We're thinking about getting a couple of dairy goats to add to our mini homestead. I really only have room for a couple. We're thinking of building a shed that's roughly 10x20 (or larger if need be) dividing on one end for a feed/milking room. And they'd have almost a quarter acre fenced off, as well as supervised or walking on a leash time on the rest of our 3 acres. (I don't want them nibbling my fruit trees!)
My waffling begins with what goats to get... I'm leery of getting standard goats because of the size with my almost 3 year old son, amount of feeding and housing, and I just don't need that much milk. We usually drink 2-3 gallons/week. Although if I start making cheese then would I actually use all the milk that a couple of standards produce? I haven't read enough about cheese making to make that decision yet. I know I could always freeze extra milk. Has anyone used thawed out milk for cheese making? Maybe it has no effect on the cheese... I've been looking into minis and dwarfs but I've never milked a small goat so for those that have, how much milk do you actually get on average out of the lil gals and are they more difficult to milk than a standard? As far as standards go I've read that La Manchas are calm quiet goats but then we're back to the size issue. And really I don't even care if I have purebreds or not. We have no intention of showing goats at the fair. But smaller, calm, quiet friendly goats that are good milkers are basically what I think I want... And we will have to do something with the extra kids so I imagine selling purebred kids is easier than a mixed breed. If we do go for purebreds, does it matter if they're registered or not, other than the price and show quality of the animal? And what about the Scrapies tatoos and tags? Is that mandatory? It seems like a sneaky way to put people into the NAIS... On another note, I've talked to a few people that raise the wethers as meat goats. I'm not quite sure I could do it after bottle feeding the little fuzzy guys, but how many of you raise the extras for your meat?
Sorry for the sort of rambling questions. Any info and guidance is greatly appreciated!
Chanda
My waffling begins with what goats to get... I'm leery of getting standard goats because of the size with my almost 3 year old son, amount of feeding and housing, and I just don't need that much milk. We usually drink 2-3 gallons/week. Although if I start making cheese then would I actually use all the milk that a couple of standards produce? I haven't read enough about cheese making to make that decision yet. I know I could always freeze extra milk. Has anyone used thawed out milk for cheese making? Maybe it has no effect on the cheese... I've been looking into minis and dwarfs but I've never milked a small goat so for those that have, how much milk do you actually get on average out of the lil gals and are they more difficult to milk than a standard? As far as standards go I've read that La Manchas are calm quiet goats but then we're back to the size issue. And really I don't even care if I have purebreds or not. We have no intention of showing goats at the fair. But smaller, calm, quiet friendly goats that are good milkers are basically what I think I want... And we will have to do something with the extra kids so I imagine selling purebred kids is easier than a mixed breed. If we do go for purebreds, does it matter if they're registered or not, other than the price and show quality of the animal? And what about the Scrapies tatoos and tags? Is that mandatory? It seems like a sneaky way to put people into the NAIS... On another note, I've talked to a few people that raise the wethers as meat goats. I'm not quite sure I could do it after bottle feeding the little fuzzy guys, but how many of you raise the extras for your meat?
Sorry for the sort of rambling questions. Any info and guidance is greatly appreciated!
Chanda
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