Goats (& Butter)

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Erin

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I've been thinking over what animals I'd like on my (very distant) future homestead, and I thought goats might be a good idea, but I don't know much about them. Primarily, I was wondering what you can do with goat milk - I don't eat dairy much in general, simply because it's not especially tasty to me, but I adore butter. Do people make goat butter? What's it taste like? I assume the milk can be used much the same as cow milk, and I know that goat cheese is a thing, but given that those aren't very common in my diet I'm more curious about if goats can be used as a source for butter.
 
Poultry is a must for a homestead, as least below the arctic circle. Meat and eggs are a hard combo to beat.

Guinea fowl are a great alarm system, another good addition. Geese make a great alarm system also. They have also been know to run strangers out of people's yards.. Geese eat a lot of grass. My dad tells me of a great aunt of his who lived out in texas. She maintained a huge flock of geese she leased to farmers to clean grass out of cotton fields, made a living from it. This was before ww2 when tractors weren't that common. Just keep them out of your corn patch when it's small. I've had geese, like them. Guinea fowl are noisy buggers.

A donkey is another good addition. They eat very little and are a holy terror when it comes to keeping coyotes away from your livestock. They can be used for light burdens, skidding up firewood etc. I'm down to one horse and one donkey. If I had to get rid of one it'd be the horse. I like that donkey.

My experience with goats is limited except to say... I've never seen a pen that a goat couldn't get out of. Annoying in that respect.

At the end of the day I'd recommend getting what is best for your unique situation. Do a little reading on all the common farm critters, then pick and choose. An educated choice is always better than a blind guess.
 
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Goats can get sick quickly and go downhill rapidly, from what a couple people have told me. I had always wanted a few goats but at this point...
I see one or two in a field sometimes but they need their herd; don't they do better in numbers?
I researched sheep and thought I'd look into acquiring a few from an heirloom stock but my husband didn't like that idea either.
See if you can find someone willing to let you see how it's run to have goats or chickens.
I knew a teenager who wanted a flock of sheep but their set-up wasn't right for it. A neighboring sheep farmer allowed her to keep her smaller flock with theirs and she took care of hers, was completely responsible, had the tutoring from the shepherd and learned a great deal that way. Didn't have to make costly mistakes.
Sheep can also quickly succumb to illness.
Goat milk is preferable to cow milk for small humans. It doesn't cause as much allergic reaction. I don't drink milk, but if I had to, goat milk is a better choice. Goat milk can be used for other critters if needed too.
 
My experience with goats is limited except to say... I've never seen a pen that a goat couldn't get out of. Annoying in that respect.

This is too funny, I even heard about these 2 goats waaaay out here in the country...

https://www.al.com/news/tuscaloosa/...at-cars-corralled-at-tuscaloosa-business.html
Roaming rams charging at cars corralled at Tuscaloosa business
Updated 1:26 PM; Today 1:26 PM

A two-week search for two rams in Tuscaloosa ended Friday morning.

The rams had previously been spotted roaming in the city and then multiple people called 911 Friday morning to report the rams were running along Skyland Boulevard and were aggressively charging at vehicles in a car lot.

A worker at a business was able to get them into a gated area before animal control officers were notified. Animal control has been receiving calls of random ram sightings for weeks.

Rams 02.jpg
 
We didn't have goats, but there were sheep in our pasture when I was a young kid. They would always butt us and I was terrified of them. That and the banty rooster, animals can figure out how to scare the heck out of young children.
 
An old man down the road... great ol guy, everyone loved him. One year he bought some goats, a dozen or so. Goats being goats... They were out of the pasture all the time.

One would get killed in the highway every month or so. They didn't last much more than a year. He sold the last 3 he had... I felt bad for him. He liked his goats but there has yet to be a fence invented that will hold a goat.

One day I'd stopped to talk to him. He'd put up a new fence by the road just like this fence. While we were talking I saw a little goat barely 2ft tall climb the fence like it was a ladder then jump over when it got to the top... goats are amazing climbers.

goat 01.jpg
 
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This is too funny, I even heard about these 2 goats waaaay out here in the country...

https://www.al.com/news/tuscaloosa/...at-cars-corralled-at-tuscaloosa-business.html
Roaming rams charging at cars corralled at Tuscaloosa business
Updated 1:26 PM; Today 1:26 PM

A two-week search for two rams in Tuscaloosa ended Friday morning.

The rams had previously been spotted roaming in the city and then multiple people called 911 Friday morning to report the rams were running along Skyland Boulevard and were aggressively charging at vehicles in a car lot.

A worker at a business was able to get them into a gated area before animal control officers were notified. Animal control has been receiving calls of random ram sightings for weeks.

View attachment 51921

Rams are male sheep...lol not goats. Male goats are called bucks ....

Anyone need to know anything about goats, we have about 50 of them.....mostly meat goats , a few milkers. Goats are awesome, my favorite livestock, but, they are a lot of work . you need good fencing, they need good hay despite what some people think, they need regular hoof trimming, they need proper shelter and they get injured sometimes

was going to attach some photos but computer to slow and I need to go take care of those goats:)
 

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goats and fencing: if you put goats in a group, in a pasture with plenty to eat, they will usually stay put. Also, goats respect electric fencing. We have more problems with our livestock guardian dogs getting out than the goats. Even they do get out, they will just eat grass on the side of the road. UPS and Mail know to look out for critters on the road here, and the road is very steep and bad so they only go like 5 mph, so not a problem . I take them free ranging ( no fence) up our mountain in the summer , and they just follow me. All I have to do is shake a can of goat food and they all come running
 
The saying goes, "you need a water proof fence to keep goats in". Actually, I am a goat expert and a solid cattle panel fence will keep goats in but if they have horns they get stuck and usually die horribly. I hate horns on goats! They lean and rub on everything so woven wire stretches. They put their front feet up on everything. Hard on poor fences. I've never had a jumper but there are tales of fence-jumping goats. If you're considering goats read a bunch of books first.

The trick is bottle raise them so they're tame and feed them well so they're not looking for food. Most goat's I've known were way smarter than their owners.
 
My wife worked with a goat lady who made four kinds cheese & drank the milk.
We bought soft, feta cheese at $1.00 an oz. in 2015, not had any in sometime.
It was worth every penny, it was home/hand made from non-GMO goats.
 
The trick is bottle raise them so they're tame and feed them well so they're not looking for food. Most goat's I've known were way smarter than their owners.

We never bottle fed our kids. They were all dam raised and handled every day to get/keep them friendly.
 
I thought about a comb meat & milk goat, so I could eat the billies & milk the nannies, but was told it is better to have milk goats & just eat the billy.
But I am not sure, never taste goats milk, just the cheese.
 
The saying goes, "you need a water proof fence to keep goats in". Actually, I am a goat expert and a solid cattle panel fence will keep goats in but if they have horns they get stuck and usually die horribly. I hate horns on goats! They lean and rub on everything so woven wire stretches. They put their front feet up on everything. Hard on poor fences. I've never had a jumper but there are tales of fence-jumping goats. If you're considering goats read a bunch of books first.

The trick is bottle raise them so they're tame and feed them well so they're not looking for food. Most goat's I've known were way smarter than their owners.
My cousin had a terrible jumper. Cousin had a high fenced pen, woven wire with old 2x12s in the middle and on top. That goat would run toward a corner, jump to the middle 2x12, launch himself up and sideways at a 90° angle to the upper 2x12 that ran perpendicular to the lower one in the corner. Then he would launch himself right out of the pen, and he did it all in one swift, smooth action. I saw that and swore I would never, ever own a goat. I do like goat meat though...
 
As long as your goats are healthy and they are fed properly the milk tastes like milk. It shouldn't have a different taste.
Although some breeds of goats have stronger flavor milk than others. The high butterfat breeds always have the best flavors--Nubians, Nigerians, pygmies. LaManchas almost always but I can tell the breed by tasting the milk so there is probably something genetic in tasting on the human end, too.
 
As long as your goats are healthy and they are fed properly the milk tastes like milk. It shouldn't have a different taste.
I like goat milk and had a regular supplier for a while but can’t find any now.
My sister got a pet goat for her daughters when she lived in a farm. My sister planted her 1/2 acre garden and a couple weeks later the goat got out of its pen and ate her garden. She had to replant.
 
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I like goat milk and had a regular supplier for a while but can’t find any now.
My sister got a pet goat for her daughters when she lived in a farm. My sister planted her 1/2 acre garden and a couple weeks later the goat got out of its pen and ate her garden. She had to replant.
Never had a goat problem, but wild deer eat all my sweet taters, corn, okra & pea vines.
 
I ate squirrels, that is the only rodent that I have ate, rabbits are not rodents.
Deer on the other hand, I eat at least once a week for the last five years.
 
Not an official goat herder, but had a few as a child and they were so cute, that face with those little lips. :)
Had a little billy and one of my sisters had his sister. They were only ft. and half tall then and one day just left the farm. We looked for them for over a month or so and one day they just came back fatter and taller. Daddy said they had just been wondering around all the woods and came back.:) And had a old big billy my father got me to pull a cart later on, use to ride him around like a horse when I was still young.
What got me on this topic today is I have some folks, burning a big pile of trees and stuff right near my fence last several days and made me think about all the vegetation on our property that can burn and 100 year old oaks. I was thinking about talking to Meerkat about getting some goats to eat some of the wild growing vegetation for our safety. Some folks down the road at the river, had some who ate all their vegetation as high as they could reach, and you could actually see in there place,and where before you couldn't.
 
My understanding is that goat milk is often lower in butter fat, though there are some breeds that are better for that trait than others. The other thing is that a goat gives significantly less milk than a cow so more suited to small volumes of butter. Also, it's considered difficult to separate so people often don't usually bother. I found a good and encouraging article here though https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/home-dairy/adventures-in-making-goat-butter/

However, if you decided not to go down the path of butter, goat milk makes excellent yogurt and cheese. Goat ricotta is incredibly easy to make and delicious.
 
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