Dairy cow versus dairy goats?

[dayna]

Well, despite REALLY wanting a cow I just couldnt justify spending all that money on ONE animal. Had a look on CL and found a woman selling bred Nubian does. I came home with three bred does and one 5 month old stars and moons marked doeling. They are 1, 2 and 3 months bred so time to get them settled in before I start to worry about the kids coming.

Have wormed them all and they are so calm and friendly, light years away from the Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats we had, they were so awful we swore to never have goats again if they were typical. :lol: In fact, it was my 11 year old daughter who wormed them - some help from me holding heads up until they swallowed - and they were good as gold for her.

They are locked up in the 10 by 10 kennel right now but shall move to the 1/3rd acre paddock this weekend and then spend several hours of their days tethered to tires on new browse every day. The best of both worlds I think, a safe place to sleep and fresh pasture all the time.

My cousin who farms in Mi does that with all her goats as she says cows stay put but goats DONT! Despite thousands in fencing, all her goatlies have to be tethered to keep their butts in place. :lol:

What did you use to worm them? You must be careful worming pregnant goat does. Ivermectin based de wormers are the safest. Never Valbazen as it can cause abortion or birth defects.

Congrats, and pics? The 3 month bred you should be able to feel babies.

 

[Rainey]

We've been able to keep our goats in their pasture (have 3 separate areas so we can rotate them) by using field fence for sheep or goats and then running a couple strands of electric fence inside the field fence so the goats can't get close enough to it to knock it over or walk it down. Either alone didn't work, but together they have for a few seasons now.

Congratulations on your new herd and best wishes for successful kiddings, lots of milk

 

[Zinnia]

We've had both goats and Jersey cows for the last ten years. Each has its own place. Goats milk tastes fantastic. I really like that it doesn't separate readily so that my cheeses can set up without losing butterfat, so we use it often for feta and other cheeses. The cows... well nothing could ever replace our loving Jerseys. They're sweet, giving, low maintenance and very gentle.