Goat or a cow?

[LarryPQ]

I hear sheep milk is good too...but again, I know nothing....

 

[cafarmgirl]

Actually sometimes you DO have to trim a cows hooves and I can tell you a goat is way easier to trim then a cow! Thing I like most about my goats, when they fertilize my pasture their little rabbit pellet like droppings just go down in the grass and disolve away, no big, nasty cow patties all over the place!

 

[citrusdreams]

I know everyone's experiences and preferences are different. I have both Jerseys and Nubians, and I prefer the Jersey. My Jerseys produce a lot more milk, the cream can be skimmed off the top to make butter/whipping cream, etc. And I feed the cow as much as the goat, who produces significantly less. That said, the cow is much more economical for me.

The goat milk is just as good, but you need a cream separator because goat milk is naturally homogenized. So it doesn't separate well. You can still make great cheese with either.

I find it's much easier to keep the cow in condition, but have to work a bit harder to keep the goats in condition.

My cows are much easier to keep contained in their pasture (two strands of electric), and are less prone to predators (where I live!) than the goats. Some goats are difficult to contain, they need to be wormed much more often than a cow.

As for handling, I think both are just as easy to handle. All of my girls are well behaved on the stanchion.

Pecorino Romano cheese is made from sheep milk

That's the good stuff!

And just to give you more ideas, traditional mozarella is made from buffalo milk and I hear they're wonderful on the stanchion as well

Though you can make it with goat milk, a combo of cow and goat milk, or just cow milk.......or buffalo milk!

 

[momofdrew]

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I would not want to milk a buffalo if she was in a bad mood LOL

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Well, I had been doing some research on both. The Jersey cows really appeal to me. The neighbor has an angus bull I could breed her to and I would be able to raise a meat calf once a year.

If I were to go with a goat, I'd shop around for a nubian. I love the way they look and I've "heard" they've got very creamy milk.

One day I'll have both and this won't be an issue.

Can you make lotions and soaps from cows milk? Or is that just goat milk?

If not, I'll have to get a pig to help out eat up all that extra milk(oh the horror

).

I was leaning towards a cow, simply because our fence probably isn't "goat" proof and whatever we got, would have to share the pasture with a couple of geldings(a gelding and a soon to be gelding). The two horses can get rambunctious at times, and I think I'd be worried too much about a goat.

My husband had a couple goats growing up and came home to them torn to pieces(literally) because of dogs, same thing happened to a friend of mine.

So, I'm figuring one Jersey cow would be content in a pasture with two horses and not spend 24/7 plotting ways to escape and would be less likely to be shredded to pieces by dogs. Although, I'm unsure if I could use the milk for soaps and lotions, I could also pick up a hog to raise off the extra milk(and kitchen scraps).

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Googled cow milk soap, seems recipes you can use for goat milk you can use for cow milk as well. Awesome!

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You call the rendering company and pay them to haul it off.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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You call the rendering company and pay them to haul it off.

We have horses, we just bum a backhoe off some acquantences and bury them in the field. Honestly, I hope when I have my own dogs to have them on a raw diet, so next time livestock dies, it will probably just be carved up for the pups. I know that may be gruesome to some folks, I love my horses, but no need to waste 1200lbs of meat by putting it in the ground to rott away when you are paying for meat to feed the dogs.

Good thinking though, I run across this many times when people get into horses and neglect to think this part through.

 

[Katy]

Wolf-Kim.....You don't say how big your pasture is and I'm not sure where you live. It's going to take a lot more feed to keep a cow. In a lot of areas of the country they can only be out on pasture for about 6 or so months without having to feed them or at the very least supplement them. Where I live we need about 7-8 acres per cow calf pair for summer grazing. Some places it's less acerage, some places it's more that's needed.

I grew up with both milk cows and milk goats (only have cattle now) and I always preferred the goat's milk.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You call the rendering company and pay them to haul it off.

We have horses, we just bum a backhoe off some acquantences and bury them in the field. Honestly, I hope when I have my own dogs to have them on a raw diet, so next time livestock dies, it will probably just be carved up for the pups. I know that may be gruesome to some folks, I love my horses, but no need to waste 1200lbs of meat by putting it in the ground to rott away when you are paying for meat to feed the dogs.

Good thinking though, I run across this many times when people get into horses and neglect to think this part through.

They used to come haul them off for free!! Then about 10 years ago they started charging for it.