goat milk?

[laughing man]

does it taste the same?
do they give all year?
can they free range?

 

[freemotion]

Better.
Depends on the goat.
With great fencing only.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

laughing man

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Mine free-range on days that I'm outside doing chores without any fencing at all. They never go far from their usual area and all it takes is a little shake of the grain bucket to send them running at full-speed back to the barn. We just built our house about 18 months ago and it's been slow going with the fencing so their fenced area is still pretty small. I love letting them loose to play, exercise, and eat FREE browse! I would never leave them out if I wasn't home and I check on them regularly (mostly to make sure they aren't in the garden; they've never gone further out than I was comfortable with.)

Also, our dog is with them when they're out. No fencing means they're more vulnerable to stray dogs so if you don't have an LGD I'd be careful about supervision. I would guess that the availability of browse would determine how far they wander. Our home is smack in the middle of mixed deciduous woodland, so there is plenty available close by. We're too far from the neighbors to worry about a phone call from them.

 

[warthog]

As already said, good fencing, and even with that I won't leave them out if I am going out.

Without fencing, supervision and watch your garden plants.

Good luck

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

does it taste the same?
do they give all year?
can they free range?

Welcome!

And yes should taste the same, if it dos'nt theres an issue...cleanliness, illness, buck close....etc...

They will milk up to 18 months after kidding 2 milkings daily...depending on breed...and the need. You can dry them earlier if you choose.

And I Fence them too...for their own safety. They are curious and very creative animals and can get themselves in loads of trouble if you are unable to keep an eye on them.... as you may see on some of the posts and pictures!! I always say "A goat can find trouble in an empty room"

Do you have them yet? Or are you pondering getting them?

 

[chandasue]

I've also been told recently that if the protein content in their diet isn't high enough it'll make the milk taste off. It's still fine for cheese but if protein in the diet isn't high enough (13-16% grain ration plus good hay, I feed mine alfalfa hay) the butterfat of the milk will be lower than the milk protein and that makes it taste off. Otherwise like others said it's likely illness or cleanliness issue. The big difference in goat and cow milk is that the fat particles are much smaller and easier to digest than cow milk. The size is also why the cream rises to the top faster with cow's milk. You can get a cream separator though and still get cream from goats. They're just expensive and something else to clutter my countertop...

 

[laughing man]

thanks
to emmetts dairy just looking in to the idea and a little reseach

 

[Chirpy]

If you plan on milking you probably don't want to let your does out onto pasture (whether fenced or free range) as any weeds they eat can change the flavor of the milk. My goats are on pasture all year except the does I'm milking. I control everything they eat to make sure their milk is always that wonderful flavor.

My goats all free range... when I'm home. Never when I'm not here. We have 40 acres as does everybody around us (or more) so I also don't have to worry about neighbors. My goats have never left our property (I've free ranged them for 3 1/2 yrs.) and I have a big dog to watch over them whenever they are out of the fenced area.

How long a doe milks for depends a lot on her genetic background and the quality of feed she's getting while being milk. Most large breed dairy goats milk well for around 8 to 10 months and then start to dimish their supply. Some just slowly give less and less over a shorter time period and some will give a gallon and a half a day for over a year.

Most people who milk their does dry them off 2 to 3 months before they are due to freshen (give birth) again. You breed them to have kids once a year so you would be getting milk for about 9 to 10 months and then they'd be dry for that 2 or 3 months.

If you have multiple dairy does you can stagger their breeding/kidding times so you have milk year round.

Large breed goats (Alpine, Nubian, LaMancha) come into heat in the fall/winter season (normally August thru January). Thus they have their kids in the spring time. The small breeds (Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy) can be bred year round so you can chose when you want to have kids.