Goats for milk and meat

[plantoneonme]

Patti, I know you use your goats for fiber but have you considered female goats for milk also? I remember growing up I used to live on the farm with my grandparents during the summer and milking the goat. Goats milk is delicious and much easier for the average person to digest, especially those who are lactose intolerant. For anyone who has children I would think having a milking goat would be a great investmet in USL. My grandfather would seperate the mom and baby at night and milk her in the morning. He saved enough milk for the day and I would bottle feed the rest to the baby in the morning. They were then allowed to be together the rest of the day and the kid would feed as he or she needed. I also remember that since I was a young child of 8-12 years old it seemed pretty heartless that my grandfather would cull the male goats at just a couple months of age...by cull I mean butcher for the meat. The females once weaned were either raised for future milk production or sold off to other farmers.

Kim

[Kittikity]

For the most part, male goats are useless to a farm.. You only need one to service your does and that is only the best one.. The others, even if they become wethers (castrated males), they will eat but not produce anything in return.. You can sell these extra males but it's still the same thing.. They will go for pets, breeding, or meat.. I guess my point is that unless he's a breeding buck, a male doesn't have many choices of actually producing a return.. Does on the other hand produce lots of different things unless they are kept as just pets and never bred..

Fiber goats have the added advantage of their coats.. A herd of fiber wethers can do more than just eat..

[gardengirl72]

I agree with Kitti completely.

Kim, I am with you. The thing is as I launch the business I am not taking on new "herd" projects. But I am learning still.