Milk Diet

[Wifezilla]

No I think she was talking about selling.

 

[Nupine]

We have dairy goats, so we drink raw goats milk. Its yummy!

 

[dancingbear]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear there! Yes, I meant for selling. We process and consume our own, but having processing done so you can legally sell meat, or trying to set up so that you can process for sale yourself, is ridiculously expensive. You can sell live animals for food, if the buyer either processes themselves, or takes it to a processor.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
But these cows are in Europe, not here, right? I wonder how difficult raising a cow is. The size of a German Shepard I could probably handle. And could possibly find the space for, but a full grown cow? No way, not in my town!

 

[schellie69]

Quote:
But these cows are in Europe, not here, right? I wonder how difficult raising a cow is. The size of a German Shepard I could probably handle. And could possibly find the space for, but a full grown cow? No way, not in my town!

I have seen an special on TV these cows are here in the States and they are great for both milk and meat
Now if I could just convince DH and the city that these "cows" were pets like a big dog

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
But these cows are in Europe, not here, right? I wonder how difficult raising a cow is. The size of a German Shepard I could probably handle. And could possibly find the space for, but a full grown cow? No way, not in my town!

You can do a bit of reading on what it takes for the average person to raise a cow here.
http://butterfliesandbumblebees.org/
http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/
Keep a family cow is not for the faint of heart. I believe there actually is a book called Keeping A Family Cow as well.
You want it to be grassfed, and that requires several acres of grass, that can be rotationally grazed.
Cows do not have upper teeth, so they require long grass.
Root veges must be fed in winter, along with hay.
They also require that you have a truck and trailer.
Breeding is a real bugger as well.

Not trying to discourage you, just being realistic

 

[chicken_china_mom]

It was more of a thought than anything. I'm actually more interesting getting some goats if I can get a bigger place. I want at least 5 acres, minimum. How much of a taste difference is there between goat milk and cows milk? I've not had the pleasure of trying goats milk yet. However someone treated me to flaming goat cheese, and honestly, I really didn't care for it. Too oily. What was it called Saki, or something like that.

 

[speckledhen]

I've had raw goat's milk, given to me by a friend. Yummo! It seems a teensy bit sweeter to me, but I loved it. Used it in my coffee instead of the usual half and half till it ran out.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Milk tastes/smells vary according to species.
When you buy cows milk from the store, the process it has gone through has essentially deoderized it. It no longer has the scent that it naturally does.
It is not a bad scent or taste, just one that tells you it came from a cow.
Goat milk is going to be the same.

I think that is the biggest hurdle for some people. The milk is a touch goaty, so they assume its nasty.
When in fact, its just normal.
Goat milk is also a bit more delicate in nature. If it is not chilled right away, it will taste stronger.
If it is agitated heavily, the taste and scent will also grow. It can even sour earlier then normal.

Also, the longer it is exposed to oxygen, the more scent and flavor it is going to pick up.
I have learned that it is best to milk it through a filter from the get go.
Then pour it into quart jars,a nd straight into an ice bath to begin chilling.
The process saves you a big step, and gives you a better product.

 

[dancingbear]

Mini-cows are available in The U.S., but judging by the ads I've looked at, they are very expensive. So if you have thousands of spare dollars just lying around in the way, looking for something to be spent on, mini cows might be nice. They eat less, are easier to handle and transport, of course, because they're small. You can keep them on less pasture than full size cattle.

Some day I'd like a milk beast, maybe a cow, maybe a goat. More than likely, if I get a cow, it'll be a smaller breed, like a Jersey or a Dexter, (or a mix of smaller milk breeds) but regular size.