Subject: Small-scale dairy goat farm

From: [email-masked] (P. K. Powell )
Date: Sat, 2 Apr 1994 19:52:15 GMT

I kept dairy goats for years while growing children, but am
not doing either anymore.  The children are grown and I miss
the goats (but not the 2Xdaily milking 365 days a year).

Mary Matejka asked about dairy goats:

1.  If you plan to mil, find a dairy goat herd and talk to
    the owner/breeder.  Buy your stock there.  The breeder
    will probably gladly answer your questions about
    management.  Learn about goat udders and teats.  Buy the
    best stock you can.  Consider buying at least one doe
    already pregnany by the breeder's buck that has the 
    breeding you will want in your flock.  A knowledgeable
    breeder will guide you.  Keeping your own buck is a   
    separate economic venture.  It is sometimes necessary,
    because new goats must always be quarantined in separate
    pens for a while, thus you can't very easily just
    *borrow* buck service during breeding season.

2.  Goats are browsers not grazers.  Goat fencing is
    expensive, therefore most dairy goatkeepers limit the
    pens, therefore herd size.  During Winter and early
    Spring browse is diminished in most areas, thus feed is
    supplemented.

3.  Neighbors eat only 4-6 mo. old kids?  Castrated males
    (wethers) are meatier, and tender enough, if exercise (and 
    NO medicated feed) is limited for a period, say 10 days or 
    more, prior to butchering.  If your herd is not under pressure
    from, say dogs, they're probably tender enough, anyway.  A
    reason to eat young kids may be beed/browse/fence economics.

4.  Mature bucks in *rut*:  Just like whitetail deer, does
    control rut.  They come into estrus with the advance of
    cool Autumn weather, which cues the buck.  Estrus
    continues through Spring unless the doe is successfully
    bred.  Any doe which does not breed during this time
    period should probably be culled.  If you've spent mucho
    $ on a registered doe, check with your vet, AND the
    breeder from whom she was purchased.

    Bucks have a number of musk//scent glands, including those
    up by their horns.  They like to spread this stuff all 
    over their bodies, and *anything* else they can.  Dairy
    goat bucks are penned spearately in an enclosure that 
    does not come in contact with a doe to be milked, because
    that stinkystuff penetrates.  Some does have some musk
    glands also; if she is strong-smelling, she is not a
    candidate for milking for human consumption, and her
    offspring will carry genes for those glands.

5.  Milking only once daily:  A good doe milks about 1 gallon
    daily, and she should be fed sweet feed mix during milking. 
    The example (good management) of penning her kid(s) 
    separately in the evening, and let them stay with the doe
    after milking works well to keep your production and 
    bottle-feeding labor down.  I milked two does, because I 
    needed more milk.  Each doe is milked about 9 months of the
    year, then rested 3 months during later gestation.  By
    staggering doe breeding to one bred early-season, one
    late-season, I kept a minimum of 1 gallon daily, year-round. 
    You will probably not like store-bought cow milk for 3 months
    after drinking rich, fresh goatmilk.  If you only bought 1 doe
    to try this, and agreed with MHO, you could then buy a second
    doe the second year.

    I had a centrifugal cream separator, a goat's butterfat doesn't
    separate out like cow's.  During the high-production, late Spring
    through Summer months, we had white butter, various hard and soft
    cheeses, cream cheese, cultured sour cream, and yoghurt.  Separators
    are hard to find.  New ones cost big$ and shipping time is very
    long, last I knew.

Access your local library system for books about dairy goats.  Your
county/state extension agent and veterinarian may be helpful.
However, often information has to be extrapolated from (1) dairy
science and (2) sheephusbandry references.  Again, the breeder from
whom you purchase stock is probably the best person to help you with
goatkeeping for your area.  I like to think *goat people* are the
finest in the world, although you CAN find jerks everywhere.

If I can help answer any other questions, just ask, here or EMail to 
Kaye, either [email-masked] or [email-masked].