I'm sittin' on the fence here....goat vs cow

[Beekissed]

Guys, guys, it was just a thought....not a criticism! No need to get all brody on the subject! I will respectfully decline to answer the ***ing in the bottle slam..... Too juvenile even for me!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Guys, guys, it was just a thought....not a criticism! No need to get all brody on the subject! I will respectfully decline to answer the ***ing in the bottle slam..... Too juvenile even for me!

It was a joke Bee-- I wasn't offended by the "get rid of the horses" comment. Just a friendly rebuttal--not intended to be "juvenile".

 

[Carolyn]

I vote goat---it would still be cheaper to feed 2 goats than a cow even a Dexter, and like my daughter says--if a cow steps on you, can hurt you. Goats can browse. My Nubians and Mini Nubians are in a fenced area and don't get out. The milk isn't "goaty" at all, can leave it raw in the frig for 10 days and is still very tasty. Properly pasterized milk may taste a little "cooked" but not goaty if done correctly and you don't have to pasterize milk to get cream from goats. You can get cream without a separator, not as much, but it is possible, with my mini Nubians--Nubians already high in butterfat, Nigerian Dwarf high in butterfat should give good cream. It also varies with the individual goat. Betty (purebred Nubian) gave 10 to 12 lbs a day gave between 2 and 3 pints of cream in the 12lbs. Milked for 18 to 20 months-did go down to 3 or 4 lbs at the end but a half gallon a day at 18 months is still good. Bred her every other year and had a waiting list for her kids, both bucks and does. 2 of our Mini Nubians as FF milked between 7 and 8 lbs a day and after 18 months, last November, dried up last Nov still gave us between 2 and 3 lbs a day, haven't separated for cream, we need all the milk we can get for soap. We have a daughter and a sister of one of them. I do think that a Mini Jersy cow would be cute, but I still think goats are the way to go--but I am the "crazygoatlady" oh and pet milk--not for human consumption milk sells for $6.00 gallon, some want to pay more jsut to be put on the list. We have milked year around and plan to do so again. Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

You can get cream from goats milk if you take a tea jar with a spigot, make sure is is spotlessly clean, bacteria will cause a goaty flavor. Let the milk sit for a couple of days in the frig and watch for the cream to rise, some take it cold from the fridge, but others let sit on counter for a while, slowly drain the milk from the spigot, leaving the cream. You won't get nearly as much as with a separator, but you will get a decent amount of cream, depending on the goat. Goats mozzeralla and chevre (home made) is wonderful. Carolyn

 

[Carolyn]

Ohh just me again--. moldy bad hay will produce bad tasting milk in a cow as well as a goat. We have had big round bales for 18 months and if put up in good shape, remains in good shape, we have covered it some of it with tarps, but that didn't seem to make a differnce in the inside of the hay bale, our last bale was just a green on the inside as the ones we opened when we first got the bales. Stored on its side on pallets with a little space between them works well. We go through about a bale a month, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, these are 1600 lb bales that I paid $30 a bale for ( much higher now lol) , with our 9 goats free fed and in NW North Dakota. In the winter we feed a small amount of grain even to dry does. Carolyn

 

[Blackbird]

I'm with Carolyn 100%, and on top of that, most goats are very social and interactive animals, as compared to cows most of the time. They are easy to lead, can fit in your vehicle if it needs to be taken to be bred, and they are often used as therapy animals, so that is a plus.. You can also put goat milk in a shallow tray and put it in the fridge, more cream will raise better that way. But, milk from animals on pasture, whether cow or goat, can have an off flavor from certain plants, and most dairy animals need a supplement of grain and good quality hay. If that doesn't convince you enough..

Edit: I think you've seen that on my journal already..

 

[unclejoe]

She's ADORABLE !! I'll take her.

 

[Carolyn]

ohh pretty goat


here a few of my goats

DGS #3 with Mini Apache and the buck Jac

Apache

DGS #3 at age 2 1/2 milking--"me milk" he says and put her in the stand and gives her grain, can't completely milk them out yet, but he sure tries. oh this is at 12 months fresh

Picture of Shoofly, doe DGS is milking and dam of Apache.

I didn't get pictures of my other DGS milking loaded yet--but I have them. The hay in the picture is just about a yr old, we had jsut moved the other bale back and was just about to open it. Carolyn

 

[Blackbird]

Hands off Joe! Haha.
Carolyn, your goats are very pretty! You'll have to set up a journal on here and post pictures so I can look at them all! I'm sure Joe wants to see them too!

 

[Cybercat]

.....That's ok, I'll keep my horses for reasons you obviously wouldn't understand, and you can pee in bottles, for reasons I wouldn't want to understand, to each their own.

Perhaps I shouldn't mention that I have three miniature horses just because I love their presence....and their horsey smell is one of the best fragrances on earth...yes, weird, I know...I also have been on a horse rescue forum for years...