What breed of goat gives the most milk (average)? What breed has the highest butter fat? For ex.. in dairy cattle the Holstein gives the most milk, but jerseys (sp) have the highest butter fat. But I haven't found enough info to tell me which goat breeds give the most milk or which one has the highest butter fat. (Milking to be done 2-3 times a day with 2 an average.)

Thanks

animalfarms (IN)

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.net), September 09, 2001

Answers

Try going to the ADGA website, then to the USDA link which has the milk production amounts for each breed and BF/protein. It also has information on the record holders as well. I recently did some research into this as we now have gone into a different direction with having a Grade A dairy and shipping milk. Our bonues monies depend upon high butterfat and low SCC. So I found in my research that the Nubians have more BF but do not produce as much milk. LaManchas seem to be the best for milk/BF, Saanans are the least in BF but are what some refer to as the "holsteins" of the goat world. Toggs and Alpines are similiar.

The butterfat is depends also upon your herd management. For example you can feed BOSS and increase BF.

Hope this helps.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), September 09, 2001.

The larger Swiss breeds have the highest milk production, but Nubians have the highest butterfat content: around 5% average. Some of ours approach 6% butterfat. Our Nubians typically milk 6 to 7 pounds per day during normal lactation.

-- Skip in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), September 09, 2001.

Butterfat also varies within a breed as does milk production. i have some Alpines from a high butterfat line, over 5%. There are also Nubians that have high production. I would recommend that you not pick the breed you will raise based on average production for the breed. Visit herds of all the breeds, get a feel for their temeraments and personality differences, and get stock from the breed that you really like. Once you have decided the breed you want, then go for high production and butterfat within that breed.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), September 09, 2001.

I wasn't looking to use the milk (human consumption), not even to make butter or cheese. I was planning on getting (some day) some multi-birth sheep (Romanov's have 4-6 at a time commonly), & wanted a few goats to milk if I had to bottle feed any lambs. Don't want to buy milk replacer if I can help it. Other wise, I was going to just feed it to some pigs. I'm trying to decide if I'll need the most milk I can get (highest milking breed), or the highest butter fat for the most nutrition. With a ligher lambing rate, I can raise more lambs with less ewes (less to feed over the winter after lambs are sold). I didn't want that many goats if I could help it. I figured if I couldn't sell the kids (myself) I'd have 2 options. One is to take them to a sale barn & take what I can get, or I can butcher, grind, & use for dog food (what I don't use for myself). Maybe I might even be able to sell it frozen as a soup (for dogs)(ex.. cooked ground meat (also good use for any old or unusable parts like the heart, intestins, etc...) a few vegi's, plenty of rice, throw in a few bones for the marrow (removing bones later), maybe some flour or cornstarch for a little thickness. It's something I've made before when I had a bunch of left overs but not enough worth keeping. Can be eaten by people but is a cheep substitute for can dog food.

Some people don't realize that when they have an animal butchered, they don't always get everything back. (ex.. bones, hide, some organs, intestins, but some does come back ground up in the hamburger.) Hides get made into raw hide chips/bones, or sold for leather. Blood makes bloodmeal. Bones have marrow removed for boullion/soup base, then dried for dogs or made into bonemeal. All is profit for the butcher because some didn't know to ask for it back, but then some don't want it any way. Here I am rambling.

Thanks for the info. In this type of situation, what breed would you recommend? One that will give the most or the richest milk. Also the only figures on how much they give (average) is for a total lactation, what would they give in one milking or one day?

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.net), September 10, 2001.

Animalfarm, Well, I have a good friend who raises Nubians and with the milk raises bottle calves and extra lambs. She takes really good care of all her animals and really likes her goats. There is a great meat market out there as many humans like goatmeat(myself included) I raise the old fashioned Nubian that has milk and meat. The high butterfat is good for the lambs too. But to be honest,any breed of goat will give you good quality milk that is easily digested for any baby animal. I have raised baby calves, veal calves, lambs, kids, baby rabbits puppies, kittens and 2 son's who are over 6 feet tall on goats milk. The goats were everything from grades, Nubian/Alpine crosses,Alpines, Toggenburgs, Saanens,and LaMancha. You need to go to a goat show and look at the goats and tlak to some breeders. I raise Nubians because my favorite doe gave the best tasting milk, and I like their looks and personalities. I raise Suffolks because of their meat producing qualities and I think they are pretty, and have seen some butt-ugly sheep. Alpines have high butterfat and give more milk, Nubians have high butterfat and give a little less milk but have more meat on their bones. This is a generalization, and you will find better and worse in every breed. I anyones asks me,I tell them I breed for good dispositions as I dislike having mean or bossy goats.

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), September 10, 2001.

In a situation like yours it is simply going to be a matter of educating yourself, forget about breed, and finding something that is healthy, easy to deal with and has a good sound milkable udder. I would find a local breeder who sells family milkers. A small udder flaw for those who show, which may mean a pocket in the foreudder, and not the smooth lovely foreudder we need to show, could be picked up once freshened at show farms for a couple of hundred dollars. With this kind of sale, also comes all the medical information on the animal, probably CAE testing, vaccinations and current wormings, since this doe could just have eaisly came in with a showable udder. What you don't want to buy is something nursing babies, someone who doesn't milk their does for the whole lactation, and who can't show you pounds of milk, milked from sisters, and dams. DHIR records would be a bonus, but even barn records is better than the pat answer of "Yep she milks a gallon". I can guarantee you that you will be on the boards next year asking how to increase the amount of milk your doe is making, and asking why is my doe drying up at just 3 months fresh??? :) Don't buy anything that hasn't been CAE tested, though you can milk a doe through the sypmtoms of the arthritis part of CAE you can not milk an udder that has no milk! Visit goat boards and find out what CAE is, CL, since you have sheep you probably already know about. goatworld.com groups.yahoo.com (Nubain Talk, Saanen Talk, LaMancha Talk, etc) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), September 10, 2001.