Thinking about getting goats

[Zass]

Goat and lamb are both delicious foods.(all sheep meat in the US is labeled lamb) I've bought lots of overseas cheeses made with sheeps milk....does ANYONE in the US milk sheep? Is it drinkable like goat milk?

I suppose those questions aren't really related to the thread. I was just imagining a sheep being something like an easier-to-keep goat...it just seemed kinda nice

 

[Dood]

You just have to accept that they're like a pack of toddlers determined to get into the cookie jar on the counter

Good analogy !!!!

My mum thinks so too, as the mother of 5 I think she can relate :mrgreen:

Not all cows are easy to contain - we had one who strated jumping our 5 foot fences we had hoped to keep her but an early trip to the freezer was arranged.

 

[Schipperkesue]

Goat and lamb are both delicious foods.(all sheep meat in the US is labeled lamb) I've bought lots of overseas cheeses made with sheeps milk....does ANYONE in the US milk sheep? Is it drinkable like goat milk?

I suppose those questions aren't really related to the thread. I was just imagining a sheep being something like an easier-to-keep goat...it just seemed kinda nice

Yes, there are milk sheep and meat sheep and fibre sheep.

If you scroll up to the top of this page, you will see that I agree! Sheep are way easier and somewhat more useful than goats.

 

[skysthelimit]

Goat and lamb are both delicious foods.(all sheep meat in the US is labeled lamb) I've bought lots of overseas cheeses made with sheeps milk....does ANYONE in the US milk sheep? Is it drinkable like goat milk?

yes a lady in ohio raises East Friesians for milk

 

[preciousgurl63]

My sister n law is now looking at mini nubian goats. Is there anything she needs to know before she decides that she wants this breed now. Like how they act, type of cage/fencing, if their good for milking, all the basic stuff. She has been doing a little research on them and has kind of fallen for how they look with those floppy ears. She only lives on a little country home with about a acre total. This is why she wants to get a mini or dwarf goat. Does she even have enough room?

 

[DonnerSurvivor]

My sister n law is now looking at mini nubian goats. Is there anything she needs to know before she decides that she wants this breed now. Like how they act, type of cage/fencing, if their good for milking, all the basic stuff. She has been doing a little research on them and has kind of fallen for how they look with those floppy ears. She only lives on a little country home with about a acre total. This is why she wants to get a mini or dwarf goat. Does she even have enough room?

I dont think I would recommend one goat, They are a herding animal and I think they would be much happier with a partner. The bigger/Heiver the goats the easier they are to fence in my opinion so I would lean towards a normal sized goat not a mini. Without seeing the particular property it is hard to say if an acre is enough but unless its really bad ground a acre should easily maintain a pair of goats without much supplemental feeding.

 

[preciousgurl63]

She doesn't plan on having only one goat. She wants one doe and one buck. But now she has been thinking about 2 does and one buck.

 

[Anntann]

We got our first goats a year ago, after a LOT of talking with friends who had goats. Everything that is said about goats getting out of fencing is true. :lol: As was said earlier..do the fencing right the first time..don't give them the chance to get out.

What worked for us was a simple field fence with a hot-wire along the top. Until we put up the hot-wire, they would climb the fence. Once that hotwire went up no one has even tried. Goats are smart criters.

They cleared out all the burdock in the pasture they're in (we had a LOT of it) and thrived on the forage. They also relish the wild roses. They DO like branches from just about any tree in reach, tho. So you need to be careful how close to trees they can get. Put something in the middle of the pen/pasture that they can climb on...gives them something to play on and keeps them occupied. (we covered the 4' high goat run-in with shingles..the goats LOVE climbing up on that and bouncing around. )

They are very thrifty for feeding, although when young they need feed for optimal growth. We use a commercial goat chow simply because it's got the copper and selenium in it that goats need (and our forage doesn't provide) Hay is necessary so that they can process food properly. Like cows, they "chew their cud"..and that means having lots of fiber in the stomachs. Grass hay works really well. actually... we bought some lovely "weed" hay and it's perfect for our goats.

btw, our goats are Angoras (with one cashmere type meat buckling). I'm looking for a couple of milk girls this Spring, tho. probably nubians(love the ears).

 

[PSFAngoras]

This thread couldn't have come any a worse time!

I have been pretty obsessed with raw milk lately, and our cow share guy is up in the air as to whether he will continue or not. I'm not a fan of drinking goats milk, but I love the cheese and the idea of making soap. (I'm starting to make all of my own household cleaners and detergents and you'd be amazed how many recipes start with a bar of soap...)

My mom has the space at her place, but I'm not a fan of having critters up there as it's all the way across town...

Between this and the rabbits, I NEED A PEICE OF PROPERTY BAD!!

I have tried the milk from the Dwarf Nigerians though, and that was amazingly similar to A Jersey Cow's, but I can't see milking a half a dozen goats just to get a gallon a day! Never had the chance to try raw Nubians. Does pasteurization change the flavor as much as it does for cow's milk? Our local goat dairy only does pasteurized only, even though their running a pretty large herd of Nubies.

 

[Demamma]

Pasteurization does change the milk quite a bit. Raw goat milk tastes like pasteurized cow milk. Pasteurized goat milk tastes cooked. I don't like the taste. To get good tasting goat milk you need good quality feed and clean and fast handling of the milk. The milk won't last as long raw since it start building up ciperic (spelling) acid which is when you start getting the bad flavor that turns people off. If your goats live I weeds and such that will affect flavor.

 

[PSFAngoras]

Thanks, I've had the pasteurized goat milk from our dairy that raises Nubies, and it tasted extremely goaty. It's illegal to sell raw milk in CO without a herd share program, and I don't know anyone else who does Nubians, so I 'me out of luck there.

The raw stuff I got from a friend was from Nigerian dwarfs, and it tasted pretty good, though I could still tell the difference from cows milk. And even then, like I said, I can't imagine milking a half a dozen goats twice a day just to get what we can use in one day!

Hubby's still pretty stuck in getting a Jersey cow though so we can raise the babies for the freezer, but it's easy for him to say, he won't be the one milking! Also, I don't know if you can make soap from cows milk, if the fat content is right and all that...

 

[JDWest]

I kept,raised, and bred dairy goats for about 8 years in total. I had a couple of goats upto around 40 at a time. I sold my herd of 30 last fall. My favourite breeds were LaMancha and Saanen. High production, minimal health issues, and they were quiet and easy to work with. On a selling level my Nubians and French Alpines sold the best. People like colour and ears. 
The push of having to sell my herd opened up so many options that had been bogged down and long forgotten. And after a few months of no longer having them i relised that for me and my family, the level of difficulty and cost outweighed the benefits of having them.
If my family wants milk again in the future we would get a cow. Hubby was raised with cattle, and my dad grew up with family dairy cows. He has nice calming stories of him as a boy going out to milk the family cow every morning.