[Ag-eq] Goats

[nfoster at extremezone.com]

Jody:

Personally I can't tell the difference between goat and cow milk.  I have
friends who won't use it; they say it tastes different.

One of the differences is that the fat is more naturally homogenized in the goat
milk.  When it sets very little cream rises to the top.  If you let fresh cow
milk set cream will rise to the top and can be skimmed off; this is how you get
skimmed milk.  Some breeds of goats and some breeds of cows give milk with
higher fat content than others.  I have Nubian goats, which tend to have richer
milk they are called the Jersey of goats.  Jersey cows give very rich milk.

I don't keep a buck goat since it will effect the taste of the milk.  The bucks
also smell terrible and I don't want one around.  I've visited a couple of goat
dairies and they don't keep the buck goats either.  They just bring one in a
couple of times each year to breed the does.  I took my doe to a breeder and
left her there for about a month.  She smelled like the buck for a few weeks
after she came home.

Yes, there are some vaccinations that they need; I can't think what they are
right now.  There are also some diseases that they should be tested for, this
is done with a blood test.  If they have CAE, CL or Yonnies they should be
destroyed.  I had to show that my doe was negative to take her to the breeder.
"Barnyard in Your Backyard" explains thhese illnesses very well.

Goats also need to be dewormed every so often.  You would probably need to
deworm more than I do since it is so much more damp in Florida.

Sometimes they need their feet trimmed, but if they get to run around a lot it
might not be a problem.  The only one that I ever had to have trimmed was a
very old nanny goat that passed on in May.  As she aged she ran around less and
her feet got to long.  The horse trimmer would trim her for me.  The younger
goats keep theirs worn down nicely.

You also need a pretty good fence for goats; I have chain link and they stay in.
 My goats hate getting wet, so they need a shelter from the wind and rain.

Unless they are pregnant, being milked or growing kids, goats do very well on
grass hay.  They are also fine with grazing and brouzing.  I only give grain to
the pregnant doe and as long as I'm milking her.  I did feed the kids some grain
before and after they were weaned.  They are 7 months old now and eating Bermuda
hay with the big goats.  I keep a salt block and a mineral block out for them
and the horse and mule.

If you have more questions please let me know.

Nella















Quoting Jody Ianuzzi <jody at thewhitehats.com>:

> Hi Nella,
>
> Your description of raising goats sounds great.  We have talked about it
> too.  How would you describe goat's milk compared to cow's milk?  I have
> never had it.
>
> How much care do they take?  Do they need to be vaccinated etc?
>
> JODY
>
>
>
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