Sheep?

[cassie]

Sheep are grazers, meaning they eat primarily grass and weeds and goats are browsers which means they eat primarily brush and, if they get a chance, your prize roses. Sheep, at least in my experience, are not as intelligent as goats, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. They sure aren't as hard on fences as goats are. My old vet told me that the difference between sheep and goats is that sheep blunder into trouble, but goats seek it out. Sheep are used primarily for meat and for wool. Wool producing sheep MUST be sheared. However, there are hair sheep meaning sheep that do not produce wool. Dorper is one breed of hair sheep. They are used for meat and they look a lot like Boer goats. There are a few sheep dairies in this country. The milk is very rich and it is used for specialty cheeses. I have no idea where your mother got the idea goats were disease carriers. Probably she doesn't either but chances are you aren't going to change her mind. One of my uncles believed that all of our milk was imported from Japan and there was no convincing him otherwise.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Depending on the type of goat you get there are so many uses for goat milk. Soaps lotions butter cheese. And my daughter prefers a tall glass of goat milk rather than cows milk. I think it’s a bit sweeter. And it’s perfect for people who are lactose intolerant because there’s no lactose in it. I actually had a friend who sold some of his goat milk for very cheap or sometimes just gave it to her to a single mom whose daughter was lactose intolerant and being a single mom was very hard to afford store bought goat milk or any of that Soy and almond milk. And goats are just awesome. They are so much fun and when they are young they are just plain silly and fun to watch.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I’m not Sure where she would have thought goats were disease carriers. I can’t think of one disease a goat could get that can be transferred to a human. You might think that if you’re around a Male goat because they are some nasty stinky creatures. Which reminds me to say if you get a goat get a female. Unless you intend on breeding I wouldn’t see any reason to put up with a male goat. And even if you intend on breeding it would be good to start with just a female and get used to it. Because if you have Both they are usually becomes a time where they should be separated for the female safety

 

[cassie]

Depending on the type of goat you get there are so many uses for goat milk. Soaps lotions butter cheese. And my daughter prefers a tall glass of goat milk rather than cows milk. I think it’s a bit sweeter. And it’s perfect for people who are lactose intolerant because there’s no lactose in it. I actually had a friend who sold some of his goat milk for very cheap or sometimes just gave it to her to a single mom whose daughter was lactose intolerant and being a single mom was very hard to afford store bought goat milk or any of that Soy and almond milk. And goats are just awesome. They are so much fun and when they are young they are just plain silly and fun to watch.

Whatever the benefits of goat milk may be, the absence of lactose isn't one of them. Goat milk does contain lactose, which is milk sugar. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow's milk and a lot of people who cannot tolerate cows milk can tolerate goat milk. Laurelwood Acres, the largest goat dairy in the country for many years, was started because a new baby in the family could not digest cow's milk or any of the formulas the doctors prescribed. he almost died. Once he was put on goat milk he thrived. The cream in goat milk does not rise to the top like the cream from cow milk does. This is caused by an enzyme in the cow milk. If you take cream from goat milk and mix it with skim cow milk, the cream will rise. If you take cream from cow milk and mix it in goat skim milk, it will not. Dutch Belt cows lack the enzyme that causes the cream to separate out. It is thought that some people are intolerant to the enzyme that causes the cream to rise but I haven't heard of any studies that put this theory to the test.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Whatever the benefits of goat milk may be, the absence of lactose isn't one of them. Goat milk does contain lactose, which is milk sugar. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow's milk and a lot of people who cannot tolerate cows milk can tolerate goat milk. Laurelwood Acres, the largest goat dairy in the country for many years, was started because a new baby in the family could not digest cow's milk or any of the formulas the doctors prescribed. he almost died. Once he was put on goat milk he thrived. The cream in goat milk does not rise to the top like the cream from cow milk does. This is caused by an enzyme in the cow milk. If you take cream from goat milk and mix it with skim cow milk, the cream will rise. If you take cream from cow milk and mix it in goat skim milk, it will not. Dutch Belt cows lack the enzyme that causes the cream to separate out. It is thought that some people are intolerant to the enzyme that causes the cream to rise but I haven't heard of any studies that put this theory to the test.

Thank you for the information. That does spiked my interest into looking into. I just noticed it was never as harsh on me as cow milk which I can’t do. Same with the young girl. Well she’s not young anymore. Learn something new every day

 

[cassie]

I’m not Sure where she would have thought goats were disease carriers. I can’t think of one disease a goat could get that can be transferred to a human. You might think that if you’re around a Male goat because they are some nasty stinky creatures. Which reminds me to say if you get a goat get a female. Unless you intend on breeding I wouldn’t see any reason to put up with a male goat. And even if you intend on breeding it would be good to start with just a female and get used to it. Because if you have Both they are usually becomes a time where they should be separated for the female safety

Just some comments. There are some diseases that can be transferred for goats (and cows) to humans, but they are very rare in this country. Malta Fever (brucellosis) is one and tuberculosis is another. During WWII British soldiers stationed on the island of Malta contracted brucellosis, which is a debilitating disease, at an alarming rate. The source was raw goat milk from the village goats. To control the epidemic the British commander ordered all (or most) of the goats on the island slaughtered, predictably enraging the local farmers. Shortly after the war, the commander who ordered the slaughter of the goats was found dead. Rumor has it that he was a victim of a Maltese vendetta.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

And wow you sure know a ton of interesting facts, Cassie!