Milking goats

[bee_wrangler]

I am thinking of getting two goats for milking but am not 100% sure if it will be too much trouble or not? My game plan is to use a light chain (I assume they would eat through a rope or leather?) to keep them in place rather then a fence. That way I could move them around for grazing and they would have a 20' or so circular radius at all times. Now I just found out that a doe needs to have had kids to be able to give milk so I am wondering how often does she need to kid to give milk? Also wondering what the ratio of fresh goats milk is to make 1lb of butter? I'm thinking of going with Alpine if I do get a couple.

 

[michickenwrangler]

You need to do some more research before delving in to this.

Fencing would be better than chains, since goats will find ways to get themselves tangled. I do stake mine out for short periods of time in the summer and had a goat fall down a steep slope at the edge of the woods. Despite being an ALPINE goat. There is electrified portable fencing. They also don't graze, they browse like deer. They will prefer to eat weeds and trees before grass.

Goat milk is difficult to make homemade butter with. It is naturally homogenized, so the cream doesn't separate easily. It takes around 5 gallons +/- to make a pound of butter. I pay my neighbor a few bucks to run it through her cream separator.

Generally, goats need to be bred back every year, although with proper management, they can have a lactation of 2-3 years, sometimes longer.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

A lot of the cheaper electric cream separators on ebay and such have been used with some success by goat owners to aid with butter making. Your chosen breed/line and husbandry effects buttermilk content.

La Manchas are one breed that often have extended lactations. Maiden milkers (goats with precocious udders) have worked out for some people (never have to be bred if you can find one that will keep producing...the milk can be very watery though). Saanens are one breed maiden milkers pop up in more often. Spanish goats are something I'm looking into for parasite/worm resistance and oftentimes good hooves, but I do not need large quantities of milk.

Good fencing won't just keep your goats in, but predators (like dogs!) out. Some people use electric fencing that can be easily moved for rotational grazing. Rotational grazing is one way to help manage worms in goats.

Disbudding vs. not, tattooing, castration vs. non, bottle-feeding vs. dam rearing, once a day milking vs. twice, hybrids vs. pure, AI versus other methods, registered vs. non, and diseases like CAE are some things to look into especially if you do breed.

 

[pmwilson3]

I agree, it sounds like you might want to learn more about goats before jumping into a milk goat. Why not start with a whether (castrated male goat), and see how he does with your idea of staking on a chain. My experience with goats on chains is that it does not end well- something pays, usually the neighbors flower bed, broken chains, uprooted stakes, broken collars, injured goats, even uprooted fence posts. I personally do stake our goats occasionally for a few hours at a time- usually to knock down vegetation in a hard to fence area- but even when I keep an eye on them, it generally ends up being almost too much trouble

A milking doe needs special attention and care, since she is using so much of her body reserves to produce milk. She will need grain and some good quality, fine stemmed alfalfa hay in addition to natural forage, particularly if she is staked in a small circular area where she can't pick her own forage. She will need to be milked 2x a day at 12 hour intervals, and you will need to find someone to milk for you even if you are gone just 1 day from home.

 

[pmwilson3]

ditto on the butter- its too difficult with goat milk- unless you are milking a dozen or so, and have a good working cream separator.