Housing Meat Goats with Milk Goats…trickier than expected.

Eat the Bully...Drink the Milk

As I mentioned in my last post , Bully Goats Rough, my wife ( @allforthegood ) and I were seriously contemplating slaughtering our meat goats because of how they were bullying our new milk goat.

@allforthegood and I decided it was time to quickly convert our year long investment of feed into homegrown meat.

What I didn't mention in that post was the other mitigating reasons for leaning towards our version of the "final solution." The rest of this post will explain why we are getting away from Kinko/Boar goats and leaning towards Nubians/Nigerian Dwarf goats.

As I was saying, at least 3 out of the 4 bully goats rough will meet their untimely end as meat—a tasty, lean meat in fact. We may keep "Little Girl" and do some experimental breeding with a Nubian buck that we hope to procure in the next 8 months or so. So, our female Kinko/Boar will be offered a stay in her execution... for now...

Moving on...

You know, sometimes after acquiring a new animal on your homestead it becomes apparent that they just aren’t a good fit. With limited fencing and even more limited time, we feel, at this point , that we need to focus our energies on animals that can peaceably co-exist with each other.

Our goat veterans have proven they are rather hard to get along with. These goats have even tried taking on our new massive 150 pound Bull Mastiff. They’re definitely not faint of heart!

If only there was a black market underground goat fighting enterprise that I could use these meat sacks in. I bet I'd make a killing!

I kid, I kid... (get it?)

Rather than continue on with two types of goats, it makes sense to consolidate to a breed that is friendly and easy to train…and can make creamy and delicious milk.

Why Goats instead of Cows?

When my wife and I purchased our 12 acres of land, we knew we had the possibility of raising a Jersey cow if we wanted to, but we decided to go with a either a Nigerian Dwarf or a Nubian, “the Jersey of the dairy-goat world” for a number of reasons:

1.   Goats need less area to graze on, which means less fencing to purchase.
   

2.   Goats are less picky than cows and will even eat our prolific poison ivy and briars.
   

3.   Goats don’t mind rough, wooded terrain. Lush grass pasture isn’t essential, or even preferred.
   

4.   Goat milk can be used for flavorful cheese, like Feta, and natural soap. The Nubian breed is also good for meat.
   

5.   Goat milk is more easily digested than cow milk, even tolerated by some who are lactose-intolerant.
   

(Side Note: Not sure how the 5 points above formatted the way they did. I kinda like the way it looks so I left it.)

By the way, don’t form your opinion on whether you like goat's milk based on the junk commercially produced and sold at your local grocery store. It’s nothing like FRESH RAW goat's milk. @allforthegood and I tried it before receiving our young Nubian, and we were hooked! It was so delicious and refreshing. Give it a try, and if you love cow's milk, you'll love goat's milk too.

Stay tuned for updates as we learn how to breed, freshen and milk on our little homestead!

What do you think?

Should we get a Nigerian Dwarf buck or a Nubian buck?

We'd love to hear your pros and cons for each type.

Thanks for Reading!

As Always,