We are no longer getting Dairy Goats.....

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I figured up the highest I have seen alfalfa hay for a 100 lb bale which is 15 $.

Is that really $15 for a 100 pound bale of alfalfa hay? Here in Colorado alfalfa is $11 for a small 20 pound bale. Up from $7 last year.

I have mini goats. Two nigerian dwarf girls/does, one nigerian dwarf wether, and one la mancha/nigerian dwarf buck. Yes, he's a bit stinky about 4 months out of the year.

During the summer, I feed the boys almost nothing, as they pasture in a small paddock we built in the leach field behind our house. During the Winter they get total 2 flakes of alfalfa hay a day. The buck is earning his keep by impregnation but after he does his duty next October, we'll either trade him for a new one (to prevent crossbreeding his kids) or eat him. This coming Spring or early Summer, we'll eat the wether if we get a boy from this group.

Plan to no longer sell any boy goats. Bought a banding kit so we can castrate all shortly after birth. Raise and when they are big enough, we'll butcher. Supposedly tastes just like beef. Since we don't eat a lot of meat, and my son doesn't eat any meat besides bacon and poultry and eggs, it's basically just for hubby, me and sometimes the dog.

My two pregnant girls get feed in the morning (milo, barley, etc) and 2 alfalfa flakes in the evening. One regularly gives birth to 4 kids and the other had 2 this Summer. Both are due to kid around Thanksgiving. We plan to keep one girl and like I said above, all boys.

The two girls provide enough milk for my lactose-intolerant husband .. drinking milk and farmers cheese. Sometimes I make yogurt, which my son loves. Plus goats are easier to milk with my carpal-tunnel hands, and easier for my hyper kid to handle.

Yes they are escape artists but we've found we can contain them with 6' tall t-posts every 5 feet, 4 feet tall welded wire on the bottom, a little netting 2 feet above than, and 2x8 osb boards across the bottom. The boards are because they like to rub against anything to scratch itches so the boards prevent them from pushing and stretching the fencing. Provide something for them to climb on like rocks or boards or tubs and that prevents them from getting hoof rot.

Since they really don't eat a LOT of hay, especially in the summer, it's easier to be self-sufficient. For us. We only have 2 acres. This coming year we'll be growing small areas of alfalfa and milo for them. AND they'll get the corn stalks and other garden refuse like winter squash vines, and some mini pumpkins. They also love tumbleweed and other weeds which we have plenty of. Later, when our apple trees and grape vines are producing, they'll get some of them too, especially the girls.

We might still get a dexter cow later but around here, even out in the country, nobody has them but almost everyone has goats and regular sized cows. Would be difficult to breed her.

Just my two cents.

 

[lorihadams]

We have nigerian dwarf goats because of space requirements.

If we do get into cows, we are looking at Dexters. Smaller, less feed requirements, easy to handle, good for meat/milk, pretty hardy in weather, finish well on grass, supposedly really great temperaments too.

I would love to start a herd of dexters but we would have to rent the pasture next door. So for now, it is nigis for us!

 

[BarredBuff]

I think it depends on where you go for your hay, I saw alfalfa/grass mix for 5$ for a 50 pound bale. But we were just talking around the fire pit and we could have a piggie too, with the extra milk. Already have aplace for a pig. So I mean even if hay is higher, I believe it will still pay for itself.....

 

[BarredBuff]

I just looked at craigslist and for 92 bales of alfalfa/orchard grass mix it is 60$. So I think if we shop around hay wont be to bad.....

 

[mrscoyote]

I had my mind all made up on getting dairy goats.
Now I am on the fence again.

 

[Leta]

Some of my reasons have been the same, some different, but I wanted goats and now think instead I want a Jersey cow.

-DH's grandpa is a veterinary nutritionist who specializes in cattle, so he'd be a better resource for a cow.

-I have a friend with goats (and they are fantastic, so cute) who is more than willing to swap goat products for cow products

-Cream! The goats make delicious milk, but it is harder to get the cream off- even with a separator. I have tried. And the milk in question has a very high cream content for goat milk. A cow will give so much more milk that we can have whole milk for drinking, tons of cream for butter, yogurt, sour cream, cheese, and all other good things, and I can feed the skimmed milk to the pigs (DH's project).

-A cow gives so much more milk that I won't have to fret quite as much about keeping production levels high.

-A cow will do okay with a non-cow companion animal, but goats NEED other goats.

-A cow typically has only calf, and a goat typically has two kids. Cows having twins are less common than does having triplets. Overall, it's just fewer animals to slaughter, butcher, sell, etc.

-Cows give milk year round, rather than 10 months of the year.

-Cows more easily "milk through" or have an extended lactation. If we want/need to skip breeding, as long as we keep milking, we should do okay because cows give so much more milk (see fourth point). I've heard stories of old family cows who gave gallons a day for a decade without being bred.

-I came to the same conclusion as BB on feed costs- that is, feeding a cow vs. feeding several goats is basically a wash.

 

[TanksHill]

I think the Guernsey's are just beautiful!!

I would go cow over goat as well if I were you. With your Dad's background it seems like a given.

g

 

[SD Farm Girl]

BarredBuff had estimated feed based on feeding Alfalfa, rather than grass hay. Based on the percentage of protien in the alfalfa, it may require less feed than say, my grass hay in SD. Different areas have different nutrient content in the grass. Grass hay in my area is about 12% protien while alfalfa has a 20% protien content.

I feed my Jersey (1200 pound cow) 50 pounds of grass hay, 8 pounds of sweet chop (rolled oats, wheat, barley and molassas) and 4 pounds of cake each day. Some people call it pellets instead of cake. She grazes about 10 hours a day on top of what I feed her. Personally, I don't feed alfalfa because it makes her milk taste different.

I chose a Jersey because they have high butterfat and protien content in their milk. They are the best for cheese, butter, etc. but not the highest rated for milk production of the dairy breeds. Here's a good information site.

http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/dairy_cow_breeds.html

I also have Nigerian Dwarf goats, Nubians and one Alpine. I like the goats but for a family of five like yours, the cow is the way to go. All your dairy products in sufficient quantities for your big family and taking about the same time to milk as two goats. What you'll be saving from not buying dairy products at the store will make up the extra feed you use.

In defense of the goats, if you lose one you're out significantly less money, although a Nigerian Dwarf doe can cost up to $350. Vet bills and transportation to the vet is cheaper with goats. In regards to poop chores, the goats win. I can't say I ever slid or ruined my boots in goat beans, whereas the cow...........my those are some big piles!

 

[BarredBuff]

I think the cow is a better way to go even if feed is more expensive. Im sure thats not going to be an exact feed cost but it is a good representation based on my calculations. I plan to feed an Alfalfa/grass mix which I have seen as low as 4 $ a bale. Plus a sweet feed mix with oats and cracked corn. I figure I can feed 20 lbs of hay and 5 lbs of grain a day.

SD Farm Girl, would that be enough for a 900 lb Jersey on a very limited pasture? From what I have read it would be. I have read 3 pounds of hay per 100 lbs. and then you can substitue 3 pounds of hay for 1.5 lb of grain per 100 pounds. I think that should be sufficient.

 

[SD Farm Girl]

A good rule of thumb is 2.5% for a dry cow and 4% for a cow in milk. A little more if she is being milked and is pregnant.

You might want to call your county Extension Office or a bovine vet and ask where you can get hay tested for free. Someone selling hay should not be offended to give you a handful to get tested and it really just takes a ziplock bag amount for them to test it.

I had the vet check my cow the day of purchase, give me pointers on the amount of feed she would need and then adjusted to feed more when she was still hungry, and less when I got to the point she wasn't cleaning all the hay up. No sense paying for hay to be used as bedding.

So, the vet estimated 30 pounds of grass hay and 5 pounds of grain but I should have mentioned my cow is pregnant and due soon so she is eating more than normal. I didn't know she was bred when I bought her. The seller didn't either, to their disappointment.

Everyone can tell you something different for feed estimates but each situation is unique. Your cow, her weight, breed, body condition at purchase, her milk production and the protien content of hay you buy. My hay this year has less protien than normal because they hay guy's mower broke and took weeks to fix. The hay was cut weeks later than normal so I have to supplement with grain. Last year, my hay was so good, no animals needed a grain supplement and came out of a cold winter being the same weight as they went in. All you can do is estimate, like you are already doing.

I know you are going to have one well cared for cow because you have done so much research before buying. I commend you for it. It's the responsible thing to do and you are researching every angle from which animal best suits your family's needs to variables in housing and cost of feed. You won't make the mistake I did, buying different sized goats and a cow because I couldn't decide which was best.

Live and learn.

I hope you'll let us know when you find your ideal cow. It's exciting just thinking about it, isn't it?