We have been milking Nigeria dwarf goats for 3 years now. We only have a few acres so a cow isn’t very practical. But we have 6 nanny goats that we rotate and have 1-2 in milk at all times. Gives our family plenty of milk for drinking and making yogurt and cheese. PS don’t tell anybody but we drink the milk raw and we haven’t died yet.
@@spencerfarnik2838 😃😄😁😆🤟I got you! I drank my raw goat's milk 10 years straight. Never got sick. Never had a belly ache. Still alive at 68. Made wonderful cheese. On many blind taste tests, no one could tell the goat's milk from whole cow's milk. The care of the milk, the genetic line and the care of the nannies makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE!. BTW, I HATE the goat's milk from the store. Smells and tastes like a dirty goat barn!!!!
As a child, Moved from the city to rural mountains. We bought goats. Most of the time the ONLY food we had was goat milk. We didn’t know what we were doing…. Clean conditions? NO. Money for vets? NO. Sometimes the goat would step into the milk while we milked her. Did we throw it away? Heck no. What I’m trying to say is those goats kept me alive. They fed me with very very little help from us. They were also my best friends growing up. They are like big puppy dogs. BUT…beware… they are indeed escape artist. You would be amazed how they can find ways to get out of the fence and sleep on top of your car in the night.
All is so true plus having to be home to milk the cow at the same time Every Day!!!!! No vacztion until you find a neighbor you can trust to milk the cow!
I'm so glad you talk about this!!! There is a big push for cows on the homestead . Goats are naturally A2 and those who need A2 milk, can do so affordably with a $200 milk goat rather than a $1,500 A2 cow milk. These 2 things make goats a better option. Great information!! Thanks again!
You haven’t been looking at the cow market lol they’re way more expensive than that right now. But thank you and I think it’s a missed topic for a lot of people.
I have had a milk cow and Nubian dairy goats for over 40 years. By far everyone loved the goats milk over the cows milk (we have 5 children). We got a hand crank cream separator at a farm auction. Used it for both cow and goat milk. The secret to good milk is cleanliness and rapid chilling...whether it comes from a cow or a goat. We never had a problem with animals getting out except for chickens. The grasshoppers on the other side of the fence were always fatter. Nubians have far more personality than any cow or other kind of goat for that matter and I have had almost all of them. People need to have good fencing and shelter that can be secured before getting any animal. Failure to do so is the start of all your problems.
You must agree that cows are generally far easier to contain than goats….goats will constantly search for and exploit any weakness in fencing or shelter (which always happens eventually) while cows will generally not test anything and be somewhat reluctant to wander even if a gate is left open, assuming they are comfortable in their pasture. That is a huge difference in the number of headaches you are going to have.
@@searose6192 I have to say we NEVER had a problem with animals getting out. Except for said chickens. We had a light switch by each stall gate that some of the goats could reach and they would turn them off and on at night for entertainment. My husband fixed that. They were mischievous in that way. We were with our animals a lot. Ignorance is bliss they say. Maybe we were just too dumb to know we should be having problems 🤪🤪🤪
@@Artiekarns LOL WE humans underestimate the intelligence of animals! Dont get me started on Bunnies and their eye for design and rearranging my office, where they are kept in for summer due to the high temperatures in las vegas, nv in the summer and not having built adequate cool and air conditioned dwelling.....and they look they give you, well . They are rescue bunnies and their manure far out way meat value in my opinion in improving soil fertility and water absorption!
Your chickens can greatly improve your pasture if you use them correctly . I've been a farm girl the majority of my 73 yrs and I know the pros and cons of the whole thing. I liked my Nubian and Alpine milk very much and their milk actually healed an ulcer in one of my family members.
@@LittleFarmLand I want to build the above ground structure like at Echo farm! I want to get the girls as babies and bottle feed to make sure they are tame. I already have chicken pullets and ducklings, but after seeing the goat structure, am inspired to build a complimentary structure for the fowl and use the under neath for composting. I have a big yard, but I'm in city limits, so I have to be very diligently on top of management (of smells!).
@@honeybadgerisme you will love the Nubian breed and their milk, but make sure she has a good udder and good attachment. A good Nubian will give you a gal of milk a day after you gradually wean the babies at around three and a half months, they will be eating good at that age. I suggest you give them 1/2 cup of calf mana in their food until they are around 6 to 7 months. They grow really well with calf mana added to their food and get the much needed minerals for the best health.
@@MiasMeatJourney Super fragile parasite problems, and they need a barn. Foxes come and go through our area, and baby lambs ... shudder. They also have a reputation as the dumbest (frustrating) ruminants. But their cuteness and loyalty is tempting! Though, getting a good milk sheep is a miracle.
Well-done. I have about 10 years of raising dairy goats. The milk is excellent! Three children loved it. We made soft farmers cheese, yogurt plus the milk. Butter no; naturally homogenized. Be careful to not have too many: after the first birth they always have twins, occasionally triplets; I even had quadruplets once! Keep a buck or two; they protect from predators. The meat of young bucks is of excellent quality. Cost of keeping is a tiny fraction of that of a cow. 😊
I grew up on a farm with cows and chickens. My mom sold some of the milk, butter, and eggs. We gave some to my family. It was rare that we threw milk away. We had 4 cows and one bull on 10 acres. We had one milk cow and others were for breeding. We would buy a young bull every year. Because when he done his duty we would fattening him up for our family freezer. We had to gather hay during the summer for winter feed. That could be as much as 300 bales. Cows are a lot of work but it can be rewarding.
Yeah thats one of the things im talking about too. Bales of hey super expensive and you need the place to keep them. Thank you for sharing your story! its so cool that you are able to be raised that way.
One thing excess milk is good for is to give it to animals that you will be butchering for at least for a month. Years ago, we had lots of goat milk so all of our animals had plenty of milk. The meat was superior with a flavor that you can't get from the store.
I totally agree with this, but in most cases if people don’t have space for a cow, they may not want to take on a cow and still have enough space or property for all of those other things however, I do totally agree with you
@@ZERODESTRUCTION yes. Prior to that, out of the same litter of rabbits, some had that superior flavor and others tasted like cardboard. That had me baffled for a few years until we got the excess goat milk. I butchered mine at eight weeks so I came to the conclusion that the ones that tasted fabulous were still nursing and the others had weaned themselves.
Are you talking about just rabbits or everything? What if they are weaned already? You give them milk for a month and it works or do they have to be still drinking moms milk? What other animals can you do this with?
@@akbananachucker2441 my experience is with a steer and a pig, both were weaned when I got them. I believe it will work with any mammal, possibly chickens too, idk. I'm not sure how long they need to be getting milk but I believe that one month is long enough. Maybe shorter than that, idk. When I had rabbits, that was long before we had the goats and I had the steer and pig. Out of the same litter, some had that same fabulous taste and others did not. I was clueless why. In hindsight, I believe that the good ones were still nursing and the other were not.
I raised dairy goats for many years in Texas and then Missouri..had ALL the breeds at one time or another. My favorites of the milking breeds are Nubians (beagle eared) and lamanchas (with fur seal or elf ears)…I’ll tell you why… We had a saanen that had excellent quality and good quantity milk (none of the other saanens milk compared to the lamanchas or Nubians as to taste) and decided to let her make the trip with us for a two year stint to florida… As soon as she ate whatever florida weeds she decided were wonderful, her milk became undrinkable… horrible tasting…and always in Missouri hers had been the sweetest tasting milk of all our saanens there. We had brought an almost dried off La Mancha as a companion for her and started milking her again four times a day, as her milk, while eating the same browse and feed, remained beautiful (Brought her back up to about 50% of her original production, too) I did quite a bit of research on the different breed’s milk quality to discover the Swiss (upright ears) breeds (from the 4 valleys there, a fascinating story) Sanaan, Oberhasli, Alpine and Toggenburgs were bred for the strong tasting cheeses they love in that part of the world, and in many cases you’ll get a generation pop up with what I’d call the “wangy” “goaty” tasting milk. I have seen a dairy herd in Kansas City area (phenomenal milk!) comprised of “Kinder” goats, originally a cross between dwarfs and Nubian…easier to milk than the tiny girls (really about half size of grown Nubian) and their butterfat was awesome too. And… for many years I bred and showed Nubians and by the third generation I had my girls who were way way less vocal than the Saanens my husband had when we combined herds. Oldest daughter loved to tease him when said saanen was screaming, “oh my, it must be another one of the LOUD Nubians…oh wait, my bad…it a white one… lol
My (limited) experience aligns with what you said. I grew up with Pygmy goats. They had the BEST flavor 😍 We then got a nubian buck and nubian milk was good too, but the nubian/pygmies were the best choice imo because they made more milk than pygmies, but it was still delicious. Then my parents got rid of all of our goats (CL infection 😢) and replaced them with Alpine goats and none of us ever willingly drank goat milk ever again 😅 My mom had to make soap with it (there was SO MUCH!!) Greenbrier leaves make excellent goat milk. There are certain plants that make the milk taste bad, but I don't remember which ones. And having a buck within a few acres of the does means nasty milk for a few days regardless of the breed 🤢 I never had any issues with temperament. We had a couple of grumpy goats, but mostly they were very friendly and loved humans and dogs. Probably because they were pets first and milk goats second. They were very socialized.
I make butter from goat milk. I set the milk over night in the fridge then the fat rises to the top. I make mozzarella, cream cheese, sour cream and yogurt from my goats milk. I have Nigerian Dwarf goats and two in milk produce more than I need. BTW, if you like venison you'll like goat too.
@@LittleFarmLand I just followed the instructions I found online but I must say I had to heat the curds hotter than I expected to get them to join into a ball.
Do you make butter with the cream when it's cold.or room temperature, if you don't mind me asking. I have Nigerian Dwarfs and had a lot of milk that I separated. I couldn't get it to separate into butter and buttermilk though. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated😊
@@tammygroves5739 I made it by putting the cream into a jar cool and shaking it till it separated, it does warm up a bit during the process but never gets completely warm.
Привет коллеги. В России козы тоже набирают популярность в частных подворьях. У меня пока десяток коз. Мы говорим что "Коза - корова нищего", и "собака - которая дает молоко". Самый большой класс в них это то, что с ними приятно проводить время, их навоз в маленьких шариках практически не пахнет. Козы любят детей и эта любовь взаимна. Плюс козьего молока в возможности замораживать его, хранить и транспортировать на большие расстояния без потери качества. Коза отличный выбор для тех, кто уже понял, нам готовят всемирный голод.
I am honestly very interested in everything about homesteading, I am not in a position to every be able to do that but I just love these kinds of informative videos. Love learning new things even if I may not ever use it. My sister always says " how do you know all this stuff??" You don't have any experience at any of it". That's me.. always gathering random information , that just spews out of my mouth at the oddest times. 😂
Honestly, I kind of believe most people can homestead where they’re at. They don’t need a lot of land. What some thing do you think you could start doing if you’re interested in it?
I'm not remotely close to homesteading on my 10' by 20' lot. I forage, have long term herbs in pots, a completely native to my area garden, got permission to help plant the town's flood zone with anemones, north American lotus, willow trees, mushrooms, and golden rod instead of corn.
You will work your way toward what your heart wants and needs. Keep going and you will be met with opportunities❤️... Not on our time but the right time.
We have a Jersey and Nubian goats, and I agree with you about quantity of milk with cow verses goats. We have a wonderful person who AI's our Jersey and she has taken every time. Bucks are easier to deal with a bull but bucks stink when in rut, some more so than others. You can separate the cream rom goat's milk with a separator but that is an added expense, those mini goats are a lot harder to keep fenced in, verses regular dairy goats, something to think about as well. Dairy cows have much more cost in feed, bedding and vet services if needed, than a goat as well. We do not give grain to our ruminant animals, but instead feed veggies and alfalfa pellets and they keep weight well and have plenty of the needed protein. We store root crops in our cellar for winter supplement as well. All in all you are telling the absolute truth, and I pray people listen before getting in over their heads,
We never fed our goats weeds because it can make a taste in the milk. We would put the container in the fridge with the lid off so it would not get that animal taste. We found that it took about 2 weeks to switch from store bought cow milk over to goat milk but then when we had to go back to store milk it took about 2 weeks to get used the store milk.
We started with Pygmies because they desperately needed breeders willing to focus on ease of birthing rather than show. Our girls pop em out like a pez dispenser. I then picked up two homestead quality Dwarf Nigerians in milk because they were a steal at $100 each. They certainly wouldn't win any awards, but they each have half a gallon to just under a gallon of delicious milk. I was then swamped with friends and a desire within our family to have even more milk. I ferment it, make cheese, caramel sauce, ice cream, etc., it's all delicious & extremely nutritional. I then invested in a pregnant Nubian with lifelong ADGA grand champion star milking lines on both sides of her lineage. She is due in less than a week with confirmed triplets. I simply wanted the milk. The key to better milk is to not keep your bucks anywhere near the girls. If anyone is interested in livestock, I'm in Southern AZ and love to see people become more food independent.
You forgot to highlight that goats are browsers, not grazers. My goats prefer to eat bushes and trees over grass and brassicas. So, all of those hated invasives, like bush honeysuckle and autumn olive take on a whole new value when you have goats. I propagate both of those every year, and so far have failed to have to much. And my goats love them. They eat the stem and all, not just the leaves. Goats are just simply a superior animal, period.
That is so good to know...i have some rocky land that produces a mix of grass, weeds and weedy bushes...are there any weeds or bushes that might make your goats sick? Or can they eat just about anything and be healthy? I am in the midwest..
@@Handelson, I am not a vet nor horticultural hayage expert. All I can say is that after 20 some years of having goats, I have not noticed any weed that could mount any sort of successful attack on a goat's digestive system. In fact, many places employ goats to eradicate weeds. Now alfalfa, on the other hand, can be a problem. It is just so damn hot that it can be an issue. That's the only thing I ever tried to keep my goats out of for their own safety/health. Once it's cut and cured it's no problem. But weeds... I chuckle everytime someone tries to scare me off of an "invasive" plant. And goats tend to prefer the weeds over grass. I always say I have sheep to eat the grass, and goats to eat the weeds. :)
"superior" is entirely subjective to what conditions and outcomes one is looking at. Goat meat cannot top beef, in my book. I like both, it's not really a competition as much as an individual choice based on what you're working with. Happy farming 😁
I have goats which are so much easier to handle than a cow. I have nigerian dwarf goats. I milk 4 goats and i get 3 quarts a day. Fresh goats milk is the best! i love it, i make yogurt, cheese, soap, etc. Both of my children are lactose intolerant but can handle goats milk.
Great post for the newbies. Cows also have big ploppy poop...goats have elegant little pellets....cows have surprisingly robust tails, that can whack you upside your head when milking and also tend to get every sticker and burr in the pasture entangled in them. Goats, not so much - short tails, not fluffy. When it comes to kicking the bucket, cows can deal some serious blows. Also, if you are looking for a managable amount of milk from a cow, down forget some of the 500 lb. breeds, and/or milking shorthorns. Actually small angus cows would probably give plenty of milk and be easy to obtain. Cows and goats can continue to nurse their babies, and you can separate them only when you need milk, which makes life a lot easier. Milking once per day, or even once or twice per week makes the work manageable.
What an excellent video! I'm a city girl wanting to start a homestead. I know zero about farm animals so this was very useful to help me make better decisions. I'm subscribing!
@@LittleFarmLand I can't wait! Today I googled what's the average production of 1 cow. It's 6-7 gallons a DAY! 35 gallons a week! That certainly is a lot of milk to process, sell, or give away!
I’ve raised Dexters. They are incredible. Browsers much like goats, and also eat grass and fatten on nearly anything, mine were totally grass fed, and rolling in fat just on pasture. Finish early too. And very docile snd loving. Had a wild heifer, brought her home, got her used to me. When she calved, she would stand in the pasture and let me milk without a stanchion, me on one side, her calf nursing from the other. She would reach around and lick my arm occasionally and hug me with her head. When she was lying down, I would sit next to her, using her as a pillow and she seemed to enjoy the company. The meat is excellent also. I raised in conjunction with goats.
You can milk nearly every Mammal out there. I've been to places where you can buy fresh Yak, Water Buffalo, Camel, Mule, Horse, Moose, Sheep and Goat and Cow. I've even heard of folks milking giraffes for milk. For some you can get a gallon and for many you work hard to get a half a cup! But, ALL Mammals can be milked. Now for the EXTRA benefits Goats bring to the table? Kashmir Goats have marketable wool! As do other Breeds of Goats. Another BONUS feature, you can rent out your goats to clear over grown yards, fields and trails and they DO eat Poison Oak and Ivy without issue! and you can train them to come when its time to milk them to the milking stand! Then, Goats? Are YUMMY! I love BBQ Goat! Its yummier than Sheep.
When I was younger, I had 3 or 4 nubian goats and milked one of them twice daily. Delicious over abundance of milk each day just from one doe. But we managed to cook with it, drink it, and sell some of it. It is certainly a daily commitment and you can't just leave for a few days without someone being able to continue milking. I milked directly into sterilized jars with a funnel and filter, so there was no hair or dirt in the milk. I quickly got it into the fridge to chill and never had any issues. We went to a local 'flea' market two weeks ago and one vendor had delicious clean goat milk and peach ice cream made from it that tasted amazing. So goats are definitely an option and can produce a LOT of milk each day.
Sheep milk is sweeter, has better nutrition and non homogenized fat content to make it easier to separate cream. Get Merino sheep and you're also making bank with their wool. They have basically the same upkeep as goats. Merino sheep also good to eat. They are my #1 non native livestock I want to raise, a close 2nd being chickens. My native prairie pastures would have Buffalo and hopefully Wild Turkey and Prairie Chickens, but no eating the Prairie Chickens until there's a stable population. We can eat any pheasant that show up thow, lol!
Absolute TRUTH! First time goat man here. We have Nigerian dwarf. We keep a quart made with strawberry syrup in the fridge! OMG, best ever! Also, if you are like me and have become lactose intolerant with age but goats milk has a different enzyme so no gut issues at all. FRESH IS AMAZING!
@@LittleFarmLand Look into dairy sheep. Goats for milk is not surprising at all, but sheep for milk is. And sheep are much easier to keep than goats, and they don't make lots of noise. Many homesteaders have the experience of raising both goats and sheep, and that's what they say. I haven't raised goats, but I raise sheep, and they seem easy to keep penned up. Simple temporary electric fencing keeps them in. Most of our property is not even fenced in, there's just thick tree cover on one side, and a creek on the other side. Anyway, thanks for the video.
We use to milk everyday and kept the milk in large gallon jars in the fridge. It kept very well in the fridge and the cream went very well with the strawberries we grew😊. We made our own butter as well. All us kids drank milk like water it was so good.
Our goats stay contained quite well with field fencing. The neighbors cows get out more often than my goats, when mine get out I either left the gate open or a baby Nigerian leaks through.
I love my goats. We get cream, sour cream, butter, ice cream, cheese, and delicious raw milk to drink. The whey is great for the garden, and piggies. In the winter, i warm the milk and soak the grain i feed the chickens and i am never without eggs. To get butter, i use a cream separator. Goat butter is white. The goat meat is cooked low and slow and delicious. We do put away ground goat for tacos, spaghetti, and burgers. Its a lot like beef or venison. Because i have piggies, mixing a bit of bacon in with the ground goat is easy. Cheese is another food source that is unbeatable. Best of luck!
When you do a part two be sure to talk more about the manageability of a smaller animal for those who are just 5’1” and worried about being dragged away when trying to move the animal with a rope and halter!!!! For me it will NEVER be a cow!!! I can always buy it if I miss it. ( love Nigerian Dwarf, and Angora goats give great fibers so I will have both eventually!!!)
@@honeybadgerisme I got introduced to angora goats through the mohair fiber I once bought and paired with alpaca wool for a knitted beanie hat. After commenting yesterday (?) I researched further and they are so cute, plus their meat is better than most goats meat!! So double whammy!!! Also no lanolin so cleaning the fibers should be easier too!! ( too bad they are expensive!!!- profitable though even with a small herd)
Great video! I learned something new. You can separate cream from goat milk though, either by using a separator, or by leaving it in the fridge for 4-6 days. But yes, its a bit easier with cows milk.
I don’t like leaving it in the fridge for six days and waiting for the cream to separate because at that point the milk starts to taste like a goat, and I don’t like that at all
Keep in mind, goats are escape artists. And if they escape, they will cause trouble or damage. They also need shelter. Milking Sheep are good, more docile than the goats, more hardy animals, but you need to sheer them annually. I've had both for over a decade, 250+ heads in total and i almost lost my sanity. Both species have to be moved often, 12-46 times a year, depending on the land you have dedicated for them. If they remain in one pasture, unless it's a flat plain, say goodbye to top soil and hello to rocks and erosion. If you just want a couple and you have 4-10 acres, it's easily attainable.
I was thinking about the raised goat shelter. Where I am at, there are too many predators that could really hurt them. Apparently, overseas has a raised shelter for goats as a norm, but you have to give them all their forage.
Awesome! Glad to get your support! I have just a few videos in mind until then, but I will definitely get a part two out in the very near future. Make sure your subscribed so that you can see as soon as I post it.
You can get free topsoil buy hauling manure from chicken houses and horse stalls, milk cow farms and let it dry out then disc into soil. TOp soil is free. Also you can allow neighbors to dump grass clippings and tree leaves on your land. They add earth worms !
This is solid advice, funny enough I actually get my neighbors Horseman. I have a good connection through two people of their cow manure but since I have cows, and I am worried about Yonis I won’t get cow manure unless it’s from a reputable and tested heard. I’m actually making a video on it but it’s going to be a video over months, but to give you a sneak peek I’m having hundreds of loads of wood chips brought in.
@@LittleFarmLand Good, Add some earth worms and it breaks down faster. Most people will give you leaves !! We have a mulcher blade on our more and just mulch the leaves for topsoil. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for sharing this information with us. I did not know that goats milk doesn’t separate like cows . Very informative. Thank you for breaking it down. Blessings.
We have been dairy goat farmers for 20 years. All that you said, I can confirm. This video was fair and balanced. I would add five advantages of dairy goats. (1) The cost of mortality: Most families cannot actually make use of more than one cow's milk at a time. But you can make use of 3, 4, or 5 dairy goats at a time. Say you purchase a good dairy cow for $1500. If she gets sick, you MUST call in the vet to treat her, because the cost of you making a mistake with her is $1500-2000! But if one of your five dairy goats gets sick, you can try to treat her yourself. If you fail, you are only out, say, $200-400 when she dies. (2) Dry time: With dairy animals there is usually a dry-time for them, depending on your philosophy of how hard you want to push them. If you only have one dairy cow, then you are getting zero milk during her dry time. But if you have 3-4 dairy goats, you can stagger their dry times, so that if you have one dry doe, then you are still getting milk from your other 2-3 milking does. (3) Safety around children: A cow is a large animal. You need to be really careful with small children around a cow. But a polled dairy goat is a much smaller animal. They are not 100% safe around children; I mean they can use their head to butt a child, so be careful. But a doe is maybe 80-150 pounds in size. If she steps on a child's toes, or even the child falls and is stepped on, well, it's a much lighter injury than from a 1,000 pound cow. (4) Transportation: You may NEVER need to transport your cow or goat off your farm. But if you do, it's much easier to transport a goat than a cow. We've even put goats in the back bed of our family mini-van (on tarps, with a child back there calming them down). But a cow needs to go into a stock trailer that you haul behind a truck. (5) Milk variety: With one dairy cow, you get one kind of milk, whatever she gives. With four dairy goats you can have a variety. Our Saanen gives a large volume of milk, but it's got lower milk-fat content. Our Nigerian Dwarfs give less milk, but it's quite sweet and creamy, with high milk-fat content. Our Lamanchas give milk right in the middle of the those two other breeds. So, we use the different kinds of milk for different purposes, e.g. baking, ice-cream, kefir, drinking, etc
Thanks for saying the truth about the new trend of the family milk cow. I fell into that trend, and we still have her, and LOVE her, but it IS a huge expense if you don't have the proper land and pasture maintenance.
I love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. The homesteading community needs information like this. We are also looking to goats for milk as a cow just didn't make sense, considering the amount of grains, cereals or vegetables you can grow in the same space. We have limited space (total 5 acres) but yes, it is often made to feel like you aren't doing things properly if you don't have a cow 😂 thanks again, love this 🌻
That one cow per acre is only applicable to good ground that would make 150+bushels of corn per acre in high rainfall or irrigated acres. In many places in the American west, it takes as much as a section per cow or 640 acres per cow. Goats or possibly sheep are the better choice. Btw, I'm a former dairy farmer who grazed Jerseys.
I totally agree here on my side of the Mississippi I know things are a little bit different. It’s my understanding that you might need 12 acres per cow and some more of the western states lol
Your local cooperative extention may publish local average carrying capacity. You can influence that with rotational grazing, but that's a lot of work on small farms where it's not as cost effective to put up permanent pasture divisions.
If you need 640 acres for just one cow, then you are not managing the livestock and land properly. I don't care how bad the land is, even in the desert, there is no reason that someone would not be able to have more than one cow on a 640 acres area of land.
@@jenkinsmatthew I've only farmed east of the Mississippi in areas with good rainfall, but there are plenty of places in the arid West, like much of Nevada, where it actually takes 640 acres or more to maintain a cow/calf pair[often loosely referred to as "a cow". The upside of these desert areas is that they naturally provide "standing hay" outside the growing season. With best grazing practices, these desert areas can double or triple the amount of beef they produce, but with minimal rainfall they start from a low carrying capacity. In the days of the buffalo [bison] herds, the buffalo would only visit this areas when grass grew after rains. The buffalo grazed where rain caused the grass to grow and ignored or travelled quickly through areas without growth to get to the areas where rain had grown grass. Barbwire and land ownership put an end to this nature practice.
I have had cows sheep and goats and cows are the least amaunt of work by far. You can buy a young bull let him do his job then put him in the freezer or sell him. Buckmeat wont sell so easily. Sheeps milk gives the most cheese per unit by the way
@@unou12die you will need to sheer them sheep and there's no money in wool, you will have to pay more to get the wool off them than the cost of wool. Wool sheep meat is undesirable because of the lanolin, the waxy substance secreted by wool sheep. This is the chemical that stops wool sheep from shedding their coat and causes matting. You can see videos on youtube.
I hear sheeps milk is also quite good, and hair sheep aren't "gamey".... I call it something else. This way you can either put junior in the freezer or sell them easier seeing most Americans don't eat goat and some wouldn't ever even try it. From what I've heard it's actually one of the best BBQers especially with either jerk or some kind of middle eastern seasoning. I've also heard khatadin can give 2 qts a day and can have 200 days before drying off.
I hear the same thing about sheep‘s milk. I just hear a bunch of people wanting to get rid of their sheep a lot because they have a hard time keeping their flock alive. No fault of their own just the difficulty with sheep.
roasted goat makes excellent barbacoa😋 but for the "gamey" taste, it's typical to soak in the fridge overnight in either beer (which also tenderizes) or milk! lolz The protein enzymes in milk help break down the gaminess.
@@honeybadgerisme in my country the goat is soaked overnight in red wine. Usually slow cooked into a stew but I can imagine barbecue would be good too. The meat is so tender and very tasty. Most Americans are so picky and squeamish about food they don't realize how they really miss out on so many tasty meals, not only meat but fish and seafood as well.
I live in the tropics, so we have the advantage of being able to grow food year-round. But we do have droughts, which are like winter in your zone. For droughts, we have fodder trees that produce year-round. We never use grains. We give the excess milk to the calves or sell it to neighbors. Calves are grown beside the cow here. Goats are also great. They need less space and eat anything. Their fresh milk, especially the cheese, is just delicious. We once had a small herd (a bull and 9 cows with their calves) on 4 acres. We used fodder trees (planted to divide areas and all around the farm of 6 acres), small pastures for rotation, king grass, and forage sorghum to feed them. It worked for about 5 years, but as you get older, you don´t want to work so much. Now we only have 3 cows and our neighbor has a bull we use to get them pregnant. Again, no grains.
In Brasil many people we have buffalos which don’t have the lactose in their milk, same good as goat milk. Also it eats all types of grass which cows are very picky. Theo meat is amazing and you make mozzarella from their milk as it’s super creamy
I’ve eaten buffalo, but I’ve never tried the milk. Sounds like a pretty cool idea. I would like to look into this more. Do you know how much land they need or their feed requirements? I’m sure I can do the research but would love to hear from you.
Never put a lid on a container with "warm" goats milk. Don't put the lid on until the milk has cooled and the milk will always taste sweet. Put the lid on warm and it will taste awful. Life time experience behind this. Cool as soon as possible after milking.
goats and sheep make a lot of economic sense until a coyote shows up, better keep them put up at night and don't take your eyes off them. Even your neighbors dog is a threat. Bobcats and it gets worse
@@LittleFarmLand if you got predation under control, get some dorper sheep for meat production, as soon as 90 days from birth to slaughter and the meat is fan frekin tastic.. it was working for me until the coyotes also had the same opinion about the meat, Now I got cattle and it takes for ever
🇨🇦 THANK YOU FOR A GOOD EDUCATIONAL DESCRIPTION,,,VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR INFO ,,,I ALREADY PRESCRIBED TO THAT THOUGHT PROCESS BUT NOW I CAN SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS
I have goats. I will say that if a goat gets ornery and steps on your foot or bolts while you are holding the collar, the injury is minimal. These bigger animals...they go where they want to go.
I moved from the west so I actually do know this just an oversight with the video lol. I told you a different video idea now I’m going to tell you another one considered doing a “how many animals per acre?” And doing it based off of regions in the US.
Well, before you think this too, I have a video going out today for a part two to this video for some practical considerations. And if you do come down to Goats, I have a second video on choosing between Nigerian dwarf and Nubian Goats. Seems like something you’d be really interested in.
Sheep can also be milked and apparently sheep milk tastes much more like cow milk than goat. They also graze grass preferably to shrubbery/trees so they might be more suitable if you have hedges and trees you don't want to get chewed on.
9:35 I am surprised you didn’t mention leaving the calf on the cow to make the milk load manageable. You can do every other day, every 3rd day and leave the calf on the rest of the time.
Totally makes sense but eventually the calf comes off and you still have milk to deal with and if you’re not prepared, that’s still potentially 3 gallons a day. Which is awesome. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the best for all people.
Like to make a suggestion, you can dehydrate milk, you can then extend the life, resell for dry goods in baking. When I look at homesteading, you need to utilize every aspect you can so I hope the information is helpful to someone.
My parents had a hobby farm in retirement. They purchased a dairy cull, planning to rear orphaned calves (from neighbors who were actually doing cows as a business) from the milk. But, cull or not, the problem was TOO MUCH MILK! Orphaned calves came and went, the numbers weren’t too stable. My parents tried and failed to dry her up. They finally had to sell her. They also had a very small herd of Saanen dairy goats (like two), also dairy culls, who gave a d--d large quantity of milk. They drank it (if you keep it raw and IN GLASS, NOT plastic, it does not taste goaty), made cheese and soap, and used the rest, mixed with powdered milk, to rear the orphaned calves. BTW, not all the Mama cows died; some were unmaternal and rejected their calves; some had become ill and were on medication that would harm the calf when passed along in their milk. Bottle-feeding the calves takes very little time-like 3 minutes-and my mother also made oatmeal for them and fed them with a wooden spoon. Goats are a time-consuming project, but much more manageable than a cow! More fun, too-our Saanens were like pets!
Can confirm. I grew up on a micro dairy, milked around 6 jerseys a day. As an adult i wanted to get back a small part of that. After a year of making paneer just to get rid of extra milk, we have switched to goats.
You're absolutely right! Goats can make excellent dairy animals. I've heard that some cream will separate if you let it set refrigerated for a few days, but I'm goatless and unable to test to see if it's true. I subscribed, I like what I've seen of your content!
Thanks for the subscription! And yes, it does separate after three days or so but I personally hate anything that tastes like that gross go taste and after 3 to 5 days all that stuff and cream starts to taste a bit too go for me so if I really wanted the cream, I would prefer to have a cream separator so that you can get the cream sooner
I'm currently putting in a fodders system it's been a long time in the works but Ive been feeding for enough time to start getting a cost figured out. Ive gotten the feed bill down to about 55 cents per head per day. when I was a kid (30 plus years ago) we had brown Swissthat provided milk for the family and than the calf was butchered for meat every year but we also run a beef cattle herd so it was a pretty natural selection.
@@LittleFarmLand Ive been effected by a pretty bad drought where Im at for the last 6 years (excluding this one) but last year I was able to produce 4200 pounds per day that was able to feed about 120 head of cattle pretty sure this year I'll easily double that weight. taken all the weather worries and land requirements out of producing that much feed.
All valid points, but .. I went with Dexters. The 10 litres or so milk per day per cow is more than enough, they eat half as much, they have great meat, they live off the land, they are bulletproof. You have to use portable electric fence to control where they graze and to move them often or your carrying capacity and parasite load will not improve
Goats are awesome and I love goat milk, cheese, and yogurt. The fact that they browse is a life saver. I got one for 100 bucks. I really want to learn about dairy sheep. Theyre hard to find for me though.
Thank you. Husband wants goats. I think he has a romantic idea of returning to his youth when they had animals in the Caribbean- but life in The prairie provinces of Canada is a vastly different experience. I’m trying to get as much info as possible just in case I do come home from work one day to have several goats staring at me. 😅
A couple of Nigerian goat does can provide adequate milk for a small family. They are docile and more resistant to parasites than other goats. Small livestock usually use feed more efficiently than larger breeds. As for cows, Dexters are very small. There are both dairy and beef types. They are half the weight of full size cows. If you have excess milk, you can put a beef calf or two on your cow. The beef calves will fatten up nicely, although they may battle scours at first because the milk is rice.
Interesting video. I’ve thought about getting goats in the future (not allowed where I’m currently living). A friend of mine has had goats for years and just added a couple of cows.
We have been milking Nigeria dwarf goats for 3 years now. We only have a few acres so a cow isn’t very practical. But we have 6 nanny goats that we rotate and have 1-2 in milk at all times. Gives our family plenty of milk for drinking and making yogurt and cheese.
PS don’t tell anybody but we drink the milk raw and we haven’t died yet.
@@spencerfarnik2838 😃😄😁😆🤟I got you! I drank my raw goat's milk 10 years straight. Never got sick. Never had a belly ache. Still alive at 68. Made wonderful cheese. On many blind taste tests, no one could tell the goat's milk from whole cow's milk. The care of the milk, the genetic line and the care of the nannies makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE!. BTW, I HATE the goat's milk from the store. Smells and tastes like a dirty goat barn!!!!
Raw milk is good for your digestive system. Since I've started drinking raw cows milk, I've noticed a difference in my gut.
Stopped milk, feel good, healthy and fit. All this milk is good for you is sheer bunk.
@@eswaribalan164
Bull!
Grew up on raw goats milk. I still crave that stuff 😅
As a child, Moved from the city to rural mountains. We bought goats. Most of the time the ONLY food we had was goat milk. We didn’t know what we were doing…. Clean conditions? NO. Money for vets? NO. Sometimes the goat would step into the milk while we milked her. Did we throw it away? Heck no. What I’m trying to say is those goats kept me alive. They fed me with very very little help from us. They were also my best friends growing up. They are like big puppy dogs. BUT…beware… they are indeed escape artist. You would be amazed how they can find ways to get out of the fence and sleep on top of your car in the night.
😂❤
I’ve been told if your fence will hold water it will hold your goat!
All is so true plus having to be home to milk the cow at the same time Every Day!!!!! No vacztion until you find a neighbor you can trust to milk the cow!
He didn't mention how much milk you get from the average goat, anyone?
@@denkeyleeI'm definitely no expert. But one homesteader I watched milk her goat online got about a gallon of milk from hers.
I'm so glad you talk about this!!! There is a big push for cows on the homestead . Goats are naturally A2 and those who need A2 milk, can do so affordably with a $200 milk goat rather than a $1,500 A2 cow milk. These 2 things make goats a better option. Great information!! Thanks again!
You haven’t been looking at the cow market lol they’re way more expensive than that right now. But thank you and I think it’s a missed topic for a lot of people.
@@LittleFarmLand wow!!!! I've not been looking, you are right. Been pretty happy with the goats, that was just the last I heard. Crazy!!
If I lived on a homestead and had my eyes close to the herd, Goats can produce meat in a very short period where as cattle are a long game
Except some people find goat milk unpalatable, in other words...NASTY.
@@pakviroti3616 where do they get it from? If it's handled correctly and the goats nutrition is balanced, the milk isn't discernable from cows
I have had a milk cow and Nubian dairy goats for over 40 years. By far everyone loved the goats milk over the cows milk (we have 5 children).
We got a hand crank cream separator at a farm auction. Used it for both cow and goat milk.
The secret to good milk is cleanliness and rapid chilling...whether it comes from a cow or a goat.
We never had a problem with animals getting out except for chickens. The grasshoppers on the other side of the fence were always fatter.
Nubians have far more personality than any cow or other kind of goat for that matter and I have had almost all of them.
People need to have good fencing and shelter that can be secured before getting any animal. Failure to do so is the start of all your problems.
You must agree that cows are generally far easier to contain than goats….goats will constantly search for and exploit any weakness in fencing or shelter (which always happens eventually) while cows will generally not test anything and be somewhat reluctant to wander even if a gate is left open, assuming they are comfortable in their pasture.
That is a huge difference in the number of headaches you are going to have.
@@searose6192 I have to say we NEVER had a problem with animals getting out. Except for said chickens.
We had a light switch by each stall gate that some of the goats could reach and they would turn them off and on at night for entertainment. My husband fixed that. They were mischievous in that way. We were with our animals a lot.
Ignorance is bliss they say. Maybe we were just too dumb to know we should be having problems
🤪🤪🤪
@@Artiekarns LOL WE humans underestimate the intelligence of animals! Dont get me started on Bunnies and their eye for design and rearranging my office, where they are kept in for summer due to the high temperatures in las vegas, nv in the summer and not having built adequate cool and air conditioned dwelling.....and they look they give you, well . They are rescue bunnies and their manure far out way meat value in my opinion in improving soil fertility and water absorption!
I loved goat milk, but since two years the milk tastes very goaty. Is there a way to get rid of that taste?
Your chickens can greatly improve your pasture if you use them correctly .
I've been a farm girl the majority of my 73 yrs and I know the pros and cons of the whole thing. I liked my Nubian and Alpine milk very much and their milk actually healed an ulcer in one of my family members.
Oo! I was leaning towards Nubian-could you please recommend a book or training program for learning?
I have Nubian also what type of things are you wanting to learn? I could totally help by making a series on this. Just give me some of your thoughts.
@@LittleFarmLand I want to build the above ground structure like at Echo farm! I want to get the girls as babies and bottle feed to make sure they are tame. I already have chicken pullets and ducklings, but after seeing the goat structure, am inspired to build a complimentary structure for the fowl and use the under neath for composting. I have a big yard, but I'm in city limits, so I have to be very diligently on top of management (of smells!).
@@honeybadgerisme you will love the Nubian breed and their milk, but make sure she has a good udder and good attachment. A good Nubian will give you a gal of milk a day after you gradually wean the babies at around three and a half months, they will be eating good at that age. I suggest you give them 1/2 cup of calf mana in their food until they are around 6 to 7 months. They grow really well with calf mana added to their food and get the much needed minerals for the best health.
I didn't know chickens made milk! 😮
You can have anything you need with a goat. Marvellous wee animal
Butter? Cream? Whip cream? Ice cream? High fat cheeses?
If you've got $$$$ for tall fencing
What about sheep?
@@MiasMeatJourney Super fragile parasite problems, and they need a barn. Foxes come and go through our area, and baby lambs ... shudder. They also have a reputation as the dumbest (frustrating) ruminants. But their cuteness and loyalty is tempting! Though, getting a good milk sheep is a miracle.
Well-done. I have about 10 years of raising dairy goats. The milk is excellent! Three children loved it. We made soft farmers cheese, yogurt plus the milk. Butter no; naturally homogenized. Be careful to not have too many: after the first birth they always have twins, occasionally triplets; I even had quadruplets once! Keep a buck or two; they protect from predators. The meat of young bucks is of excellent quality. Cost of keeping is a tiny fraction of that of a cow. 😊
That you for your support! And I totally agree!
I grew up on a farm with cows and chickens. My mom sold some of the milk, butter, and eggs. We gave some to my family. It was rare that we threw milk away. We had 4 cows and one bull on 10 acres. We had one milk cow and others were for breeding. We would buy a young bull every year. Because when he done his duty we would fattening him up for our family freezer. We had to gather hay during the summer for winter feed. That could be as much as 300 bales. Cows are a lot of work but it can be rewarding.
Yeah thats one of the things im talking about too. Bales of hey super expensive and you need the place to keep them. Thank you for sharing your story! its so cool that you are able to be raised that way.
One thing excess milk is good for is to give it to animals that you will be butchering for at least for a month. Years ago, we had lots of goat milk so all of our animals had plenty of milk. The meat was superior with a flavor that you can't get from the store.
I totally agree with this, but in most cases if people don’t have space for a cow, they may not want to take on a cow and still have enough space or property for all of those other things however, I do totally agree with you
Seriously?
@@ZERODESTRUCTION yes. Prior to that, out of the same litter of rabbits, some had that superior flavor and others tasted like cardboard. That had me baffled for a few years until we got the excess goat milk. I butchered mine at eight weeks so I came to the conclusion that the ones that tasted fabulous were still nursing and the others had weaned themselves.
Are you talking about just rabbits or everything? What if they are weaned already? You give them milk for a month and it works or do they have to be still drinking moms milk? What other animals can you do this with?
@@akbananachucker2441 my experience is with a steer and a pig, both were weaned when I got them. I believe it will work with any mammal, possibly chickens too, idk.
I'm not sure how long they need to be getting milk but I believe that one month is long enough. Maybe shorter than that, idk.
When I had rabbits, that was long before we had the goats and I had the steer and pig. Out of the same litter, some had that same fabulous taste and others did not. I was clueless why. In hindsight, I believe that the good ones were still nursing and the other were not.
This was a pretty honest video to affirm that size matters to meet your needs.
I raised dairy goats for many years in Texas and then Missouri..had ALL the breeds at one time or another.
My favorites of the milking breeds are Nubians (beagle eared) and lamanchas (with fur seal or elf ears)…I’ll tell you why…
We had a saanen that had excellent quality and good quantity milk (none of the other saanens milk compared to the lamanchas or Nubians as to taste) and decided to let her make the trip with us for a two year stint to florida…
As soon as she ate whatever florida weeds she decided were wonderful, her milk became undrinkable… horrible tasting…and always in Missouri hers had been the sweetest tasting milk of all our saanens there.
We had brought an almost dried off La Mancha as a companion for her and started milking her again four times a day, as her milk, while eating the same browse and feed, remained beautiful (Brought her back up to about 50% of her original production, too)
I did quite a bit of research on the different breed’s milk quality to discover the Swiss (upright ears) breeds (from the 4 valleys there, a fascinating story) Sanaan, Oberhasli, Alpine and Toggenburgs were bred for the strong tasting cheeses they love in that part of the world, and in many cases you’ll get a generation pop up with what I’d call the “wangy” “goaty” tasting milk.
I have seen a dairy herd in Kansas City area (phenomenal milk!) comprised of “Kinder” goats, originally a cross between dwarfs and Nubian…easier to milk than the tiny girls (really about half size of grown Nubian) and their butterfat was awesome too.
And… for many years I bred and showed Nubians and by the third generation I had my girls who were way way less vocal than the Saanens my husband had when we combined herds.
Oldest daughter loved to tease him when said saanen was screaming, “oh my, it must be another one of the LOUD Nubians…oh wait, my bad…it a white one… lol
My (limited) experience aligns with what you said.
I grew up with Pygmy goats. They had the BEST flavor 😍
We then got a nubian buck and nubian milk was good too, but the nubian/pygmies were the best choice imo because they made more milk than pygmies, but it was still delicious.
Then my parents got rid of all of our goats (CL infection 😢) and replaced them with Alpine goats and none of us ever willingly drank goat milk ever again 😅
My mom had to make soap with it (there was SO MUCH!!)
Greenbrier leaves make excellent goat milk. There are certain plants that make the milk taste bad, but I don't remember which ones. And having a buck within a few acres of the does means nasty milk for a few days regardless of the breed 🤢
I never had any issues with temperament. We had a couple of grumpy goats, but mostly they were very friendly and loved humans and dogs. Probably because they were pets first and milk goats second. They were very socialized.
I make butter from goat milk. I set the milk over night in the fridge then the fat rises to the top. I make mozzarella, cream cheese, sour cream and yogurt from my goats milk. I have Nigerian Dwarf goats and two in milk produce more than I need. BTW, if you like venison you'll like goat too.
Tell me your secret to mozzarella goat cheese because I have had trouble with it
@@LittleFarmLand I just followed the instructions I found online but I must say I had to heat the curds hotter than I expected to get them to join into a ball.
I grew up eating goat meat and I like it. I have never been able to develop a taste for venison, however.
Do you make butter with the cream when it's cold.or room temperature, if you don't mind me asking. I have Nigerian Dwarfs and had a lot of milk that I separated. I couldn't get it to separate into butter and buttermilk though. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated😊
@@tammygroves5739 I made it by putting the cream into a jar cool and shaking it till it separated, it does warm up a bit during the process but never gets completely warm.
This is the MOST valuable video I've viewed on this milk issue.
Thank you for your support! And I’m glad you found it valuable!
Привет коллеги. В России козы тоже набирают популярность в частных подворьях. У меня пока десяток коз. Мы говорим что "Коза - корова нищего", и "собака - которая дает молоко". Самый большой класс в них это то, что с ними приятно проводить время, их навоз в маленьких шариках практически не пахнет. Козы любят детей и эта любовь взаимна. Плюс козьего молока в возможности замораживать его, хранить и транспортировать на большие расстояния без потери качества. Коза отличный выбор для тех, кто уже понял, нам готовят всемирный голод.
I am honestly very interested in everything about homesteading, I am not in a position to every be able to do that but I just love these kinds of informative videos. Love learning new things even if I may not ever use it. My sister always says " how do you know all this stuff??" You don't have any experience at any of it". That's me.. always gathering random information , that just spews out of my mouth at the oddest times. 😂
Honestly, I kind of believe most people can homestead where they’re at. They don’t need a lot of land. What some thing do you think you could start doing if you’re interested in it?
I'm not remotely close to homesteading on my 10' by 20' lot. I forage, have long term herbs in pots, a completely native to my area garden, got permission to help plant the town's flood zone with anemones, north American lotus, willow trees, mushrooms, and golden rod instead of corn.
You will work your way toward what your heart wants and needs. Keep going and you will be met with opportunities❤️... Not on our time but the right time.
@@RayF6126whats golden rod plants?
@@xaviercruz4763 They are tall plants that look yellow fireworks when in bloom that you find alongside road sides in August from Canada to Mexico.
We have a Jersey and Nubian goats, and I agree with you about quantity of milk with cow verses goats. We have a wonderful person who AI's our Jersey and she has taken every time. Bucks are easier to deal with a bull but bucks stink when in rut, some more so than others. You can separate the cream rom goat's milk with a separator but that is an added expense, those mini goats are a lot harder to keep fenced in, verses regular dairy goats, something to think about as well. Dairy cows have much more cost in feed, bedding and vet services if needed, than a goat as well. We do not give grain to our ruminant animals, but instead feed veggies and alfalfa pellets and they keep weight well and have plenty of the needed protein. We store root crops in our cellar for winter supplement as well. All in all you are telling the absolute truth, and I pray people listen before getting in over their heads,
This is all great advice! I also have a jersey.
We never fed our goats weeds because it can make a taste in the milk. We would put the container in the fridge with the lid off so it would not get that animal taste. We found that it took about 2 weeks to switch from store bought cow milk over to goat milk but then when we had to go back to store milk it took about 2 weeks to get used the store milk.
We started with Pygmies because they desperately needed breeders willing to focus on ease of birthing rather than show. Our girls pop em out like a pez dispenser.
I then picked up two homestead quality Dwarf Nigerians in milk because they were a steal at $100 each. They certainly wouldn't win any awards, but they each have half a gallon to just under a gallon of delicious milk.
I was then swamped with friends and a desire within our family to have even more milk. I ferment it, make cheese, caramel sauce, ice cream, etc., it's all delicious & extremely nutritional.
I then invested in a pregnant Nubian with lifelong ADGA grand champion star milking lines on both sides of her lineage.
She is due in less than a week with confirmed triplets. I simply wanted the milk. The key to better milk is to not keep your bucks anywhere near the girls.
If anyone is interested in livestock, I'm in Southern AZ and love to see people become more food independent.
@@moonrockpygmies I have family close to there, send me an email and let’s connect.
You forgot to highlight that goats are browsers, not grazers. My goats prefer to eat bushes and trees over grass and brassicas. So, all of those hated invasives, like bush honeysuckle and autumn olive take on a whole new value when you have goats. I propagate both of those every year, and so far have failed to have to much. And my goats love them. They eat the stem and all, not just the leaves. Goats are just simply a superior animal, period.
That is so good to know...i have some rocky land that produces a mix of grass, weeds and weedy bushes...are there any weeds or bushes that might make your goats sick? Or can they eat just about anything and be healthy? I am in the midwest..
@@Handelson, I am not a vet nor horticultural hayage expert. All I can say is that after 20 some years of having goats, I have not noticed any weed that could mount any sort of successful attack on a goat's digestive system. In fact, many places employ goats to eradicate weeds. Now alfalfa, on the other hand, can be a problem. It is just so damn hot that it can be an issue. That's the only thing I ever tried to keep my goats out of for their own safety/health. Once it's cut and cured it's no problem. But weeds... I chuckle everytime someone tries to scare me off of an "invasive" plant. And goats tend to prefer the weeds over grass. I always say I have sheep to eat the grass, and goats to eat the weeds. :)
@@yLeprechaun Thank you so much for that thoughtful reply!
"superior" is entirely subjective to what conditions and outcomes one is looking at. Goat meat cannot top beef, in my book.
I like both, it's not really a competition as much as an individual choice based on what you're working with.
Happy farming 😁
@@dont.ripfuller6587 can you explain a little more please? Are you talking about health, taste, or something else? Thanks
I have goats which are so much easier to handle than a cow. I have nigerian dwarf goats. I milk 4 goats and i get 3 quarts a day. Fresh goats milk is the best! i love it, i make yogurt, cheese, soap, etc. Both of my children are lactose intolerant but can handle goats milk.
Great post for the newbies. Cows also have big ploppy poop...goats have elegant little pellets....cows have surprisingly robust tails, that can whack you upside your head when milking and also tend to get every sticker and burr in the pasture entangled in them. Goats, not so much - short tails, not fluffy. When it comes to kicking the bucket, cows can deal some serious blows. Also, if you are looking for a managable amount of milk from a cow, down forget some of the 500 lb. breeds, and/or milking shorthorns. Actually small angus cows would probably give plenty of milk and be easy to obtain. Cows and goats can continue to nurse their babies, and you can separate them only when you need milk, which makes life a lot easier. Milking once per day, or even once or twice per week makes the work manageable.
What an excellent video! I'm a city girl wanting to start a homestead. I know zero about farm animals so this was very useful to help me make better decisions.
I'm subscribing!
Thanks for the sub you might like the next video coming up then!
@@LittleFarmLand I can't wait!
Today I googled what's the average production of 1 cow. It's 6-7 gallons a DAY! 35 gallons a week! That certainly is a lot of milk to process, sell, or give away!
Grass fed Dexter cows are a great answer to the small homestead.
I’ve raised Dexters. They are incredible. Browsers much like goats, and also eat grass and fatten on nearly anything, mine were totally grass fed, and rolling in fat just on pasture. Finish early too. And very docile snd loving. Had a wild heifer, brought her home, got her used to me. When she calved, she would stand in the pasture and let me milk without a stanchion, me on one side, her calf nursing from the other. She would reach around and lick my arm occasionally and hug me with her head. When she was lying down, I would sit next to her, using her as a pillow and she seemed to enjoy the company. The meat is excellent also. I raised in conjunction with goats.
You can milk nearly every Mammal out there. I've been to places where you can buy fresh Yak, Water Buffalo, Camel, Mule, Horse, Moose, Sheep and Goat and Cow. I've even heard of folks milking giraffes for milk. For some you can get a gallon and for many you work hard to get a half a cup! But, ALL Mammals can be milked. Now for the EXTRA benefits Goats bring to the table? Kashmir Goats have marketable wool! As do other Breeds of Goats. Another BONUS feature, you can rent out your goats to clear over grown yards, fields and trails and they DO eat Poison Oak and Ivy without issue! and you can train them to come when its time to milk them to the milking stand! Then, Goats? Are YUMMY! I love BBQ Goat! Its yummier than Sheep.
Pigs!
Terry Pratchett book "Nation"... eye popping story about "Milking" a Sow 😂
When I was younger, I had 3 or 4 nubian goats and milked one of them twice daily. Delicious over abundance of milk each day just from one doe. But we managed to cook with it, drink it, and sell some of it. It is certainly a daily commitment and you can't just leave for a few days without someone being able to continue milking. I milked directly into sterilized jars with a funnel and filter, so there was no hair or dirt in the milk. I quickly got it into the fridge to chill and never had any issues. We went to a local 'flea' market two weeks ago and one vendor had delicious clean goat milk and peach ice cream made from it that tasted amazing. So goats are definitely an option and can produce a LOT of milk each day.
That’s a great way to milk! I do a sterilized stainless steel milking jug then I strain it when I get inside. Just to keep the glasses sterile.
Sheep milk is sweeter, has better nutrition and non homogenized fat content to make it easier to separate cream. Get Merino sheep and you're also making bank with their wool. They have basically the same upkeep as goats. Merino sheep also good to eat. They are my #1 non native livestock I want to raise, a close 2nd being chickens. My native prairie pastures would have Buffalo and hopefully Wild Turkey and Prairie Chickens, but no eating the Prairie Chickens until there's a stable population. We can eat any pheasant that show up thow, lol!
I keep hearing how great sheep’s milk is ill for sure try it soon. Thanks for your input!
I milk my sheep, and it is , as my husband says "the champagne of milk !".
Absolute TRUTH! First time goat man here. We have Nigerian dwarf. We keep a quart made with strawberry syrup in the fridge! OMG, best ever! Also, if you are like me and have become lactose intolerant with age but goats milk has a different enzyme so no gut issues at all.
FRESH IS AMAZING!
Thanks for sharing
@@LittleFarmLand have you seen the benefits of lamb's milk? www.youtube.com/@123Homefree/videos - you might consider this option as well.
@@LittleFarmLand Look into dairy sheep. Goats for milk is not surprising at all, but sheep for milk is. And sheep are much easier to keep than goats, and they don't make lots of noise. Many homesteaders have the experience of raising both goats and sheep, and that's what they say. I haven't raised goats, but I raise sheep, and they seem easy to keep penned up. Simple temporary electric fencing keeps them in. Most of our property is not even fenced in, there's just thick tree cover on one side, and a creek on the other side.
Anyway, thanks for the video.
We use to milk everyday and kept the milk in large gallon jars in the fridge. It kept very well in the fridge and the cream went very well with the strawberries we grew😊. We made our own butter as well. All us kids drank milk like water it was so good.
I have 5 Cows for Meat only. You need to discuss the fencing requirments , to keep the escape artist in .
This is a great idea for a topic on a part two
😂Yess! O! and regional predators, too!
Yup... Water proof (goat containing) fencing does not come cheap. BTW... SHEEP do much better staying in.
Or predators out. Coyotes, wolves and lynx.
Our goats stay contained quite well with field fencing. The neighbors cows get out more often than my goats, when mine get out I either left the gate open or a baby Nigerian leaks through.
I love my goats. We get cream, sour cream, butter, ice cream, cheese, and delicious raw milk to drink. The whey is great for the garden, and piggies. In the winter, i warm the milk and soak the grain i feed the chickens and i am never without eggs. To get butter, i use a cream separator. Goat butter is white. The goat meat is cooked low and slow and delicious. We do put away ground goat for tacos, spaghetti, and burgers. Its a lot like beef or venison. Because i have piggies, mixing a bit of bacon in with the ground goat is easy. Cheese is another food source that is unbeatable. Best of luck!
When you do a part two be sure to talk more about the manageability of a smaller animal for those who are just 5’1” and worried about being dragged away when trying to move the animal with a rope and halter!!!! For me it will NEVER be a cow!!! I can always buy it if I miss it. ( love Nigerian Dwarf, and Angora goats give great fibers so I will have both eventually!!!)
Goats are deceptively STRONG for their size :)
❤me2! I love to crochet, so angora would rock!
I’m a 6ft man and I’ve been thrown by an unruly goat, so I agree with this haha.
@@honeybadgerisme I got introduced to angora goats through the mohair fiber I once bought and paired with alpaca wool for a knitted beanie hat. After commenting yesterday (?) I researched further and they are so cute, plus their meat is better than most goats meat!! So double whammy!!! Also no lanolin so cleaning the fibers should be easier too!! ( too bad they are expensive!!!- profitable though even with a small herd)
My friends angora goats are high maintenance healthwise.
Great video! I learned something new. You can separate cream from goat milk though, either by using a separator, or by leaving it in the fridge for 4-6 days. But yes, its a bit easier with cows milk.
I don’t like leaving it in the fridge for six days and waiting for the cream to separate because at that point the milk starts to taste like a goat, and I don’t like that at all
@@LittleFarmLand That is a good point. So buying a separator might be the best choice for those who have a problem with the taste.
Keep in mind, goats are escape artists. And if they escape, they will cause trouble or damage. They also need shelter. Milking Sheep are good, more docile than the goats, more hardy animals, but you need to sheer them annually. I've had both for over a decade, 250+ heads in total and i almost lost my sanity. Both species have to be moved often, 12-46 times a year, depending on the land you have dedicated for them. If they remain in one pasture, unless it's a flat plain, say goodbye to top soil and hello to rocks and erosion. If you just want a couple and you have 4-10 acres, it's easily attainable.
This is for a part 2 lol
Hair sheep dont need to be sheared.
A big plus.
I was thinking about the raised goat shelter. Where I am at, there are too many predators that could really hurt them. Apparently, overseas has a raised shelter for goats as a norm, but you have to give them all their forage.
How many per area of sheep 🐑 do you normally have and how’s the climate?
Use 6’ fences
I think goats easier than sheep
All they need is a corner but a roof is nice. As long as they can get out of the drafts they’re fine
Not only are you informative, you are wonderfully eloquent. A joy to listen to you speak.
Thank you sir! I appreciate you!
I could not agree more!!! You can make the cream stuff with goats too, including butter. We do 😊 cream separators are cheaper than cows!
Hahahah! I have never heard it that way and it’s one of the best ways to talk about the cream separator and its price lol!
Hi Heather! 👋
@@TheFeralFarmgirl Hello!!! Lots of familiar faces here! ❤️
Yes, please, for a part 2!
Awesome! Glad to get your support! I have just a few videos in mind until then, but I will definitely get a part two out in the very near future. Make sure your subscribed so that you can see as soon as I post it.
GREAT ADVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE! 😊
Thank you!
I love learning from you all! And I really like that I get to see more of your land in this video.
Thanks for your support!
You can get free topsoil buy hauling manure from chicken houses and horse stalls, milk cow farms and let it dry out then disc into soil.
TOp soil is free. Also you can allow neighbors to dump grass clippings and tree leaves on your land. They add earth worms !
This is solid advice, funny enough I actually get my neighbors Horseman. I have a good connection through two people of their cow manure but since I have cows, and I am worried about Yonis I won’t get cow manure unless it’s from a reputable and tested heard.
I’m actually making a video on it but it’s going to be a video over months, but to give you a sneak peek I’m having hundreds of loads of wood chips brought in.
@@LittleFarmLand Good, Add some earth worms and it breaks down faster. Most people will give you leaves !! We have a mulcher blade on our more and just mulch the leaves for topsoil. Keep up the good work.
The “problem” you mention is easily resolve with a cream separator. Then you can make butter to your heart desires 😊
Great point I’m still looking for a good cream separator though which one do you recommend?
Thank you for sharing this information with us. I did not know that goats milk doesn’t separate like cows . Very informative. Thank you for breaking it down. Blessings.
No problem! Is there something you’d like to see more of With Goats or anything else?
I raised alpine goats as a girl, and their milk separated. This must be certain breeds.
We have been dairy goat farmers for 20 years. All that you said, I can confirm. This video was fair and balanced. I would add five advantages of dairy goats.
(1) The cost of mortality: Most families cannot actually make use of more than one cow's milk at a time. But you can make use of 3, 4, or 5 dairy goats at a time. Say you purchase a good dairy cow for $1500. If she gets sick, you MUST call in the vet to treat her, because the cost of you making a mistake with her is $1500-2000! But if one of your five dairy goats gets sick, you can try to treat her yourself. If you fail, you are only out, say, $200-400 when she dies.
(2) Dry time: With dairy animals there is usually a dry-time for them, depending on your philosophy of how hard you want to push them. If you only have one dairy cow, then you are getting zero milk during her dry time. But if you have 3-4 dairy goats, you can stagger their dry times, so that if you have one dry doe, then you are still getting milk from your other 2-3 milking does.
(3) Safety around children: A cow is a large animal. You need to be really careful with small children around a cow. But a polled dairy goat is a much smaller animal. They are not 100% safe around children; I mean they can use their head to butt a child, so be careful. But a doe is maybe 80-150 pounds in size. If she steps on a child's toes, or even the child falls and is stepped on, well, it's a much lighter injury than from a 1,000 pound cow.
(4) Transportation: You may NEVER need to transport your cow or goat off your farm. But if you do, it's much easier to transport a goat than a cow. We've even put goats in the back bed of our family mini-van (on tarps, with a child back there calming them down). But a cow needs to go into a stock trailer that you haul behind a truck.
(5) Milk variety: With one dairy cow, you get one kind of milk, whatever she gives. With four dairy goats you can have a variety. Our Saanen gives a large volume of milk, but it's got lower milk-fat content. Our Nigerian Dwarfs give less milk, but it's quite sweet and creamy, with high milk-fat content. Our Lamanchas give milk right in the middle of the those two other breeds. So, we use the different kinds of milk for different purposes, e.g. baking, ice-cream, kefir, drinking, etc
Thank you
Thanks for saying the truth about the new trend of the family milk cow. I fell into that trend, and we still have her, and LOVE her, but it IS a huge expense if you don't have the proper land and pasture maintenance.
We selected a Jangus (JerseyxAngus) for the lower production and heartiness. More manageable, but still. A Lot. Lol.
Yeah, I totally agree. We have both jerseys and goats. It’s something u have been thinking for a while.
Good video. Thanks for sharing your point of view.
I love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. The homesteading community needs information like this. We are also looking to goats for milk as a cow just didn't make sense, considering the amount of grains, cereals or vegetables you can grow in the same space. We have limited space (total 5 acres) but yes, it is often made to feel like you aren't doing things properly if you don't have a cow 😂 thanks again, love this 🌻
I made this for people exactly like you. For most people I think the right choice is in fact Goats.
@@LittleFarmLand love it, thanks so much 🌻
Extremely informative video, thanks
Glad it was helpful!
That one cow per acre is only applicable to good ground that would make 150+bushels of corn per acre in high rainfall or irrigated acres. In many places in the American west, it takes as much as a section per cow or 640 acres per cow. Goats or possibly sheep are the better choice. Btw, I'm a former dairy farmer who grazed Jerseys.
I totally agree here on my side of the Mississippi I know things are a little bit different. It’s my understanding that you might need 12 acres per cow and some more of the western states lol
Your local cooperative extention may publish local average carrying capacity. You can influence that with rotational grazing, but that's a lot of work on small farms where it's not as cost effective to put up permanent pasture divisions.
If you need 640 acres for just one cow, then you are not managing the livestock and land properly. I don't care how bad the land is, even in the desert, there is no reason that someone would not be able to have more than one cow on a 640 acres area of land.
@@jenkinsmatthew I've only farmed east of the Mississippi in areas with good rainfall, but there are plenty of places in the arid West, like much of Nevada, where it actually takes 640 acres or more to maintain a cow/calf pair[often loosely referred to as "a cow". The upside of these desert areas is that they naturally provide "standing hay" outside the growing season. With best grazing practices, these desert areas can double or triple the amount of beef they produce, but with minimal rainfall they start from a low carrying capacity. In the days of the buffalo [bison] herds, the buffalo would only visit this areas when grass grew after rains. The buffalo grazed where rain caused the grass to grow and ignored or travelled quickly through areas without growth to get to the areas where rain had grown grass. Barbwire and land ownership put an end to this nature practice.
First time here. I subscribed and liked, thanks.
Thanks for joining us here!
I have had cows sheep and goats and cows are the least amaunt of work by far. You can buy a young bull let him do his job then put him in the freezer or sell him. Buckmeat wont sell so easily. Sheeps milk gives the most cheese per unit by the way
Buffaloes milk conatains more than 7% fat and 10% solid not fat. It's great for making cheeses, shakes, butter and ghee.
I would be eating the buck meat rather than the poor meat fed with grain from the store.
@@BornFreeFilms how different does it taste?
Sheep also makes wool. And I think we get vitamin D3 from sheep.
@@unou12die you will need to sheer them sheep and there's no money in wool, you will have to pay more to get the wool off them than the cost of wool.
Wool sheep meat is undesirable because of the lanolin, the waxy substance secreted by wool sheep. This is the chemical that stops wool sheep from shedding their coat and causes matting. You can see videos on youtube.
Thanks for this info! Really appreciate it. Hope to have a small homestead soon. Lots to learn!😅
I hear sheeps milk is also quite good, and hair sheep aren't "gamey".... I call it something else.
This way you can either put junior in the freezer or sell them easier seeing most Americans don't eat goat and some wouldn't ever even try it. From what I've heard it's actually one of the best BBQers especially with either jerk or some kind of middle eastern seasoning.
I've also heard khatadin can give 2 qts a day and can have 200 days before drying off.
I hear the same thing about sheep‘s milk. I just hear a bunch of people wanting to get rid of their sheep a lot because they have a hard time keeping their flock alive. No fault of their own just the difficulty with sheep.
@@LittleFarmLandI've heard that heritage breeds have less of a problem
roasted goat makes excellent barbacoa😋
but for the "gamey" taste, it's typical to soak in the fridge overnight in either beer (which also tenderizes) or milk! lolz The protein enzymes in milk help break down the gaminess.
@@LittleFarmLandsheep are rather 24/7 care--so it will have to wait for me to retire to get them
@@honeybadgerisme in my country the goat is soaked overnight in red wine. Usually slow cooked into a stew but I can imagine barbecue would be good too. The meat is so tender and very tasty. Most Americans are so picky and squeamish about food they don't realize how they really miss out on so many tasty meals, not only meat but fish and seafood as well.
Amazing 14min vid. w/out commercials! And a very informative vid at that! lol
Glad you liked it!
Excess milk can be used to supplement pig feed
Yes, absolutely!
I live in the tropics, so we have the advantage of being able to grow food year-round. But we do have droughts, which are like winter in your zone. For droughts, we have fodder trees that produce year-round. We never use grains. We give the excess milk to the calves or sell it to neighbors. Calves are grown beside the cow here. Goats are also great. They need less space and eat anything. Their fresh milk, especially the cheese, is just delicious.
We once had a small herd (a bull and 9 cows with their calves) on 4 acres. We used fodder trees (planted to divide areas and all around the farm of 6 acres), small pastures for rotation, king grass, and forage sorghum to feed them. It worked for about 5 years, but as you get older, you don´t want to work so much. Now we only have 3 cows and our neighbor has a bull we use to get them pregnant. Again, no grains.
Sheep are probably more manageable than jumping climbing goats. They provide, milk, meat, etc…
Great content. Thank you. Very interesting and helpful.
In Brasil many people we have buffalos which don’t have the lactose in their milk, same good as goat milk. Also it eats all types of grass which cows are very picky. Theo meat is amazing and you make mozzarella from their milk as it’s super creamy
I’ve eaten buffalo, but I’ve never tried the milk. Sounds like a pretty cool idea. I would like to look into this more. Do you know how much land they need or their feed requirements? I’m sure I can do the research but would love to hear from you.
@@LittleFarmLand 500 Buffalo needs 20 hectares ( do the maths from there )…a man I heard of has 4000 and has 200 hectares
So interesting. Thank you.
And additional info & experiences shared in the comments is great too😊
Our pleasure!
Never put a lid on a container with "warm" goats milk. Don't put the lid on until the milk has cooled and the milk will always taste sweet. Put the lid on warm and it will taste awful. Life time experience behind this. Cool as soon as possible after milking.
How do we cool it for best results? Fridge or air cool? Thanks
Very informative. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
The best source for milk on a homestead? Someone else's cow.
😂😂😂
I once had a T shirt with a goats udder on it...the caption said" If God wanted us to milk cows, we would have 4 hands."
😂😂😂
That store bought goat milk tastes like a buck smells
😂Yessss! Or as my kids say, "tastes like ammonia smells!"
Yeah that store bought stuff is so bad.
Thanks for all your educational information Great video!
Thank you so much!
goats and sheep make a lot of economic sense until a coyote shows up, better keep them put up at night and don't take your eyes off them. Even your neighbors dog is a threat. Bobcats and it gets worse
Or have a good guard dog. Ours keep everything away.
@@LittleFarmLand if you got predation under control, get some dorper sheep for meat production, as soon as 90 days from birth to slaughter and the meat is fan frekin tastic.. it was working for me until the coyotes also had the same opinion about the meat, Now I got cattle and it takes for ever
Nice video, very educational. Thanks
🇨🇦 THANK YOU FOR A GOOD EDUCATIONAL DESCRIPTION,,,VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR INFO ,,,I ALREADY PRESCRIBED TO THAT THOUGHT PROCESS BUT NOW I CAN SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS
Glad it was helpful!
Keep sending more videos like this 💯🧠💪
Thank you for this fascinating information.
Our pleasure!
Impressive amount of information in this video 😆
Glad you think so!
And yes sometimes I make sweet cream butter ,hand shaken this method makes lovely butter!
Thank you for an informative video. We have goats and have milked and made soft cheese and I totally agree that the milk is excellent when fresh.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this informative video much appreciated!!
Glad it was helpful!
Been looking at Kinder goats for years while planning future property.
Small dual purpose with great milk quality and good feed to meat conversion.
Thank you for sharing this video. We are on a small farm in Andalusia Spain and contemplate where we can get our milk from. Much appreciated
No problem!
I have goats. I will say that if a goat gets ornery and steps on your foot or bolts while you are holding the collar, the injury is minimal. These bigger animals...they go where they want to go.
You have amazing horses in Andalucia!
Please remember that 70% of the rain in the US falls East of the Mississippi so you can have more livestock per acre.
I moved from the west so I actually do know this just an oversight with the video lol. I told you a different video idea now I’m going to tell you another one considered doing a “how many animals per acre?” And doing it based off of regions in the US.
Awesome video!! Thank you!! I've been trying to decide if I can manage a cow. I think goats are the answer!! Thanks
Well, before you think this too, I have a video going out today for a part two to this video for some practical considerations. And if you do come down to Goats, I have a second video on choosing between Nigerian dwarf and Nubian Goats. Seems like something you’d be really interested in.
Sheep can also be milked and apparently sheep milk tastes much more like cow milk than goat.
They also graze grass preferably to shrubbery/trees so they might be more suitable if you have hedges and trees you don't want to get chewed on.
I need to taste sheep milk because everyone swears by it lol
The only sheep milk I tried was full of floating fat, and nothing like cow’s milk. Makes good cheese, though.
Really informative thanks❣️ new subscriber here
Thanks for subbing! Glad to have you here!
Thank you for this very helpful video.
9:35 I am surprised you didn’t mention leaving the calf on the cow to make the milk load manageable. You can do every other day, every 3rd day and leave the calf on the rest of the time.
Totally makes sense but eventually the calf comes off and you still have milk to deal with and if you’re not prepared, that’s still potentially 3 gallons a day. Which is awesome. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the best for all people.
Like to make a suggestion, you can dehydrate milk, you can then extend the life, resell for dry goods in baking. When I look at homesteading, you need to utilize every aspect you can so I hope the information is helpful to someone.
Thanks for such rich informations
No problem!
Love your work MR 💪✌️❤️
My parents had a hobby farm in retirement. They purchased a dairy cull, planning to rear orphaned calves (from neighbors who were actually doing cows as a business) from the milk.
But, cull or not, the problem was TOO MUCH MILK! Orphaned calves came and went, the numbers weren’t too stable. My parents tried and failed to dry her up.
They finally had to sell her. They also had a very small herd of Saanen dairy goats (like two), also dairy culls, who gave a d--d large quantity of milk.
They drank it (if you keep it raw and IN GLASS, NOT plastic, it does not taste goaty), made cheese and soap, and used the rest, mixed with powdered milk, to rear the orphaned calves.
BTW, not all the Mama cows died; some were unmaternal and rejected their calves; some had become ill and were on medication that would harm the calf when passed along in their milk. Bottle-feeding the calves takes very little time-like 3 minutes-and my mother also made oatmeal for them and fed them with a wooden spoon.
Goats are a time-consuming project, but much more manageable than a cow! More fun, too-our Saanens were like pets!
And goats are adorable There's such cute and fun animals and they eat weeds and things like that Really handy little animals to have.
Can confirm. I grew up on a micro dairy, milked around 6 jerseys a day. As an adult i wanted to get back a small part of that. After a year of making paneer just to get rid of extra milk, we have switched to goats.
You're absolutely right! Goats can make excellent dairy animals. I've heard that some cream will separate if you let it set refrigerated for a few days, but I'm goatless and unable to test to see if it's true. I subscribed, I like what I've seen of your content!
Thanks for the subscription! And yes, it does separate after three days or so but I personally hate anything that tastes like that gross go taste and after 3 to 5 days all that stuff and cream starts to taste a bit too go for me so if I really wanted the cream, I would prefer to have a cream separator so that you can get the cream sooner
well explained
I'm currently putting in a fodders system it's been a long time in the works but Ive been feeding for enough time to start getting a cost figured out. Ive gotten the feed bill down to about 55 cents per head per day. when I was a kid (30 plus years ago) we had brown Swissthat provided milk for the family and than the calf was butchered for meat every year but we also run a beef cattle herd so it was a pretty natural selection.
Hi super badly want to do father for my animals. Bootstrap farmer has a foster system and maybe I can get them as a sponsor wink wink 😂😂😂
@@LittleFarmLand Ive been effected by a pretty bad drought where Im at for the last 6 years (excluding this one) but last year I was able to produce 4200 pounds per day that was able to feed about 120 head of cattle pretty sure this year I'll easily double that weight. taken all the weather worries and land requirements out of producing that much feed.
I have nubians and bought a cream separator it is fantastic.
I haven’t used one personally which one do you have?
All valid points, but .. I went with Dexters. The 10 litres or so milk per day per cow is more than enough, they eat half as much, they have great meat, they live off the land, they are bulletproof. You have to use portable electric fence to control where they graze and to move them often or your carrying capacity and parasite load will not improve
They still stink and eat way more than goats. That’s a big thing.
How long have you had your farm?
Going on four years
I'm considering raising water buffalo - and reconsidering, for many of these reasons, though the particular figures involved can be quite different.
Goats are awesome and I love goat milk, cheese, and yogurt. The fact that they browse is a life saver. I got one for 100 bucks. I really want to learn about dairy sheep. Theyre hard to find for me though.
Thank you. Husband wants goats. I think he has a romantic idea of returning to his youth when they had animals in the Caribbean- but life in The prairie provinces of Canada is a vastly different experience. I’m trying to get as much info as possible just in case I do come home from work one day to have several goats staring at me. 😅
Love that!
I can't bring myself to even try goat milk after eating some peanut butter looking Norwegian goat cheese my mom gave me.
A couple of Nigerian goat does can provide adequate milk for a small family. They are docile and more resistant to parasites than other goats. Small livestock usually use feed more efficiently than larger breeds. As for cows, Dexters are very small. There are both dairy and beef types. They are half the weight of full size cows. If you have excess milk, you can put a beef calf or two on your cow. The beef calves will fatten up nicely, although they may battle scours at first because the milk is rice.
Interesting video. I’ve thought about getting goats in the future (not allowed where I’m currently living). A friend of mine has had goats for years and just added a couple of cows.
I’m going to be making a video about comparing two types of goats for milk the main types honestly, would that be something interested you?
@@LittleFarmLand yes, that would be an interesting video.
I have alpine goats, their milk tastes like a milkshake. It's so delicious that I never have any left to waste.