Goat vs cow, the age old question..

Lizza · #81 03/21/12, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darntootin

The thing is, I already have grass so thats easier than cultivating. I've heard from people who have their goats on nothing but pasture too. Maybe people with goats are more likely to think of them as pets, and more likely to think they need extra 'goodies'? IDK.

Goats are not little cows and cows are not big goats.

Goats are browsers. They browse brush, trees, brambles, and anything along these lines. Plain pasture is not ideal for them. They eat up off the ground if they can possibly help it.

Cows are grazers. They graze grass but have been bred for a long time to use extra calories to produce more and more milk (even heritage breeds). If you get a cow just make sure whoever you buy from has been breeding for a grass only dairy cow.

coolrunnin · #82 03/21/12, 06:37 PM

Haven't goats been breed to produce more and more milk? Or at least for positive attributes!

FarmboyBill · #83 03/21/12, 07:31 PM

No CR Goats havnt been thought about NEAR as much as cows have in produceing more. Nobody was working with goats 50yrs ago to bring them up in production in THIS country. They Just wernt important to farmers, and nobody knew what a homesteder was back then. There was only one goat in the country where I came from that I new or heard about. And the guy had it only cause he needed to drink goats milk cause of too much drinking booze all his life before.

coolrunnin · #84 03/21/12, 08:34 PM

Huh interesting

billooo2 · #85 03/21/12, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

Do goats like mangles, OTHER than those in the old country. Ive never heard of US goats eating them. AND Goats are EXTREAMLY picky about the grain theyl eat. They like wheat, but dont like oats. They love corn, but wont eat anything that is over 6hrs in the pan old. I feed left over grain to the chickens who cackle at the ignorance of the goats and eat it themselves.

I have only heard anecdotal info about goats eating mangels, but have not seen any studies.....

I have some goats that are picky, and others could care less.

Mine like oats!!!!!

jwal10 · #86 03/22/12, 08:43 AM

I don't have a lot of browse for my pygora goats, I cut some as I trim around the place. They eat grass just fine. My meadow has a good bit of clover. The little oats they get is more for a treat, gets them to come when I call them, a cup a day. They get other things from the garden, always have the homemade loose hay in a feeder. They like apples, pears, carrots, cabbage leaves ( they don't get them if milking, taints the milk). I get 1-2 quarts a day, each....James

FarmboyBill · #87 03/22/12, 08:50 AM

id say I see my goats in the pasture more than comeing out of the woods.

TxMex · #88 03/22/12, 09:00 AM

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but how about rice or soy 'milk'? I had a milk cow for years and really enjoyed her. I also had goats...that consistently destroyed my fruit trees.

If you need or want to go out of town it is danged difficult to find someone that will milk an animal. I finally gave up my dwarf milk goats last year because I couldn't even get my ex to milk them for me when I paid him to do it(had a funeral I had to attend out of state).

Rice milk and soy milk are very easy to make. The ingredients are easily stored. If you take the cost of a decent cow and divide that out...you can buy a LOT of butter and yogurt with that money.

Anyhow, probably not the answer you are looking for, but just a an alternative and something to think about. Good luck!

bsflower13 · #89 03/22/12, 03:18 PM

My thought on this topics is this. Do we even need milk in our diets at all? I currently have 75 laying hens and we have tossed the idea around of getting a dairy goat but it has been over 5 months since we bought raw milk and I've never felt better. All the reasearch I've found says milk feed cancer.

Welcome to Growit Saveit Useit

jwal10 · #90 03/22/12, 03:35 PM

The land of milk and honey. Doesn't get any better than that....James

o&itw · #91 03/22/12, 03:51 PM

I grew up raising beef, but no longer do and have tried to investigate sheep or goats as a viable alternative, not for milk, but for meat. For many, a beef is too much meat at a time. I have no experience with goats or (hair) sheep. But I read the threads here on HT trying to learn, thinking they would fit our needs when we retire in a few years. It would seem that they (goats and sheep) might need a lot more vet care and (parasite) medicine than cattle. The other problem that seems to be prevalent, is that they are much more susceptible to predators like coyotes and local dogs. If one only wants to keep a few, the cost of supplements, medicines, and guardian dogs would seem to make raising them relatively expensive.

So do we simply buy a large freezer and go with beef or what? What about those that want to go off the grid? I really would like to come up with a good medium size animal to raise for meat (and the OP for milk) that would fit the needs of many. Hogs don't reasonably milk, and have their drawbacks also.

I like mutton, lamb and kid (never taste mature goat meat), but if I have to buy 50lbs of dog food a week, and worm them constantly, it is probably not reasonable.

Look forward to someone who has a recipe for making it work.

unregistered168043 · #92 03/22/12, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o&itw

I grew up raising beef, but no longer do and have tried to investigate sheep or goats as a viable alternative, not for milk, but for meat. For many, a beef is too much meat at a time. I have no experience with goats or (hair) sheep. But I read the threads here on HT trying to learn, thinking they would fit our needs when we retire in a few years. It would seem that they (goats and sheep) might need a lot more vet care and (parasite) medicine than cattle. The other problem that seems to be prevalent, is that they are much more susceptible to predators like coyotes and local dogs. If one only wants to keep a few, the cost of supplements, medicines, and guardian dogs would seem to make raising them relatively expensive.

So do we simply buy a large freezer and go with beef or what? What about those that want to go off the grid? I really would like to come up with a good medium size animal to raise for meat (and the OP for milk) that would fit the needs of many. Hogs don't reasonably milk, and have their drawbacks also.

I like mutton, lamb and kid (never taste mature goat meat), but if I have to buy 50lbs of dog food a week, and worm them constantly, it is probably not reasonable.

Look forward to someone who has a recipe for making it work.

Well you could always just pop a deer every fall. No feed costs or maintenance. Just the right size too. If you grow a little alfalfa or clover cover they'll come for miles around.

I do that now and it works out for putting meat in the freezer. I actually just wait out near my feed corn plots. They get a piece of my corn but I get piece of venison. It's a fair trade in my book.

What I would really like the cow or goat for is milk and manure. All winter long I could be piling up that manure to use in the spring. The cheapest I can get it is $12 per scoop around here (small tractor bucket scoop).

shanzone2001 · #93 03/22/12, 07:03 PM

Goats are awesome! My calf is cute, but the older he gets the less personality he has...goats never get boring!!!
Not sure that helped at all!!

mpillow · #94 03/22/12, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanzone2001

Goats are awesome! My calf is cute, but the older he gets the less personality he has...goats never get boring!!!
Not sure that helped at all!!

Agreed!

I'm in Maine so yes the goats need a lot of hay...year round if you can....something dry in the rumen in the morning is good for them...my will eat grass and other browse type stuff...I get old bread from nissen bakery and feed that around to the animals as "extra"

I use a lot of horse labelled products on my goats...1.87% ivermecten paste wormer and the loose minerals...show and glow....a bag lasts forever! A goats metabolism is much higher than a cow or horse so the dose is often double...

The comfrey I feed to bunnies and goats and calves....they all like it and it grows like weeds....

Any dairy animal is a BIG commitment....if you get hurt (and I have had broken toes and nail holes in my toes) goats require much less effort....my children by age 4 would control any goat here including the bucks....usually bottle fed and 1-2 years old so they were not too big for there britches....

We even take a goat to the cabin on the mountain for fresh milk....we milk her in the kitchen and put her in the outhouse for the night!

Let's see you do that with a cow!

FreeRanger · #95 03/23/12, 07:58 AM

Dexter cattle is the way to go if you want milk. Un-improved heritage breeds of sheep if you want meat. Dexter cattle for the most part did not participate in the commercial "improvements" of the last century. So they do just fine on only grass. Bonus, they also are still standard (normal) sized in most areas (some wrongly call it miniature). So they provide portions that are more diet friendly than say an Angus steak. Or if you are selling some of the meat, a 1/2 side of a Dexter is cost like a 1/4 of Angus, only you get all the different cuts, not just some of them. When I had them, I only provided grain to get them to follow me. Not a daily feed.

Sheep the same as Dexter cattle, do not need any grain if you have the right breed.

Both do well on pasture and just hay with minerals in the winter. Buy some Electronet from Premier1 and you can put them anywhere on your property. Even the front lawn.

oz in SC V2.0 · #96 03/23/12, 08:23 AM

What about a Longhorn?

Good on just grass,a little research shows they can be milked,of course you have those horns to deal with...LOL.

http://blog.purelonghorns.com/2006/0...-cow-milk.html

coolrunnin · #97 03/23/12, 12:15 PM

I worked longhorns a couple of times, there isn't much way I would get under one and try to milk her.....