Goat Thread!

[henny1129]

Just snapped this pic of him as the sun was setting tonight. He may not be a very good looking by show standards but I think he is very photogenic, lol.

Nice!

 

[desertrocks]

Hi everyone.
Just thought we would introduce ourselves to the goat group.
We found BYC last year when we got our first 3 chicks which chicken math quickly took control of and now 14 months later we have 4 pens, 50 birds.
This past March we decided we wanted a milk goat so we purchased a 75% Nubian doe amd her doeling. She turned 2 years old in June doeling is 7 months.
We chose not to separate them and let the weaning process take its own course.
We are currently milking 2x a day and mama is giving 1/2 gallon a day. I am sure it would be more if we did separate them but the baby looks so good and spends far more time browsing than trying to nurse so it is all good.
We plan on breeding both when they come into season this fall.
My better 1/2 drinks the milk and I am learning to make cheeses so almost none of the milk is wasted.
Just using heat and lemon juice makes a lovely white soft cheese that I am actually starting to jar up and sell to friends. Once we get to the point of having 4-6 milkers, we are pretty sure they will do more than pay for themselves in cheese sales.
Here is a shot of them hanging out on the milking, hiding from an incoming summer storm.

Baby in the front with the horns is about 75# and mama in the back goes somewhere between 130-145#.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Very nice looking goats. You are making the cheese sound delicious. I've never actually eaten goat cheese, nor ever milked any of my goats, I had had my fill milking cows for many years. I currently only have wethers, but who knows maybe a good milking goat is in my future. I love nubians, they are my favorite breed, though currently I have none. Be careful goat math doesn't get you also, they can be just as addicting.

 

[henny1129]

Hi everyone.
Just thought we would introduce ourselves to the goat group.
We found BYC last year when we got our first 3 chicks which chicken math quickly took control of and now 14 months later we have 4 pens, 50 birds.
This past March we decided we wanted a milk goat so we purchased a 75% Nubian doe amd her doeling. She turned 2 years old in June doeling is 7 months.
We chose not to separate them and let the weaning process take its own course.
We are currently milking 2x a day and mama is giving 1/2 gallon a day. I am sure it would be more if we did separate them but the baby looks so good and spends far more time browsing than trying to nurse so it is all good.
We plan on breeding both when they come into season this fall.
My better 1/2 drinks the milk and I am learning to make cheeses so almost none of the milk is wasted.
Just using heat and lemon juice makes a lovely white soft cheese that I am actually starting to jar up and sell to friends. Once we get to the point of having 4-6 milkers, we are pretty sure they will do more than pay for themselves in cheese sales.
Here is a shot of them hanging out on the milking, hiding from an incoming summer storm.

Baby in the front with the horns is about 75# and mama in the back goes somewhere between 130-145#.

Beautiful goats! And welcome to the goat thread! I've had goat milk once and didn't like it, lol! But the cheese sounds good!

 

[waddles99]

Beautiful goats!

And welcome to the goat thread! I've had goat milk once and didn't like it, lol! But the cheese sounds good!

Ive had the cheese before but never milk. The cheese was too strong for me, but it could've just been the type.

 

[cassie]

Ive had the cheese before but never milk. The cheese was too strong for me, but it could've just been the type.

To say you don't like goat cheese is like saying you don't like cheese made from cow milk. Meaning there are so many different kinds of cheese and many of them are so dissimilar to each other. Some are strong flavored, some are mild, some are firm, some are, soft, some are aged, and some are fresh. That said, many of the imported goat cheeses are too strong for what we prefer in this country. As for goat cheese, I have had some that were delicious and some I considered to be inedible. Most of the chevres being marketed now are very good, and some of the dessert cheeses are heavenly. As for goat milk, some is wonderful but I have sampled some that I thought would be inhumane to feed to pigs.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

Dairy Connection is a great site for buying cultures for cheese making. You can get citric acid for making mozz cheaper at any wine/beer making supply.
Feta is an easy straight forward cheese to make. If you keep it in large hunks it can be salt brined and stored for long time.

Do you know how to check the color of inside lower eyelid to help keep apprised of parasite load? Homonchus, barberpole worm, can kill them quick.
American Dairy Goat Association is well worth joining. You get a membership directory with a listing of each state's member, breed of goat they raise and contact info. I hve been breeding goats almost 30 years. Used to have 60 head, but have gracefully aged out to just four adult does and two does kids born this spring.

 

[henny1129]

Dairy Connection is a great site for buying cultures for cheese making. You can get citric acid for making mozz cheaper at any wine/beer making supply.
Feta is an easy straight forward cheese to make. If you keep it in large hunks it can be salt brined and stored for long time.

Do you know how to check the color of inside lower eyelid to help keep apprised of parasite load? Homonchus, barberpole worm, can kill them quick.
American Dairy Goat Association is well worth joining. You get a membership directory with a listing of each state's member, breed of goat they raise and contact info. I hve been breeding goats almost 30 years. Used to have 60 head, but have gracefully aged out to just four adult does and two does kids born this spring.

Love your goats! I've always thought the Nubians were cute.

 

[GoatChickLady]

Hi! Hello and I hope everyone is doing ok. I have been raising goats for six years. I have helped or assisted with almost 50 births now. So much fun.
These are pictures of three of my babies. Sugar is the momma and Fire and Rain are the kids. They were triplets but Iceman did not survive past the first hour. We have around 15 in our little herd this year. Five will shown as my sons 4-H projects.

 

[henny1129]

Hi! Hello and I hope everyone is doing ok. I have been raising goats for six years. I have helped or assisted with almost 50 births now. So much fun.
These are pictures of three of my babies. Sugar is the momma and Fire and Rain are the kids. They were triplets but Iceman did not survive past the first hour. We have around 15 in our little herd this year. Five will shown as my sons 4-H projects.

Welcome! Love your goats! 4-H is so much fun and actually my county's fair is gong on right now and it's pretty busy, so I haven't been on BYC much.....I saw this though and wanted to make sure you got a welcome!