Selfsufficientish.com

Picked her up yesterday evening... she's very shy and nervous but seems to be settling in well. She's only 1 year old... a british saanen cross with one rather crooked horn... pics to follow.. (naturally) - named nia (think that's how it's spelt... welsh name apparently)

Giving her a little while to settle in before we collect the second goat... madeleine. Mads is 4 and a milker so we are going to have fresh goats milk and make yoghurt and cheese too.

*claps*

Excellent News Shirlz! Goats are BRILLIANT and heaps entertaining.

Looking forward to hearing updates on their adventures

Shirlz, That is soooo cool!

Nev

Can't wait to see photos, I so want goats.

Well done darling! xx

Have now picked up the other one too - she is a star!! Provided us with pretty much 8 pints of milk today.

And where are the photies???

I want to see them too! Have lots of fun with them, Shirlz!

8 pints of milk a day from two goats? I had no idea you got that much milk from them. Wow. I've never made proper cheese but I make home-made yogurt then strain it through butter muslin and add salt/garlic/herbs to make home-made philadelphia. I could also give you a recipe for goats' milk soap!

oops sorry - on the job with the pics.

Chickpea... that's just the milk from ONE goat... the other isn't old enough although she may go to the billy in autumn.

Yes please to the recipe for goatsmilk soap!!!!

The yoghurt/philadelphia idea sounds good. Would like to try that too.

So many things to do!!

Goatsmilk soup? Oh, wait...

How much land do you need to keep them on? I reckon this one is out of our league but we might be able to talk some neighbours into lending us a bit of land in exchange for milk...

...but Toni has been told that to get milk from goats you have to keep them perpetually in kid, which she thinks is cruel. Is this true?

Not a vast amount - about 5 goats to an acre but it depends on the quality of the grazing and how much you want to supplement their food - other factors such as size of goat will obviously need to be considered. (Thanks to David for that info!)

They can go 18 months or more between kidding - so it doesn't need to be constant at all. I don't know how it works as yet, but I would have thought it would be fair to give her a break before putting her in kid again... blinking hard work producing milk!!

I'll post some more but this one made me chuckle... our push me pull me!!

Jealous

Cute piccie

Ggrrr, nothing works properly again - can't see the photo, and can't quote properly, either.

Anyway, Hedgie:

...but Toni has been told that to get milk from goats you have to keep them perpetually in kid, which she thinks is cruel. Is this true?

I don't think it's cruel - it's natural. In the wild they would definitely be pregnant every year. Well, they are only pregnant half the year, of course... They are fairly seasonal, although not quite as strictly as some other animals, so if you have a herd of goats, you can arrange the kiddings so that you have milk all year round. You should always have them "dry" for about 2 months before the next kidding, anyway, so that the energy can go into producing a healthy kid (or kids) rather than milk.

If I had enough land to keep dairy goats, I'd keep two (for company), and have them in kid every other year (plenty of milk for one person, plus to give away or fatten a pig with!). I.e., every year I'd have one freshly kidded, and another one with not quite so much milk left. That way you don't have a dry period in the year with no milk at all, either (unless, of course, you actually want to go on holiday at some stage and can't find anybody to do the milking for you! But who'd want a holdiay if you have goats?)

That, btw, is a point that really needs consideration - who'll milk the goat if you are not available? That might be because you are sick, or on holiday, or need to go away on an urgent family matter... There are some people around who do "smallholding sitting" for a living; so unless you have friends nearby who can fill in at short notice, it might be worth your while trying to find somebody like that before you are stuck, just in case. It's easier to find somebody to just feed your animals (especially if that somebody then gets fresh eggs for their efforts), but milking is a different matter.