Meet My Goats
So, I've been raising goats for 7 years. We started with a herd of fainting goats for meat. These were really high quality animals that I adored. Fainting goats are not only excellent meat goats but also endless comedy.
But, we came to the conclusion after a few years that we didn't have the time or the land to raise them profitably. It didn't help that most of that time we were under near drought conditions here in North Florida. It's a lot of work keeping a herd like this. What starts out as a manageable group of 7 or 8 does quickly turns into 20 to 25 moms with babies.
And if you try and expand that you are quickly looking at having to feed 50 or 60 animals. And trim their hooves. And keep them wormed. And. and. and. and.
After a few years we dropped back to just a few dairy goats. The fainting goats I had were really hearty animals. They were great for novice goat owners because they were very parasite resistant, so they were hard to kill.
On the other hand, Nubians, while gorgeous, and big producers are also born looking for a place to drop dead at the slightest change to their health.
Quinn, Daria and JJ... from Left to Right (2013)
I kept my fainting goat bucks to breed to my Nubian does to create a great dairy cross for the area of Florida I live in. I kind of backed into the cross, to be honest. But it turned out perfectly. They produce a lot of very rich milk that makes the best cheeses and yogurt. They are also much stronger goats than the Nubians and what I sacrifice in top-end milk production I gain in having next to zero stress about their health.
Today I have 3 of these crosses all hitting their prime production years (2 to 5) and giving more than three quarts a day of around 4.5% butterfat milk.
No really, my greek yogurt is to die for. So are my wife's goat cheese cheesecakes.
I love my girls. JJ kept my family fed for very little money when she was younger and I was unemployed. We couldn't have gotten through that period without her. She's retired now and the closest thing to a pet I have on my farm.
You have to form a very strong bond with your dairy goats to keep them producing. This is why we're there to mid-wife them during kidding. Unstressed goats are happy goats. And happy goats produce more milk and strong babies. I'm not doing anything special here. This is simply the right way to raise and husband these animals.
So, without further ado. Meet my current herd of bucks and dairy goats.
Nice animals. I love goats. A very interesting post. I look forward to reading stories about them all through the season.
I've always loved goats from my first experiences of them as a child at the petting zoo---they are such clowns! My husband and I visited Oak Knoll Dairy Goat farm in Vermont a while back and were considering getting a herd. Of course, we need some land first! Only time will tell if it's just a dream or something we will actually do. In any case, I look forward to more videos and stories about your herd.
Back in 1998-99 I was in that same space you are. In 2002 my wife and I decided to buy the land and build the house. Goats still took another 7 years because well, life intervened.
Wow! What a fascinating story. I'm currently living on a farm, but originally from the city. So I'm getting familiar with farming and raising cattle. This is such an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it with us.
You are very welcome. Cattle are real work. We have ducks as well. Raised chickens for a long time but there was really no money in them. Ducks are better.
Good to know!
And they are less destructive on your yard. I'll do a post on why ducks over chickens when I get time.
I love this! I am living in the city but my big dream is to move out into the country in a few years and have a little piece of land to grow food and become more and more self sufficient. I also dream of having a goat and a little pony, more for entertainment than for milk, but this is a great side effect of course. I followed for more goat stories.
Thank you for sharing, greetings from Germany.