Goats are like boats, 2 happiest days are when you get em and when you get rid of em

Everyone should own a goat ONCE !

Then you realize why the devil was often portrayed as a goat !

We have goats on our place. Started with Nigerian dwarf while we were still in town. Moved to our place now away from town and branched out to the bigger breeds. We have Lamancha bucks that we crossed with an Alpine doe. The Nigerians have the best tasting milk but are so small it takes a few to make enough for practical use for a family. The Alpine straight up was a lot of milk but after a bit the taste wasn't great, still good for cheese though. The Alpine/LaMancha cross produces a lot of milk and has a good flavor and and cream on the top. They are good for weed control, but don't care if it's a weed or wife's flowers so plan and fence accordingly. We can open a gate let them graze and they will come home when full, pretty easy keepers in the right place. In town it's hit or miss so uptight ones freak and real folks love them

If you have goats eating weeds the milk will taste off. I always fed my milk goat good alfalfa hay and C.O.B. Excellent milk. Mine was a Nubian-Toggenburg cross and produced 6 quarts a day when fresh.

I always kept her on a tether so no problems escaping.

If it's just milk you want, I'd get a small cow and a hog. Small cow for less to feed and less milk as even a small one will give way more than most families can drink so learn to make cheese and butter and feed the rest to fatten the hog.

Cows are easier keepers than goats.

This^^ 100 % Goat milk suck when they have been able eat weeds. When feed alfalfa the after tasting was just hay dust not like you licked a Billy goat as it tast when they have been eating weeds.

Actually if I had it to do over and had what I have now, I think that's what I would do and that's from owning goats,Our pigs get excess goat milk or the whey from cheese making they love it

Ok so some questions on milk goats . Say you don't want like crazy high milk production. Like you just want to be able to get a little here and there . Some for som soap some cheese mabey for the fridge. Would it be best to go with a non dairy specific breed at that point?

Also milking . Once they have to have a kid to produce milk right ? If so do you HAVE to milk then frequently to avoid problems or will the kid just suck up enough so not milking them daily isn't a issue

Again where doing this on a really hobby type deal so ....

Ok ok interesting thank you for the info , sounds like honestly the Nigerians would be the best for us then

Note to self have goat live traps on standby

I've dealt with and raised cows my entire life and honestly I need a bit of a break from them for a bit. Not to mention I want something I can keep in the yard without much fuss....and not have to worry about all the local bulls trying to get after

Dairy sheep.... easier to keep then goats, gives more milk I believe too....bulls ain't gonna bother them, probably hard to find by you but you could be the first in your neighborhood! LOL

When you start milking you stay with milking twice a day rain or shine or keep the kid on her 24/7 and you get far less and a hard to milk goat. The non dairy breeds are just that for a reason, small teats etc

Let's talk...I'm in ..

Ornery and cute critters. I have no knowledge of farm animals. We occasionally see them at the practice. We had a baby lamb for a week that my co worker was baby sitting and it was so noisy! The appeal ran its course quickly!

When we milked we either pulled the babies and bottle fed them and miked mom 2x a day or of we had less time and needed less milk we would separate mom from kids at night. milk in the morning and put the kids back with mom all day. Then repeat

lol

Zoom zoom……..

Wolfdog. I would look into Kiko or Kinder goats as they produce less, but good quality milk. It is possible while they are nursing to just steal a little milk each day. But that's only for about 4-5 months a year. You could breed at different times to have it available all year. I don't raise dairy goats, but I know there are management differences if you want maximum milk.

I have 5 pygmy goats.

I have an issue; if you have an idea, let me know: my goat ~protein blocks don't hold up to the rain. They end up softening & plugging up the drain holes in the container, then it gets smelly & they won't touch it. I need some sort of cover. Or if they make a protein block that is basically weatherproof like the traditional 50 lb salt blocks, that would work too, but I can't find such a block. Thanks

They sure do love eating brush.