Best goats for milking? Any other advice in finding a goat for us?

[aubreynoramarie]

wow thank you everyone for your great advice. I am going to make my boyfriend read all of this!

i do like the idea of smaller goats too just because we are still going to be in suburbia and they are going to be around my chickens. I see the nigerians and the boers on craigslist all the time but thats about it.

when i do end up buying a goat, is transporting it in a large dog crate alright or do i need to rent a small trailer?

 

[MiniatureCochin]

A friend of mine has Alpines, and they're really good milkers (3/4-1gal milk daily each goat). Another lady I know has Oberhasli & Nubians. They're also really great milkers

I myself currently have Nigerian and Nigerian/pygmy crosses, which I find more manageable than large breeds (It's easier to handle 50-80lb goats instead of 150-180lb goats!)

oh, and I will have to note a few things I learned the hard way

:

1) make sure you have a really good fence first!! REALLY well stretched woven wire fence or cattle panels are your best bet.

2) buy your goats from a farm (not an auction) that tests for Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL), and Caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAE). I can't stress this enough.
( I didn't take this seriously---and now have several CL-suspect goats)

3) if you're not interested in owning a buck, then look around at farms within a reasonable distance that might have a buck you could lease when the time comes to get your doe(s) bred. this might be ''thinking ahead'' but i ended up having to buy a buck because no one in my area had bucks for lease...it was kinda annoying

I hope this helps.

Miniature Cochin

 

[aubreynoramarie]

thank you. I dont want two gallons of milk a day so maybe I will stick to a smaller breed. Also am not interested in breeding, do I still need a buck?

 

[Okie Amazon]

You will have to breed your does to keep them in milk, BUT, having a buck around will make your milk taste more "goaty". I'd just get them a date once a year and let the buck live somewhere else!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Perfect, thank you very much!

 

[bagendhens]

a dog crate in the back of a car is perfect for transporting kids and even full grown nigerians

(just roll down the windows) in terms of a buck, nope dont need one, either get 2 does or a doe and a wether (neutered male) and then take your girl for breeding once a year to keep her in milk

you can let her raise the kid (usually once there past a wek or 2, goat folks will pen the baby seperatly at night, milk momma in the morning and then let baby feed all day...) or you can sell the kid as a bottle baby and keep all the milk for yourself, or do something in between

i cant wait till i can have goats of my own...just a warning though, folks whith goats tend to go 1 of 2 ways...ya ether love em and never want to be without them...or ya end up hating goats and never want one again...those on that end of the spectrum usually prefer sheep lol.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Wow thank you so much for all of the information! I'm going to sit on all of this and make sure I am 100% prepared!

 

[Okie Amazon]

Another thing you must keep firmly in mind, is that milking is not a when you get around to it, sometime job. You have to do EVERY day, no days off, rain, snow or blow.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:

just like watering chickens and letting them out every morning, MUST be done everyday. This is what i told my boyfriend and he said we can take turns