my experience then other breeds. Like I said still more efficient then top end milkers in full size! easier to handle as well imo. (although not all goat owners agree, some like the tiniest size, some like the full sized)

For my own purposes Ive got some low cost mini sized ones currently. They give around half a gallon a day each.

Ultimately though Im working on sourcing some top end nigerian dwarfs that produce 1/2 a gallon a day. Im also going to source some of the top end full sized goats from several breeds that are atleast 1.25 gallons a day or more. with atleast a few at what appears to be the max of 1.5 gallons. Which ultimately will leave me with a mixed herd of a few breeds, giving 1 gallon a day. Ultimately those are the most efficient of all, and a great size to deal with. Further im going to select for the nicest animals secondly after production. Also Im going to select ones that are less picky about what they eat. Yes youve all heard how goats eat anything, they kinda do. Just about, but dairy goats can be picky. Even picky ones eat a good range usually, but nothing like some individual goats.

The nigerians dwarfs have a few other neat traits. One is that they can be bred ANY time of year. Most goats can be bred just one period a year in fall. Strangely this trait rarely tranfers to the fullsized X dwarf crosses into the "mini" size. this is neat because it makes it a lot easier to stagger breeding sessions so you always have fresh milk. You have to breed them yearly. Some goats CAN continue to yield well much longer than a year but most dont select for it when breeding so many do not.

which is fine! because if you have a few does, (does as in female goats) and stagger breeding youll always have milk. You will also always have babies!! Which to me is great. I can sell them. If higher end lines I can get a good amount actually, but even just at basement prices you make out well ahead for little additional effort. Of course what Im doing is none of that!! Im going to eat the little guys!! (that i dont plan to keep) Goat meat is VERY good. Yuo can eat them any time after they are weaned. which is in the 2-3 month range. They are tasty old, they are tastier young. you can let them grow if you have the extra forage or food, or eat them young. Im glad to have some red meat to go with my fish, rabbits and chickens! without needing a cow which i cant feed as easily. . By the way you get more milk per cow of course but multiples more food for the same amount of milk even compared to the worst goats. Same goes for forage to meat conversion as well.

Not only is the milk tasty fresh it has 2600 plus calories a gallon. Much much easier to digest then cows milk. Even many lactose intolerant folks can have it.

Im not sure if anyone here has ever considered goats, but i thought Id throw this out there just in case.

[Lemon Thrower]

the mother of a friend of mine has a farm and she has some of the small goats to keep the weeds down.

when his son was born, she came to visit and brought her two goats. this is in a fairly yuppie area. so my friends wife decides to go for a jog and the goats follow her like dogs. so she's jogging down the street and some guy passes in a car and nearly wrecks because of the oddity of seeing someone jogging with pet goats.

so bottom line if you get the right breed they can be very friendly animals.

[scrapper2010]

Uh oh, don't let the feds catch you drinking raw goat milk! My aunt raises goats and whenever she visits she brings a couple half gallons of fresh milk. I agree, it really does taste better fresh than store bought.

[Treetop]

so bottom line if you get the right breed they can be very friendly animals.

Id re frame that a bit. If you get the right individuals they can be very friendly. It does differ a bit by breed as well of course, but you will find great personalities to varying degrees. It also depends how you raise and treat them as well. Nubians for instance are known for being loud and obnoxious. My first one definitely fit that, my current ones do not. Even in the herd i picked from which was treated well and much nicer then most (based on reading and two other herds of them Ive seen) had some nuts in there. So imo it really goes down to individuals... Imo its important if you get goats to make dang sure they are easy to work with. Dont get excited, take your time check out a few herds.

[sparechange]

You can also make cheese and soap if you are so inclined. Goats are a great resource for anyone looking for protein for the homestead. Low maintenance, but you will need good fencing to keep them in and to try to slow the predators down. Treetop, I think you have hit on a perfect animal for the farm!

[Mossy]

If you want an easy way to learn to curse in Spanish, bring up goats around a group of Mexicans who have the "country" look to them.