What is the best breed of goat if I want it for milk but would use the kids for meat?

-- Christine (Christine_Young16@yahoo.com), October 04, 2001

Answers

Nubian and Lamancha's were the true dual purpose breeds. Now with Boer influence, you could eaisly milk the dairy goat of any breed of your choice (and since you will have them for years you should have what catches your fancy), and breed them to boer influence, and eat the cross kids, breeding the dairy does to a dairy buck only when you need to think about replacements, or you find, like we do here, that purebred dairy makes you more money. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

Just wondering something. Is it just me, or are goats in general sort of difficult to raise, breed and care for? Seems like there's a lot of questions about a lot of problems concerning goats, and it's sort of got me thinking about not adding any to our place. Am I just major uninformed or paranoid or what?

-- Phil in KS (pemccoy@yahoo.com), October 04, 2001.

No, goats are generally very healthy animals. They are the easiest I have found to raise so far. Goats are the true homesteder's animal, I think you will find that nearly every homesteader that has been homesteading for very long, either has or has had goats at some time or another. That means that a lot of the people who post here have goats and so there are proportionally more questions about goats here, and, more problems. Also, goats are less expensive than say, cattle or horses, which most people would take to a vet right away. With goats, the vet visit can quickly add up to costing more than the goat itself, so people are more inclined to ask for help and treat it themselves if they can.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 04, 2001.

Thanks, Rebekah, for the help. Sounds like Vickie in TX has extensive knowledge about rearing goats, too. I'll keep it in mind and maybe watch the sales for a goat or two :-)!

-- Phil in KS (pemccoy@yahoo.com), October 05, 2001.

Phil, you have to remember that most vets only see goats on the necropsy table at school, learning about the ruminent stomach. So your knowledge about the goats you have has to come from somewhere. Now pick the man at the auction barn who has had goats for 100 years, than expect your goats to be just like his. There is just wads of miss-information about goats, and though a board like this can help you, you certainly aren't going to be able to discern between good and bad information when you are new. When you make the purchase of your stock, really look around. Find somebody who will help you after the sale. Finding a local mentor is just so invaluable. Then when you get he hang of it, you can branch out, trying new kinds of management with the healthy stock you have purchased.

Like pigs, cows, horses or anything on the farm, purchasing from an auction barn, purchasing before you have adequate shelter, purchasing with no history, you are dooming yourself to failure before you start. Diary goat folks send animals through the auction for slaughter, if she was going to make a nice doe who has nice kids and milks, than why would she be at an auction? She is there for chronic mastitis, she is there because she is unbreedable, kills her kids at birth, previously had a c-section, has CAE, has CL, all things when selling milk we sent does to the auction for. There are lots of good goat boards, learn everything you can and then take the plunge. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 05, 2001.

What Vicki said, particularly about buying goats at auctions. Buy as good a goat as you can afford, you won't be sorry.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), October 05, 2001.

And there is nothing wrong with mixed breeds. They are usually cheaper and give just as good milk and kids. Or purebreed without register papers.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 05, 2001.

i would try to do several things before getting into your goats , one , get the raising milk goats the modern way , 2 the encylopedia of country living , has tons of info on goats

3 get on the net , type in goats , start reading !!! ask as many questions as you can , even if they seem odd..

a decent goat , non purebred can be anywhere from $10-150 depending on where and when you buy , if you want good dairy breed , call local auction houses , even if they dont have a goat sale , chances are they know of people in the area who have goats , then get in touch with those folks , bring over some good pumpkin bread , they will chances are invite you in for coffee, and your good bread , get out a note book , and talk to the folks , they will set you up with what you need to know ,,,, goat pepole atre like our animals , insatiably curious ,(and like my saanens) noisy ...

personally i wouldnt get registered goats , i think the papers make them more of a commodity than an asset , i have pure bred , non registered saanens , and 3/4 boer cross goats , i would go for a 1/2 boer cross if looking for milk/meat , or get a good sized goat , lamanchas saanens ,alpines , staying away from small goats , keeping in mind the dairy breeds really never get "big" you will never get the amount of meat from a goat as say a cow , think more along the line of , a well dressed deer...

good luck , enjoy your goats no matter what you decide , get goating : ) Beth

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001.

Check out Kinder goats. They have a website. I think it is KGBA.com, for Kinder Goat Breeders Association, or look them up on your search engines. They sound like really perfect homestead animals to me.

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), November 08, 2001.