pasture land

[kandmcockrell]

roughly how much pasture does a milk goat need?

[Freeholder]

As you can imagine, it varies greatly depending on what part of the country you are in. I see that you are in Virginia, so would expect that on pasture in good condition, you should be able to feed approximately six does. With good pasture management (daily rotation) you could probably feed more, but it's better to start small and see how it goes. Of course, goats are browsers, like deer, and prefer browse (brush, weeds, and tree branches) over grass, but if grass is all they have they'll eat it. Browse is better for them, though, if you have it available.

Kathleen

[kandmcockrell]

Thanks Kathleen. We are looking at some land with a house. Maybe 4 acres is grass(yard) and the rest is wooded. So they would have lots of forage. I am interested in milk goats. What would be a good bred to look into? It will be for my family use, as well as a few other relitives. Plus, i do make soap as well. Any recomendations? (just by looks i perfer the small ones, but are they good for what i want?)