What is the best goat for milking purposes?

[ksacres]

There used to be a great website called goatweb.com, but it doesn't exist anymore, somehow the domain server went down and they were never able to recover the information. Some of the people that were on goatweb.com started another website, www.thegoatspot.net not nearly as big, but still a good resource. Most of the books I had on goat raising were outdated, so I can't give you an answer on that.

Be careful, goats are addictive just like chickens. I started out with one goat about 12 years ago, and we now maintain a herdsize of about 15-25. It gets expensive, much more so than 25 chickens

 

[MissPrissy]

You can go the general route with Storey's Guide To Raising Dairy Goats. If that isn't enough for you go to the library and chekc out a few.

The best way is to get the goats and jump right in feet first.

 

[Parson's Wife]

Thanks...gotta go...signed up on that website...
sirens are fixing to sound..gotta go...
(tornado)....

 

[tberggren]

ksacres, I went to your website and see you have both LaManchas and Nubians.
How do they compare to each other? I hear the Nubians can be loud but are more personable than the LaManchas.

I am trying to decide between the two, I am interested in milk for my family, I don't need tons of milk but want a good quality milk as I want to make butter and cheese as well as yogurt. That being the case would you recommend one over the other?

 

[thornberryvillage]

Quote:
Just wondering what were some of the trials and errors that caused you to settle on LaMachas and Alpines.
I was thinking of the LaMachas also but they seem hard to come by in my area, but maybe they would be worth the search.

I started with Nubians because I was intending to make a good bit of cheese and I liked the high butterfat content.

Then I accidentally wound up with an Alpine and a LaMancha, and found that the cheese yeild was not appreciatively less...buit the gals were3 a LOT less trouble.

The way I usually explain it is that a Nubian is a fancy Freench lady, demanding and high maintanance, while Alpines and LaManchas are peasant Russian women that do their job, don't complain, and are sturdy easy keepers.

Ladies...sorry for the comparison of goats to you nice gals...<g>

Bob

 

[MissPrissy]

I am not russain nor french. No offense taken! LOL

 

[tberggren]

Quote:
Well that does it, LaManchas it is!!

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
It's really going to depend on the strain you get as well. My La Manchas are the "French Ladies" of my herd. My Nubians are much more friendly and personable. And they are not any louder than my La Manchas. In fact, my loudest/most insistent goat is my La Mancha buck, Diablo, I can hear him yelling for me as soon as I stick my head out the door.

I have heard over and over that Nubians are loud/noisy but I really find that with mine that's not the case. The only really noisy Nubian I've had was my Rosalita when she was a baby and wanted to be fed. She had a REALLY high pitched squeal when she was little.

Generally speaking, Nubians will have slightly higher butterfat, but it's really close between La Manchas and Nubians. In fact, the highest butterfat milker I've ever had was a NOA La Mancha, my very first goat

She won highest butterfat at the fair 4 years in a row.

 

[ksacres]

Why don't you get one of each? Two goats should provide your family with plenty of milk. And with the AI technology being what it is, there's lots of people that don't keep bucks, except for in a tank.