Manitoba , Canada

[Snow5164]

Hello from up north!!
I have 10, 8 week old chickens, 4 dogs, 4 cats and a dog boarding kennel. We have the space and the barn for a cow or two next spring . I'm hoping to learn lots so my husband of 27 years and me can have milk and eggs and not have to " go to town" as much.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings @Snow5164 ! There are quite a few others on here from way up north.

Just curious as to why you'd go with the expense and work involved with owning (a) dairy cow(s) when (based on 27 yrs married) there's probably just the two of you? A couple of dairy goats would produce more milk than the two of you could drink, at a fraction of the cost and in 1/2 the time... I'm by myself and drink about 1/2 gallon of milk a day...

Would you buy a cow already in milk? ($$)... If you start w/a calf to save on purchase price, you'll have to wait ~18 months to breed her (goats are 1/2 that), then they gestate for a LONG time (9 months+, goats are ~1/2 that). And once they are milkers can/do produce GALLONS (like 3-5+) of milk every day! A full sized dairy goat can produce over a gallon a day.

Just curious... May you reach your goals and succeed! Glad you joined us! Lots to learn here!

 

[animalmom]

Hear hear! Welcome!, and a second vote for dairy goats. If you like your dogs, you would probably love some of the mini goats: Nigerian Dwarfs, mini Lamanchas, mini Alpines, etc. Lots of cute, curious, friendly, easy to manage goaties out there! Once you figure out your milk needs, drinking, baking, cooking, cheese making, soap making, then you can beat your budget against the dairy goat breeds and see what you come up with.

 

[norseofcourse]

Welcome from Ohio! I'd also say check into a milking goat or two. You can even milk sheep like I do You get less milk than most goats, but you get cool fiber to play with also

 

[OneFineAcre]

Welcome from North Carolina​