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We have found goats to be the most versitile and important animals on our ranch. Goats prefer brush over pasture and therefore do not compete with other farms animals that require pasture, and even better, they clear otherwise useless land and make way for gardens or new pastures. Female dairy goats provide about 3-4 quarts of milk daily (or more), and a total of 900 quarts of milk per year. We feed much of the milk back to the baby goats and use it to make milk products like cheese (including cottage cheese, feta, chevre, hard cheeses and queso Blanco), ice cream, creme freche, sour cream, buttermilk, kefier, yogurt and of course milk for drinking. Dairy breeds are most suitable for milk goats and breeds like the Nubian, with a high butterfat content often have the best tasting milk, while breeds like the Alpine and Saanen ofter produce higher quanitities of milk. We find that having the benefits from both the Nubians and Alpines work very well together and exceed all of our dairy needs. All breeds of goats are extremely efficient at clearing brush. This does not mean that all goats can survive on brush alone. Most dairy breeds and some meat goats need hay and grain to supply more calories than brush alone can supply. The Kiko is an excellent, hardy meat goat breed that needs very little care and can succesfully live on a diet of brush. Kikos or Kiko cross breed goats, also make excellent pack goats. We are hoping to incoorperate Kikos into our pack and meat goats. Wethers (castrated male goats) can be used for meat, brush clearing or work goats (packing or pulling a cart). For each meat wether, you will get 25-40 pounds of lean meat. Goat meat can be prepared in a variety of ways including baked, fried, broiled, Barbecued or stewed. We currently use our goat for dairy, pack, brush and pets but are likely to consider using their meat in the future. We have retained a nice Boer buck in hopes of starting a small family meat goat herd. Surplus goats of any breed can be used for meat, but a meat breed goat, like a Boer or Kiko will put on more muscle that a dairy breed. Cashmere and Angora goats produce fiber. An adult Angora Goat should provide 5 to 7 pounds of Mohair twice a year. A Cashmere will provide less than one pound of down per year. We use our goats in our full circle self- sustainability program. The goats eat browse, grass, hay and grain. They in turn produce milk, meat and fertilizer. The milk is in turn used to provide dairy products for our family and suprlus milk is fed to the pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, geese and ducks. The pigs in turn give us meat, the ducks and chickens provide us with meat and eggs and this greatly reduces our need for outside feed. We use the goat manure (along with the chicken, horse and waterfowl manure) to organically fertilize the gardens. When the goats eat brush, they clear out land for other uses like creating pastures for horses cows, sheep and pigs, or giving us a place to plant a new crop and eliminating the need for fuel consuming machinery. Goats also make excellent pack animals because they are very sure footed and personable. Goats require little feed while on the trail because they are efficient at eating brush. An adult male pack goat can carry 40-50 pounds. No matter what purpose you choose goats for. we strongly believe in proper and fair treatment of all animals. We feel that what you put into an animal is a good indicator of what you will get back. If you don't want to pay for the extra feed that a milker needs to produce milk or purchase the better quality hay, you will likely not see much of a return in the milk pail and could also run the risk of loosing your doe. You can often find animals for sale that are cheap or even free. This is where the phrase, "You get what you pay for" comes to mind. Research, research, research before you bring an animal home. There is usually a reason some animals cost more and some are a lot less, and in the end, the vet bills could cost a lot more than just purchasing the slightly more expensive, "healthy" animal in the first place. Also remember that it costs the same to feed and care for a low producing milker as a high producing milker and therefore you should expect to pay more for an animal that produces a higher amount of milk. It costs us between $15-$30 month to feed one goat, so it is more cost effectient to have one very good milker than to feed three poor milkers. If you are able to make enough money from your farm to cover feed, medicine, vet care, animal bedding, housing, and supplies, then you are doing well. If you have a couple dollars left after all of your costs, you are doing very well. We enjoy our ranch and animals for the reward we get every day living here. Animals and nature are their own gift. |