Why milk a cow and not goats?

No, but when I used to feed round bales out of the back of a pick-up, one of my cows would climb right up into the bed, then jump over the side!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

You and me both honey. There is no comparison to sweet Jersey milk

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Raising grass-fed beef and lamb.

We have both.

The kids prefer the cow's milk and the cream is excellent
Its easier to milk the cow and I get much much more
I love the goats' personalities
My wife likes to make goat cheese
Goat's milk has healing properties, especially for your digestive system
Goat's are easier to handle, unless the cow is really tame

There are pro's and cons both ways.

I have to put my vote in here also for goat milk being NASTY!!

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Rachel K
(and sometimes Matt)

Parents to Danial, Jacob, Isaac, Clara, Sarah Jo, and twins Emma and Anna born 12/18/2009!

http://www.jerseyknoll.com

I thought goat milk was nasty until we had our own and were very careful about how we handled it. I actually prefer a fresh, cold, sweet (not goaty) glass of goat milk to even our jersey milk (which I love).

You have to handle it the right way and its pretty awesome.

Also, when I started drinking raw goats' milk, my acid reflux problem went away and I went off of Nexium. I also had a bunch of warts on my hand that went away. It really helped my digestion and immune systems.

fresh goat milk is delicious. fresh cow milk is delicious. old milk is nasty....

We have had both also. We milked goats for a couplt of yrs. different breeds being fed the same food. The milk varied in taste from animal to animal. I couldn't get my husband to eat the cheese and he would barely dring the milk. He's not usually picky. We then got a cow and all problems seem to be solved. He likes the milk and the cheese...with the added bonus of butter and cream. I guess we will look into AI for the cow. Although I don't like the down time you have with 1 cow and we will probably get another ....I don't want to deal with a bull 365 for 1 or 2 cows.

Probably the biggest problem I had with the goats.....as much as I loved the does and their personalities...Billies are nasty, vile, disgusting animals. I hated everyday i had to go out and deal with them and their stench. The pea all over everything they come into contact with. The other animals wouldn't be able to eat the hay we put out. After threatening to shoot the last one we had and letting him rot where he lay...my husband took him to the slaughter house and we barbequed him. He really felt the same way I did about the billies. We had owned a couple different ones...it was the same with them all.
Sharon

Goat milk = pee-yoo to me. Plus, goats are very destructive to their environment, at least on most homesteads. Most of the goat herds I've seen turn their area into a lunar landscape void of anything live or green in a very short time.

Cows actually smell really good (to me!)

I must admit I do love cows. I didn't know how much until I owned some. I also found there is a certain respect people give you when you mention you raise cattle that just doesn't happen when you say you got chickens, or pigs, or goats!

Another reason to prefer cows: t-bone steak.

Although an advantage to goats is you could transport them in the back of your hatchback

Another reason not to drink goats milk?

Didn't read the disclaimer, eh?

I posted over on your goat thread, but I'd like to chime in here too.

I had a milk cow for a few years and liked her well enough, but it's easier for me to take care of goats do to their size.

My pure blood Saanen gives plenty of milk and will milk year round if I don't dry her off for breading season.

I can't tell the difference in goats milk and cows milk. The taste of the milk depends on the feed and the breed both for cows and goats.

I must admit that I miss all the cream for making butter. I don't get the cream from the goats like I did from the cow.

Cows have diseases that need to be tested for. I had to have mine tested for "bangs" before we used the milk.

There's also the problem with screw worms. One year they were making the rounds here. I was lucky that my cow never got them, but many of my neighbors did.

We have both. Right now we're just milking the Jersey, goats aren't milking.

One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is that the cow is MUCH harder to milk IMO, I could milk 6 goats in the time it takes to milk the cow, and I wouldn't be hurting when I got done. I have apparently developed some sort of nerve problem since milking the cow, which is causing my hands to go numb and my arms to ache at night. Now if you are able to afford a milker, that eliminates that issue.

My son could even milk the goats when he was little, and now that the boys are 8 and 10 they completely feed and handle the goats by themselves. I don't even let them in the fence with the cow, too dangerous. A goat can't very well cave your skull in while you're milking like a cow can. I like that I can lead the goats around like a dog by their collars

As for trimming hooves, etc...the cow's hooves have to be trimmed too and both animals have medical needs/issues...they need vaccinations, worming, our cow is just now getting over mastitis, and the only animal we've had get out so far has not been any of the goats, but the cow...and that was FUN! We finally found her in another pasture visiting some other cows then had to coax her back home with feed through the woods (and she's not halter broken...) She's also gotten out and wandered through the garden, etc. Had to get a stronger electric fence charger. Our goats are in a simple hog wire fence with no electricity and they have not once gotten out...they don't even try...

Both kinds of animals have entertaining personalities, and both give us great milk. Just the cow gives milk with about 1/3-1/4 cream, which I love in my coffee, for making butter, sour cream, whole milk cheeses, etc. and I really personally prefer the cow milk over the goat for drinking, it's just sweeter.

Breeding your own goats to keep them in milk is much easier than having a cow bred, if you don't have a bull. And keeping a buck around to do the breeding would be alot easier than keeping a bull around. It was quite an ordeal for us to have our cow bred, and now we're hoping to have her AI'd but that doesn't always work.

Goats just sometimes up and die for no obvious reason...cows seem to be a little hardier...

Those are the pros and cons I can think of off the top of my head.

All you folks that say goat's milk is nasty - I'd like to know where you got it, how was it handled, what was the goat being fed?

I've never had a drop of off-flavoured milk in the three years I've been milking my goats. I have heard that goat's milk from the store is not very good, but I've never tried it.

If the milk isn't handled properly, with the utmost cleanliness, it doesn't matter what animal it comes from! It's unfair to dismiss an entire species because of one bad experience.

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"Crivens!"

Half Caper Farm - breeding Saanens, Boers and Nigerian Dwarfs

With goats, if you have a few........breed a couple early so that they have January kids. Spread out the time so that the last ones are kidding in May.......and you should be able to have milk year-around. (Unless you are less committed (like me) and I don't want to milk during those coldest months.

There are some commercial goat dairies that milk their goats for 2 years. they only freshen them every other year.

It is nice if you can purchase an animal from someone who is on DHIA testing. That way, there is someone else doing the testing and keeping records. It should give you a good indication of what you are getting.

It is always nice if you can taste that animal's milk BEFORE you buy her!!

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"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

Your cow must just be a pill - lol

Violet was a complete brat when I first got her but she tamed down quickly and completely. I milk her without even tying her up now. I can tap a leg and say "this one back" and she'll move it back. I can also touch her side and say "over" and she'll side step away from the pressure. She has never kicked or tried to kick me. She used to poo when I was milking but I yelled at her each time and now she holds it until she leaves the stall.

Yes, she's perfect. Yes, I'm smug.

I agree, though, that goats are safer to milk for children. That said, my 13 year old milks Violet every morning by himself. He leads her from the lower pasture all the way to the barn on a rope and takes full care of her. She has never hurt him in any way. However, I wouldn't have him deal with her when she has a newborn calf. We've only had her through one delivery and she was pretty protective the first few days.

OH!!! Another pro for goats - goat babies are cuter than pretty much anything.

Ummm...she has her moments

In her defense (bless her heart) she is in a pasture by herself and DH says she gets lonely : She came from a dairy where she was used to being treated like a cow, I think we have spoiled her.

But she definitely has her favorite of all of us (DH), and you can *definitely* tell when she's in heat. We have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get her positioned the way we want while milking. I KNOW she understands when we say things to her like your cow does, she is just too ornery to accommodate our requests And she'll definitely kick (loving the new kickstops...) Oh and yes she has recently learned to pee and poop in the middle of milking if things aren't suiting her. Lovely.

I guess you deserve to be smug.

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I get this as well. I have to keep my shoulders back while milking as much as possible and never lean on the cow while milking or keep your head down... these things make this much worse. Try to stretch your shoulders out bu standing with your feet about 12 inches from a corner and put one elbow/forarm/hand on either wall (about the height of your ear) and keep your head up and lean in. DON"T push it!! Your shoulders will relax slowly and you will slowly lean in. Do it about 10 times a day. We got this from a physical therapist friend of ours and it's amazing!! Truly. It works great in a hot shower as well. If I do this I have almost no problems with it. If I did it daily (I can never remember) I'm sure I'd have NO problems. Hope it helps. B

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Wife to a wonderful man
Mom to Jed, Levi, Emmaline, and Rose

Oh and as for the cow vs goat..

I'm with all those people who think goat milk is NASTY>>> THough my MIL has great milk from her goats. Mine, cheap goats , never had nice milk. We LOVE our cow. LOVE HER. We get tons of milk and can feed the extra to pigs, chickens or whatever. We have enough to make cheese and yogurt and never mind the ice cream, butter, and all the things you can do with butter milk or whey. I also like that our cow could feed several calves with her milk and we'd still get some milk. She had her calf and another this summer and we still got 3 gallons a day!!! We think the calves got up to 2 gallons each!! Lucky guys!!

Besides that goats are a pain to keep in and make a lot more overall noise then our cow. That being said I really want a goat to teather for poplar control. The poplar trees are amazingly quick to grow (up to 3 feet in one summer) and everywhere!!! Our cow will munch tops but not kill the small trees. I have heard that you can keep goats in with two well placed hot wires but I have yet to see it and will believe it when I see it!! Goats have their uses and so do cows. We just really like cows better!!

Another thing though is that you need to get your cow to a bull or the bull to the cow. This is much easier with goats as they are smaller animals and easier to handle. AI'ing would be the way to go with a milk cow. We brought a bull here this fall and everything was fine but all of a sudden we didn't want to send the kids outside alone and had to watch them (even though they've never gone in the cow pens) and I had a hard time moving hay fences and dealing with him. He even gave DH a heart stopping moment one night. And he was a really shy mellow well behaved bull. A red welsh. (we are hoping for a heifer!!) So it really depends on what you want to deal with and how things work out for you in different areas. Good Luck!! B

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Wife to a wonderful man
Mom to Jed, Levi, Emmaline, and Rose

I have never raised goats nor drank goat's milk, so I can't comment on that. But I do love my little Dexter. She gives just enough milk to raise a calf and furnish milk for the house. There is a good cream line on the milk also. Dexters are usually very intelligent and very gentle. Of course every cow is different, so there may be individual Dexters that are not as docile.

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Visit the Christian Homesteader
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Here is another vote for goat milk being nasty. Plus, goats are very difficult to contain even with good fencing, example: it's almost impossible to get through a gate on a tractor without a goat jailbreak unless there are several someones available to help.

And, when (not if) they escape they are among the most destructive critters around. The havoc they will wreak on flowers, gardens, shrubs, fruit trees, and a lot of other things is almost beyond belief. I've even had them get on the roof and rampage around, very hard on shingles.

I'm finally down to one and won't miss it a bit when it's gone. The goats were the DW's project and she loves this one dearly and won't hear to getting rid of it. It runs with the cows and insists on crawling into the hay rings to eat, sleep, pee and crap, of course the cows won't eat the hay after it has messed it up, this blasted goat has cost me a bundle. I swear sometimes I want to chain her out in the woods with a porkchop tied around her neck.

Aside from the nasty taste of goat milk and the irritation they cause me, if I am going to milk I want enough milk to make the routine worthwhile. Enough for us, plenty of milk to raise a calf, a couple butcher hogs, clabber for the chickens, and a little for the dogs and barn cat. Just a few reasons why I milk cows and not goats.

65284, LOL at the porkchop around the neck! Goats ARE pretty uppity and terrible feed wasters.