Ok, Ok. I have been disuaded from trying to get a cow to milk for pesronal consumption by friends at work,bosses, and family memebers who actually have had to milk everyday. what breed of dairy goat should I try for milking ? I have 4-5 acres of grass land for grazing but in east texas it gets hot and muggy(east texas is like louisiana climate). I would appreciate any southerners who have dairy goats in humid areas letting me know what has worked best for them. thank you

-- darin snodgrass (snod@texamp.net), April 06, 2000

Answers

Keep in mind that animals indigenous to hot climates have big ears that help cool the body by acting as radiators. I have Nubians and am therefore only slightly biased (yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek at present)but in both Arkansas and Missouri, I have noticed the veins in my goats' ears become very obvious in hot weather and imperceptible during cold weather. Regardless of what breed you choose, remember to keep plenty of fresh water, shade and trace mineral salt, preferably loose, available for them at all times to help them survive the heat.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 06, 2000.

I am in Central Texas and have Toggenburgs. They do just fine so long as they have shade and plenty of water. Alpines and Nubians seem to be the most popular Dairy goats around here. A few things though. You have to milk everyday, twice a day, and goats are browsers not grass eaters. They will eat some grasses but they prefer brush and brambles and trees to grass. From what I understand they will actually starve to death on grasses alone.Get a good goat book, such as Jd Belanger's Raising Goats the Modern Way and it will help you along in your research. Good Luck!

-- Doreen Davenport (livinginskin@yahoo.com), April 06, 2000.

Cleveland Texas here, north of Houston about an hour. I have raised Nubains for 14 years and LaMancha's for 10. Both do fine in our heat, but the Nubains, (not being the dairiest of the goat breeds,) does have a tendancy of lowering lactation during the summer. LaMancha's are great year round milkers. They are also the only homegrown breed we have here in the states. They are out in the fields and woods, eating when the Nubains are laying in the shade, and are also not as skittish about rain. Good moms, good dispostitions and even though they are smaller (which means they eat less for the same amount of milk or more) they are fierce fighters, and won't let anyone bully them. They are ear biters! Guess they want the Nubians on our place to look like them. I have Goats for show and milk. If I was independantly wealthy and didn't have to make an income off of my stock I would have LaMancha's. But Nubains make money. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.

Nubians or la manchas would be best for Texas. Other breeds would live, but the tropical breeds will do the best for you. Also, nubians are very popular in Texas, and they are a good breed for meat production too, and goat meat has a ready market in Texas, so it would be like having a dual purpose breed. I do prefer the la Mancha personality by far, though.

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

This is to answer Doreen's comment about goats starving to death on grass -- I've read the same book, and I don't think it is true. At least, we've had goats that were on pasture with no browse, and they did very well. The pasture wasn't just grass, of course, there was a lot of clover and other herbaceous plants, and when we did get some branches to throw to the goats, they acted like we'd given them candy -- but they were healthy and milking well on just the pasture and their grain ration.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 11, 2000.