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"Dairy Goats: Anchoring Your Homestead with Personality and Ice Cream" by Sheri Dixon page one. "Economics of Dairy Goats" by Allena Jackson page one. Milk prices have certainly gotten higher in the last few years, high enough that many of us small farmers are seriously considering a dairy animal. For our family the shear volume from a cow, plus the added expense for purchase and maintenance, was a serious roadblock to obtaining one. We never even considered a dairy goat, because, well, we never drank any goat milk.

There definitely is a stigma against the dairy goat, and we often associate them with a "goaty" taste and unpleasant smell. While bucks do have a very unpleasant odor in breeding season, the females, or does, do not and are pleasant and easy to care for. From the reading, there were a few criteria that I wanted to meet, without exception. Disposition of these two animals has completely erased our negative impression of these now well loved individuals. "Goats: The Diversified Farm Stock" by Regina Anneler page one. Anyone who has started or managed a homestead knows the many hours spent trying to decide what type of livestock that they want to invest their time, money and energy into producing. This means that each species and breed type must be considered for their usefulness and productivity as related to the current homesteading plans.

Versatility in a species is a very important part of production, and one of the most versatile species chosen each and every day for the farming homestead is the goat. The goat can offer more for the dollar than nearly any other animal ever raised. Goats come in many shapes, types and colors, while being easier and cheaper to manage than cattle or other, larger types of livestock. Most homesteads require the clearing of brush and weeds. The main challenge of using goats for weed and brush maintenance is the problem of keeping them in the area that you want cleared and not finding them roaming wherever they please. Continued on page 2 > Raising Goats For Milk - Simple and Profitable Way to Start Goat Farming - Country Farmer.

Raising goats for milk is a simple and profitable way to start an animal farm. If you have enough number of goats, you may sell their milk for a certain price or turn them into cheese. Even better, raising goats for milk is not that hard. All you need are basic animal farming knowledge and you're good to go. Below are a few steps on how you can start your own animal farm with a few goats.

If you do it right, raising goats for milk will be profitable and worthwhile. First, you need to determine which breed of dairy goats you want to raise. Next, do your research about the different types of dairy products that you can produce out of goat milk. Find out about your chosen breed's mating period. Build a small barn to house your goats and to protect them from harmful elements. Do your research about proper goat maintenance as well.

Dairy goats usually need their horns trimmed every six weeks. Are you looking for more tips on raising goats for milk? Dairy Goat Handbook. History of Goats It is quite certain that the goat was one of the first domesticated animals in Western Asia. He is thought to have descended from the Pasang or Grecian Ibex, a species of wild goat found in Asia Minor, Persia, and other nearby countries. Old Testament verse mentions the goat more than 150 times. In Greek and Roman mythology, Pan, the god of shepherds was half goat. Capricornus, the goat, became the tenth sign of the zodiac. As of 1961, world goat numbers were 350,000,000 head (USDA figures). Dairy goats are not nearly as numerous as dairy cattle in the United States, but, for many other countries of the world, they are the leading milk producers because they are well adapted to limited areas and require less specialized feed, most of which can be produced by the small land owner.

Goats as a 4-H or Youth Project Goats make ideal 4-H and youth projects. Goat Breeds Keeping Goats Female goats are does and male goats are bucks. Tips for Buying a Dairy Goat The Dud. Diseases. Goats: Strictly Country or Potentially Citified. I originally wrote this post for the website Backyard Ecosystemin conjunction with a podcast interview, which you can listen to here. The debate over whether or not goats should be allowed in urban backyards is a heated one, as I discovered after being interviewed for a New York Times article describing the difficulties of goat ownership.

Unfortunately, the article failed to acknowledge the benefits of goat as pet beyond the delicious dairy factor. To be sure, goats are challenging creatures. This holds true in any environment, urban or rural. Personality wise, goats are like a cross between a dog and a cat. So how the heck does one raise a goat in a city, let alone the country? 1. Before diving in, find out whether or not your city allows goats. If you find it’s not legal, change the law like the folks in Seattle, Denver, and Kansas City have done or are attempting to do. 2.

That’s right, I said goats, plural. There are two sizes of goats, miniature and standard size breeds. 3. 4. 5. The Benefits of Raising Goats - Dummies. You get a lot from keeping goats. Raising goats can help you achieve a sustainable lifestyle. You can milk them or eat their meat, use their fiber and their skin for making clothing, and even use their dung for fuel (if you are so inclined). You may want to raise goats for a variety of reasons: Becoming more self-sufficient: Goats can give you milk to drink and food to eat, and even help you carry your belongings when backpacking. Goat Glossary abscess An inflamed collection of pus caused by bacteria. brood doe A female goat that is kept for breeding purposes. buckling A young male goat. cannon bone The shin bone. Caseous lymphadenitis CLA A highly contagious disease caused by a bacterium, Cornybacterium pseudotuberculosis. chaffhaye Roughage that has the added benefit of containing good bacteria that aid in digestion. chine The are of a goat's spine directly behind the withers. colostrum A rich, immune-system-boosting fluid that kids need during their first days after birth. conformation doeling ketosis.

What does it cost to raise dairy goats? There's been a lot of interest in the dairy goat industry over the past year. I get many calls asking about dairy goats: how much land it takes to raise them, what to feed them, and how to manage them. The one question I get asked very rarely is: how much does it cost? There is a difference between costs on a hobby operation (10 does) and a commercial operation (100 does). The scenario for this article represents a hobby operation with 10 milking does. The total cost per doe per year is $1,024. Labor is the largest expense in raising dairy goats, as is the case with other livestock. Let's look at possible income sources for a 10-goat dairy operation. Animal sales. People choose to raise goats for many reasons, and economics usually isn't the first reason. Read a more detailed article, including a breakdown of costs >> Kinder goats: A small breed for milk and meat by Kathleen Sanderson.

I have had dairy goats for most of the last 20 years or so and have raised almost every standard breed. But when my grandmother, my youngest daughter, and I moved to a bare one-acre lot near Klamath Falls, Oregon, I decided it was time to look at the smaller breeds. We wouldn't have room for pasture, so all feed would have to be purchased. Smaller goats eat less than their full-sized counterparts, and so would cost less to keep. I would be able to keep more of them in a smaller area. Also, as I get older, the advantages of smaller animals to care for become more and more obvious. Pygmies were immediately ruled out because our primary need was milk and, while pygmies can be milked, they are really not dairy goats.

I looked into Nigerian Dwarfs, but they are still somewhat in the exotic category and seem to be more expensive than the standard breeds. There are enough breeders already, so that Kinders have their own classes in some goat shows making them fairly available almost anywhere. Raising Dairy Goats for Milk. Milking goats is time consuming, so before purchasing dairy goats it’s good to know what you’re getting into. For good-quality production, dairy goats should be milked twice per day, 12 hours apart. The milking activity will take 12 to 15 minutes per doe, plus milk preparation time. To prepare a goat for milking, you need to clean the teat with a dry paper towel to remove loose dry dirt and feces, dip the teat in an antiseptic-based teat dip, allow the dip to stay on the teats for no less than three minutes, and dry each teat following the dip with a clean paper towel. Next, look for lumps and clumps in the milk by stripping three squirts from each teat into a strip cup.

Do a strip test to check for abnormalities in the milk. If all is clear, milk her out, dip the teat again, and allow it to dry. In addition to the time it takes to milk goats, you have to consider the management effort. Many dairy goat producers do not allow nursing. Want Milk? Get Goats - Sustainable Farming. Learn about the benefits of goat milk and the value dairy goats provide to the homestead. Whether your property is one acre or several hundred, sloping or flat, crowded with brush or completely forested, you can still raise dairy goats for milk. Two goats will produce enough quality fresh milk — with each doe averaging 3 quarts a day for 10 months — to feed your family all year. Add a few more goats and you'll have enough milk for making cheese, yogurt and even ice cream. Goat milk ice cream? Some of you might be raising your eyebrows right now because you've heard goat milk tastes funny.

"I have a friend whose brother refused to drink goat milk because he knew he wouldn't like it", says 20-year goat veteran Gail Damerow, editor of Rural Heritage magazine and author of Your Goats and Raising Milk Goats Successfully. More of the world's people consume goat milk than cow milk. The Dairy Breeds You can recognize Alpine goats by their upright ears and long necks.

Goat Milk Management.