Nearly a decade ago, I visited a very developed homestead, it was friends of a friends, and we went over for dinner. After our meal, they served us fresh goat milk ice cream, with a homemade apple pie. The ice cream was made with milk from their herd of dairy goats. This meal stuck with me like no other. I was in disbelief that, they had gone out and milked their goats, came in and made ice cream. This experience thrust forward a very large goal: Buy land and do my best to live off it. Years later and we are finally here, slowly making dreams become our reality!
Why dairy goats and not cows?
When we moved to our property, and were ready to add some animals, I was enamoured with the idea of a family milk cow! They were so beautiful, and the whole idea seemed like an eloquent fairy tale. I watched women online, in their dresses, milking their beautiful jersey cows in a grassy field. Now anyone with cows knows thats not the entire picture. As we got to surveying our land and making plans, reality set in. We realized creating the right set up for a cow, was going to be costly, and take a good chunk of time. Because we live along a river, most of our land is sand and river rock, forest and brush. There is no pasture, and very little soil to create pasture; without an enormous amount of work, and money. I was also discovering that in our area, there were not a lot of family milk cow mentors. But you know what there were a lot of? People with milking goats!
Right around the time the gears started to turn in my head, my husband was building a very large area for our chickens. One day he uttered the words “This pen is so big, you could put goats in here too”. That was it! That was all I needed to hear- I was getting goats. The goats never did share the chicken pen, but that is what got the ball rolling.
Working with the land… not against it:
We learned a fast lesson that goats are the perfect animal for us. They forage on all the native plants and trees we have, they are small and easy to handle. We have two young children, and they don’t pose any danger to them. At best someone may get pushed over, but nothing serious. I can milk them with my boys around. They are also significantly cheaper to feed than a cow, being that they actually utilize all the foraging space we have and we aren’t having to solely feed them hay.
What breed do you have?
We have two Miniature Nubians, they are a cross between the Nubian and a Nigerian Dwarf. I have found them to be the perfect breed for us. They are still smaller than a standard breed, but they produce a significant amount of milk. Milk production really depends on genetics and both my girls are very well bred! I get about 2L a day each from them, and this is only their first year milking. That will increase in their 2nd and 3rd lactation cycles.
When I first started I gave it a go with two Nigerian Dwarfs. While they were lovely, the production was lacking. I knew my goal would always be to have the most amount of milk, with the fewest amount of animals. Nigerian Dwarfs are known for the quality of their milk, what they lack in quantity, they make up for it in the creamy delicious milk they produce. While my girls are only half Nigerian, I find they are the best of both worlds. Their milk is high in fat, and they produce a great amount for our family.
The Lifestyle of Owning a Milking Animal:
“Married to your milk cow” is a very true statement, for all milking animals alike. As a general rule, you need to milk at least once a day, in most cases twice a day. So this does give a lot structure and time constraints on your life. Right now we are milking morning and night, so that means unless I have someone who can come milk for me, I am not taking any vacations or nights away from home. While that may sound daunting to some, you really CAN take vacations, you just need to plan ahead! Every milking animal will have a period of time when they are “dry”, meaning not producing milk. This is typically a couple of months before they are due to give birth again. So for us, our time away and vacations happen during this period. We also kid share, which means once the babies are born, they feed their babies and we milk the leftover. This period of time also gives us flexibility, because we aren’t tied to milking daily.
Are Dairy Goats Less Superior?
In terms of production, most goats are not going to produce as much as a cow. Although I have heard of some standard breeds that sure come close. My two does produce a gallon of milk a day, it allows us to drink all the milk we want, make yogurt, cheese, and other things like ice cream and kefir. I would definitely agree, in the case of butter making, they are less superior. While I can actually make a decent amount of butter, using my cream separator, it would never compare to the sheer volume of a cows cream. For us right now this is the perfect amount, I am not feeling overwhelmed, but slowly working my way up and confidently knowing I could handle more.
Reasons you might want Dairy Goats:
- You have a smaller acreage– Goats require much less space, than some livestock.
- Weed Control, or brushy landscape– a huge part of our reasoning for goats, is our lack os pasture or grazing. While we have a lot of space, it is all trees and native brush plants- which goats love to browse on!
- Easy to handle and manage– We have found our goats to be very calm and gentle with our children. It makes things so much easier at chore time, that I do not have to worry about anyones safety.
- More affordable to feed & care for– While I do think you should ALWAYS be prepared financially to deal with anything that may come up with your animals, emergency or otherwise. Goats have been fairly inexpensive to feed and care for.
- Requires less infrastructure– You will still need good fencing, a dry shelter, and a milking stanchion. All of these things are much smaller and more attainable in some ways than for a cow.
Benefits of Goat’s Milk:
- Vitamins: Goat milk is rich in vitamins like A, B2, B6, B12, and E.
- Minerals: It’s rich in minerals like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
- Fatty Acids: Goat milk contains short and medium-chain fatty acids, which are easier to digest than long-chain fatty acids found in cow’s milk.
- Lactose: Goat milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, making it a potentially better option for people with lactose intolerance.
- Digestibility: The smaller fat globules in goat milk make it easier to digest compared to cow’s milk.
Breakdown of what we do with our milk:
Right now we are averaging about 1 gallon a day from our two does in milk, this equals about 7 gallons a week. From this I make 2-3 litres of yogurt a week, we drink a litre or more a day, I make 2 batches of cheese a week, & we make things like ice cream and kefir as well. Once I started making cheeses, the milk started to go quick! I will use 2 gallons per batch, minimum. So we really do get a lot of dairy products with the milk, and they pay for themselves ten fold! I can’t even put a number on how much money we save on groceries, with all the things they give us!
Busting Some Myths about Goat’s Milk:
Usually the first comment I get when I tell people we drink goats milk is: “EWWW I don’t like goat milk, it’s goaty”” or “EW goat milk tastes like goats, how do you drink that?”. While I will agree that some goat milk from the store is GROSS, our girl’s milk is nothing like it at all. Trust me when I say, I make every guest in our house try some, just to break the stigma! It is worth noting that goat milk does have a tendency to turn in flavour or take on a stronger flavour, then cows milk does. Some contributors to off tasting milk: poor bloodlines, improper handling of the milk, & not cooling it quick enough. As well as things like stress, and diet, and the breed of goat can also play a roll. In general if you have quality milking goats, with a supply of good food, fresh water, and you are chilling it adequately, your goat milk should not be “goaty”
There is also the debate of housing your buck near your does, lots of people say this can taint the milk, and make it off. I have heard of people keeping them together, and saying they can’t tell a difference. I personally choose to house my buck away from my does, as I just couldn’t imagine it not tainting it, he stinks haha. So while I can’t say from experience, I just error on the side of caution.
A Few Final Thoughts on Dairy Goats:
While the lifestyle of owning any animal is a commitment, the commitment of a dairy animal is far larger. You are committed in your time, with your schedule, everything you do will somewhat revolve around them and their schedule. All that being said, I could never go back! I absolutely adore my quiet mornings & evenings, just me and my girls. It is such a deep connection to nature, and I often sit and reflect on my gratitude for them, and everything they give to us. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if it does come with some sacrifices, they are small in comparison to everything we gain.
It is so empowering to not rely on someone else for this portion our food. Being able to transform nutrient dense milk, into things like cheese, yogurt, and everything else, truly feels like a magic power. Everything about it feels so cathartic, and very primal and it grounds me on every level.
