The Poultry Keeper

Randommoose · Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 35 Location: Gloucestershire

Hi,

As part of my expanding into being more self-sufficient I have been thinking about getting goats. For milk primarily but also meat from kids. We drink 4 pints of milk or more a day so I thought it might be a plan to have two females - one in milk and one not and breed one of them every 2 years (if it was a breed that could go through for the 24 months).

I don't know much about goats yet and so am trying to find out the details.

The first question is, having never had goat's milk, does it taste much different to cow's milk?

I am finding out information at the moment but any general advice would be appreciated!

Moose

Tracey Morris · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 289 Location: South Wales

Must admit haven't had the courage to try it yet but apparently it is creamy. Also it is better for you especially if you have allergies. Cool

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2472 Location: South Cumbria

if they eat good sweet grass it tastes good Very Happy

if they eat any old rubbish I am told it can taste awful haven't had any luckily and I adore goats cheese soft or hard

Randommoose · Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 35 Location: Gloucestershire

We have more than an acre divided into three paddocks. There is good grass and hedges, trees, brambles etc. for roughage (but with proper fences behind the hedges). We have a spare stable (not the old one I am setting up for hens!) which could be used for them.

Allergies are not a problem. I am aiming to become as self-sufficient as possible and I think a cow would be too much at the moment. Also goats are cheaper and don't take as long to mature.

Moose

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7140 Location: isle of lewis

butter is really difficult to make using goats milk, ,cheese is fairly easy though
goats much prefure herby type grass ,tree bark ect,yes goats will go though 24 months if you strip out ,as for the kids ,we eat ours but they are not as good ,at a meat to feed ratio as lambs ,so it be honest we eat ours ,because i refuse to sell male kids unless in know the people really well and even then i'm never happy about it ,i love my goats ,milking is a bind though ,they only let down for me no one else ,which means i cannot go away and work times have to be around milking ,my whole life is built around it Rolling Eyes

really

,i keep old english and toggs ,you have to look carefully at the breeds the old english is a good doer on poorer soil conditions think cottage ,the boar =meat ,cashmere and angora are fibre and meat goats harder to milk as the udder it not as important and then there are the milk goats british togg ,togg ,saanan ,british saanan ,alpine, gg ,ect ,
you either love or hate goats there just doesn't seem to be any inbetween
personally if i didn't have goats at the moment i wouldn't get any ,feed prices are going though the roof ,i know somebody that has just had 25 destoyed as he couldn't afford to feed them ,with double tagging ,and
bluetongue ,if i haven't putyou off they are for you good luck Very Happy

ps adore my goats ,i've just come in from having a kid hair cut in the shed Laughing

Randommoose · Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 35 Location: Gloucestershire

Thanks for your reply and you didn't put me off, just gave me things to think about.

I am aware that they prefer the rougher stuff to grass. For diet I think I have read about (can't remember measurements but I think they were about this) 4kg hay, 1kg concentrate, 4kg green stuff and roughage and 0.5kg beet and things. Was it about that? Also - we have more grass than roughage, though there are brambly hedges and lots of trees. As I said there is a bit more than an acre of land available. Also the grass is a variety of types (e.g. some even stuff, some clumpy stuff, some lighter green etc.), not just one.

The main reason I would want them is milk. I bought some goat milk from Tesco today so I could taste some! It is nice Smile

and shouldn't take anyone else in my family too long to get used to (I drink and use the most milk of us all). I might be interested in making cheese though I have never had goat's cheese.

With the milking, I have read that they can be left with their kids during the day, then seperated at night (still able to see and touch each other) and then milked in the morning. I assume once the kids are weaned then it would be necessary to milk morning and evening? How long does milking take (including preparation and clean up afterwards)?

Moose

p.s. the other cunning plan is to 'discover' that we are getting too much milk during the summer and so persuade my parents that we need a couple of pigs so as not to waste it... Wink

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7140 Location: isle of lewis

sounds as if your land is ideal ,i really don't think you can work it out like that i find different animals need different amounts ,i always look at condition and work it from there
a good place to start would be a book called goat husbandry
by david mackenzie it's a great book and you can get it really cheaply on ebay Wink

nigel · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject:

the mackenzie book has become a bible for me since i started keeping goats last year, and I have to say that Suz {milkmaid} has been a greatest help ever, she held my hand - by telephone - through the most traumatic and complicated kidding. I wouldn't be as comfortable with goats and would probably has got rid of them if it hadn't been for her.

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7140 Location: isle of lewis

thank you nigel ,(you made the roof leak )
i've never know anyone to have such a hard time as you did with that first kidding

you'll have to excuse me ,
i keep trying to put people off ,if people expect the worst then when they don't get it it's nice ,in the last couple of months i've just had a few too many sad stories ,some of which i've had to help with ,not nigels who live a life of luxury,have you seen the film he put on those goats look really happy
http://www.alledal.nu/content/view/71/1/lang,en/
may be these would suit ,the old english is a really intelligent goat
www.oldenglishgoats.org.uk/index.htm
Very Happy

and might suit your needs
cannot do the url things did try Confused

Randommoose · Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 35 Location: Gloucestershire

Hi,

I have already bought the MacKenzie book from Amazon - hopefully it should arrive in the next few days.

Thank you for your advice and stuff - as I said I am considering it and need to work out if I have the right sort of land etc and, more importantly, whether I can commit to the milking and the rest of it.

Moose

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7140 Location: isle of lewis

Tracey Morris · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 289 Location: South Wales

I checked all 5 of my girlies yesterday and they are all rather big with flesh forming at the top of udders already and thats with at least 6 weeks to go. I think two of them are definitely going to have twins!

stephen · Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:29 am Post subject:

We're getting about 1.5 litres a day each from the two that are milking at the moment, which I don't think is bad at all!

It sure makes nice ice cream. Smile

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7140 Location: isle of lewis

that's not bad stephen Very Happy

stephen · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:33 am Post subject:

We're pleased with it. I've got the best part of a churn ready to turn into soft goats cheese before my parents arrive.

Foxglove, the youngster who had the virgin birth on Christmas eve, is wonderful! She skips out of the pen, straight up onto the milking stand, and is ready to be milked. She couldn't be easier!

I have to say, though, I am incredibly pleased we spent the tax refund on a milking machine. It's made it very easy and hygienic, and with the size of Swedish Peasant Goat teats, we'd have a real hard time milking them by hand!