My hubby and I just bought our 1st home complete with 1 1/2 acres! Not much compared to some, but with prices being what they are in the Denver area it was all we could afford. I have been raising chickens & rabbits along with my Morgan horses on my parent's 8 acre ranchette, but now that we are getting our own bit of land I'm interested in a small dairy goat. I am lactose intollerant and cannot tollerate much soy either (what a fun baby I must have been). My mother kept a heavy milking Nubian cross when I was a kid, so I am somewhat familiar with dairy goats. But since it is just myself and my hubby I would like to find a small, easy to keep, affordably priced breed or cross, that would produce a fair amount of milk. I don't expect or need a huge amount of milk and do not have any room for grazing since my 1 1/2 acres will also house my 3 horses. Thanks in advance for any info!

-- Ellie (eagle-quest@juno.com), January 05, 2000

Answers

Aren't morgans great? I have a 13 year old morgan mare to, you can use them for anything! I would suggest you look for a nigerian dwarf cross as it will stay farly small and produce ok to. They should be farly inexpensive 40 t0 50 around here.Check with the locale 4h club or watch the newspaper.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), January 05, 2000.

Judging from the 11/2 acre size you are probably in close proximity to neighbors? Anyhow, my choice would be an Oberhasli. They are medium sized, gentle and most importantly, quiet. They give enough milk for a small family, but don't produce quite as much as Saanen, Alpine, Toggs, or Nubs.(If any Obie breeders read this I'll hear it for sure!!) I chose them just for their temperament and quiet nature. Nothing gets neighbors on your case faster than a constantly crying, loud goat. If you are going to keep just one, it probably will be noisey out of loneliness until it bonds with the horses.

The dwarf sounds good too. Good luck!

-- Jim Roberts (jroberts1@cas.org), January 06, 2000.

Production and size will vary within a breed as well as between breeds.Generally speaking,Saanens are the heaviest producers and the largest.Remember that a goat has to freshen and have kids in order to milk,so for about 3 months or more,the kids will be taking some of the milk,about 1-3 quarts per kid.Of course,after you sell the kids or eat them,you will have more milk.I would say that La Manchas,Oberhasli,or Toggenburg would all work well.Be sure and tell the breeder you buy from that you would like a doe that gives X amount of milk a day,and you can select one that will not drown you in milk.If you have a dog,it can drink some of the excess milk,and will get a beautiful coat from it.It is important to get the breed that you like,so if you like one better than another,just pick a lower producing doe of that breed.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), January 06, 2000.

We have "about" a half acre ... little over half, I think ... on which we wish to raise "a few" chickens and a goat. Of the goats recommended so far, how many acres per goat ... or goats per acre ... is "acceptable" ? And how much feed do I have to have on hand over and above that which one of those goats can graze ? ( We live in "upstate" NY, in the northwest section of the Adirondack "state park". )

Thankful for all assistance you may give :) L.A. Smith

-- L.A. Smith (LARSmith@IMCNet.Net), January 06, 2000.

Thanks to everyone for the info. Yes, we will be living pretty close to neighbors, but luckily all but one have several horses, cattle, goats, etc. Our county ordinances allow one "livestock unit" per 1/3 acre as long as you have a minimun of 1 acre. They define a livestock unit as one horse, mule, lama or cow or 3 sheep or goats (no pigs allowed at all). I figure that 3 horses plus a goat will be somewhat crowded, but at least we will be "legal" (stock under 4 months of age or unweaned do not count). They also allow a flock of up to 15 poultry (ducks, geese, chickens, guinneas, etc) and "small livestock" (rabbits, mink, etc). Luckily, the rules are fairly liberal and will allow us to have more than we intended to anyway. p.s. I tried buying goat milk at the grocery store and it was TERRIBLE! Definitly not like the fresh stuff I grew up on. :-)

-- Ellie (eagle-quest@juno.com), January 06, 2000.

I tried a taste test with my 4h goat kids between cow and goat milk, they could tell the diference between the two but had a hard time telling when i used 1 percent goat milk then i figured out, they were all raised one 1 percent cow milk so whole goat milk was to thick for them .

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), January 07, 2000.

A good book that discusses all aspects of goats is called "Goat Husbandry" by David Mackenzie (revised and edited by Ruth Goodwin). I have the fifth edition, and I feel much better informed re: feed conversion and forage planning. It covers housing, fences, milking, and breeding.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@aol.com), January 08, 2000.

Again, Saanans. Not pretty, but good tasting (not strong) milk. Nice tempermanent. Excess milk - cats, dogs, CHEESE! (even the chickens like that), yogurt, cooking/baking. If you leave the kids w/ the mom, you can take only what you need. I kind of miss my goaties.

-- B Lathrop (bflfish@aol.com), January 08, 2000.

HI!! We used to have a small farm in western NY several years ago. We had only 1 and 1/2 acres but raised 2 horses, 6 full sized dairy goats, chickens and some calves. We weren't even cramped for space either. Now we have 35 acrs and live in VA. and raise Alpine dairy goats. I'm not going to give a plug for my babies here. Alpines are nice but have an, "attitude" sometimes. Nubians are sweet but noisy. If you have close neighbors that may be an issue. I know I'll hear about this from the Nubie folks . I would go with a nice goat either a registered, cross or dwarf that has the capacity to milk. Whatever you do, do not purchase a goat from the local stockyard. Also look the goat over and make sure she is in good health, no deformities or abcesses, etc. Nutrition is the most important factor in obtaining good tasting milk. Feed the doe right and you will be blessed with an overflowing bucket! Another consideration: eventually you will need to breed that doe and dry her off. If you don't want to purchase one of those charming smelly sweeties then you will need to find a breeder or goat owner who has a buck and then she will need to visit. Good Luck and remember, those darling goaties will steal your heart!

-- Bernice Raymond (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 09, 2000.

One Nubian will give about 2qts or less a day and make good companions to your horses. We have both and the goats frequently go under the gate or through the fence to visit the mares we have in the lot next to them. With only 1 1/2 acres you will have to feed hay to everything anyway, so I would not be as concerned about size of the goat as buying the type that will give you the amount of milk you want on a daily basis. We happen to like our Nubians because they are more like big dogs and we have one half grown that definitely thinks she needs to follow you around the farm.

If you are near southern Iowa, send me an e-mail as I will have some to sell.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), January 12, 2000.

I live on a downtown double city lot in the middle of a city of 30,000. I have chickens and goats. Noise was an important consideration, and after talking with breeders of all the breeds of dairy goats, I purchased an Oberhasli. The reasons I settled on that breed were sweet temperament, not noisy, good milk, smallish goat, good amount of milk. I have also had and still have Nigerian Dwarfs.

My Ober is very sweet, and quite patient with the little Nigerians. She is far quieter than even the Nigerians, and I chose very quiet Nigerians. She has wonderful milk, and I was drowning in it until I slowed her down by going to one milking per day in about August. She freshened last April, and her production was still around 3 quarts a day in August. When I started milking her just in the morning, it went to a little over two quarts right away. That's about the top capacity of her bag. Since then, she's slowly tapered off, and now I get about one and a half quarts per day. That's been pretty steady for a month or so now.

I wanted a smallish goat because I have a tiny place and a tiny barn, with a tiny, homemade milking stand. She just fits the stand. A Saanen would never make it, and I don't have anyplace to put a bigger stand. Also a smallish goat eats less. She currently gets about 12 oz. of grain, 1 lb. of good alfalfa, and 2 lb. of good grass, with a couple pounds of apples, root crops, etc. There is no grazing.

If I want her to give more milk, I increase the root crops (beets, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, potatoes). If I want less milk, I do the opposite. Root crops seem to really encourage milk production. I'm going to try to grow enough this year to forego the grain ration altogether next winter.

Obviously, I could go on and on. If you want to chat without taking up the forum space, please feel free to email me. Good luck!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), January 18, 2000.