Free goats dilemma

[ani's ark]

The people I got my sweet Saanen from have decided to get out of goats when they move to a smaller property. They just happened to have had a bumper year with kidding by a very fertile buck. Of 19 kids, they have only 4 bucklings! So naturally they are kicking themselves heheh.

They came over for dinner last night and (sober) said they will GIVE me whatever I want from their herd once the babies are weaned, on the condition I take 2. Gasp! DH sat bolt upright, eyes wide, and started shaking his head and saying Nonononono.

Soooo bearing in mind I have about 1.5 acres of pasture available for goats, the usual homestead responsibilities, not to mention a fulltime job and a marriage to maintain: how many goats could I feasibly keep? The temptation to just stuff a load in the car like clowns at the circus is unbelievable!

I reckon 2 does, plus annual kids for freezer would be my absolute limit for keeping, milking and butchering duties, so it becomes about quality rather than quantity.

I'm leaning towards "looking a gift horse in the mouth" - go through all the doelings looking for conformation, good teats, having the opportunity to check out the mothers udders, and temperament etc and picking out the 2 very best progeny I can find, giving me Salma plus 3 doelings and one buckling at home. As they grow the ones showing least potential will go into the freezer along with the buckling. Oooor I can take just one of their 5yo in milk does to keep and milk alongside Salma.

This is doing my head in, goat overload is wrestling with common sense.
What say you all? (enablers comments welcome)

[goatlady]

IF it was me I'd chose an older doe AND her kid(s). That way you have an immediate return with her milk and have her replacement growing at the same time with the kid(s).

[Alice In TX/MO]

I think goatlady is EXACTLY right. I like having three does in milk because if one has a problem, I still have two producers. If you *only* have two does milking, if one goes down, your milk production is cut in half.

Milking three doesn't take much more time than two. When the numbers get higher than three, it's time consuming. (This is my personal experience in my busy life.)

[wintrrwolf]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[CaliannG]

Both DH and I can milk 5 does in 40 minutes, tops. 30 minutes on average. Once you get the hand of it, and have your set-up for milking done so that it is comfortable for you, it's a whiz to go through several does. Especially calm, easy-going does that wait their turn in line as mine do.

1 1/2 acres of quality pasture will provide 7 adult goats with 80% of their feed requirements. The other 20% being made up of supplements. (Alfalfa pellets, concentrates, etc., depending upon the animal's condition and phase of growth and/or production.)

I think you should 3 doe(ling)s and a buckling. 1 should be a full grown doe, 2 should be doelings as far unrelated to either the full grown doe, and Salma, as you can get, and a buckling that is as far unrelated to your buckling as you can get.

Then, you will have two bucks with which to switch breeding and keep your lines kind of diverse, as well as to be friends with one another and keep each other company in the buck pen, 2 milking does for now, and 3 doelings for the future. By the time your doelings become fresh, you will have gotten milking down from all of the practice you have had with the two adult does, and adding 3 more won't be a problem.

And you will have your fine, little herd.

[FrogTacos]

Milking insanity!! LOL. I *was* milking one, the pain in my hands and arms just kept getting worse and worse to the point I was waking up in pain. I had to quit milking. Only way I will do it again is if I get a machine, and I just don't like goat milk enough (at all really) to pay up for one.

[JBarGFarmKeeper]

Originally Posted by FrogTacos

Milking insanity!! LOL. I *was* milking one, the pain in my hands and arms just kept getting worse and worse to the point I was waking up in pain. I had to quit milking. Only way I will do it again is if I get a machine, and I just don't like goat milk enough (at all really) to pay up for one.

She didn't ask for downer, dis-enabling comments!

Pay attention to the above posters...^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[FrogTacos]

My comment was aimed at Caliann - not you.

Aside from that, I see nothing wrong with telling someone that milking can be downright painful - to the point that it begins to limit the use of your arms.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I understand your point of view, FrogTacos, but.... a person in normal health will probably get used to milking after a month or so. Yes, it's new muscles you haven't used before, and soreness is to be expected.

[FrogTacos]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I understand your point of view, FrogTacos, but.... a person in normal health will probably get used to milking after a month or so. Yes, it's new muscles you haven't used before, and soreness is to be expected.

*sigh* There is absolutely nothing wrong with my health.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes, you said that milking impacted your arms so badly that you couldn't use them properly. That's not normal health. It's carpal tunnel or tendonitis or something.

I'm not a doctor, but I did stay in a LaQuinta once.

[Cannon_Farms]

I have 5 kids (human) 3 under 7, a FT job, 15 goats. I usually keep 4 in milk but have plans for that to go up.
I only have about 2 acres total fenced for them, we manage in a dry lot system. It has its perks but can get expensive.
There is an article on Dairy Goat info about why so many goat farms fail, read it, think on it and go from there.
Me personally, Id go for it, if nothing else I would have some goats to resell be it new or old stock depending on which suited the needs. You may find its more work than its worth to you personally but you also may find its comforting to have a herd to tend too. I tried getting down to 4 thinking I would be more happy however that didnt last long

[Cannon_Farms]

Oh, I also have CTS, oddly enough it bothers me more not to milk, but it took me several months to find the right combination of positions and techniques.

[LoneStrChic23]

I had most of the bones in my right hand crushed by a horse in my late teens..... I also have carpel tunel. Hand milking 3 heavy producers is my limit..... I can't hand milk more than that long term, the pain is too bad. Takes me about 30-40 minutes to milk out 3, this includes the gate shuffle & such... I'm not a fast milker.

I think you can handle it Biggest issue is getting a routine in place.

And, if you dam raise, it cuts back on some chore time as well....

[ani's ark]

Good feedback thanks everyone.

This may change before the day, but here is the decision: Tempting as it is I do not want to end up hating goats because I have far too many for my capabilities, housing and budget! I find one goat milks enough for our household alone, without any spare.

So I will take the best adult doe I can find, and the biggest bucklings x 2. That will give me a total of 2 does to milk currently, one doeling to raise on to freshen later, and 3 kids for our freezer inside the year. I'd like to try making mince and sausages, maybe even salami. Future years could expect upwards of 5 kids per year, which would meet needs nicely. I'm not farming for profit yet, the market is quite limited here unless you go large-scale.

Currently milking just one doe takes me about 20mins from getting out of bed, including prep and clean-up. So about maybe 5-10 mins is actual milking time. So adding another one should not be a problem, providing I can get some hens to feed up when I dont feel like making cheese, I can swap it for eggs!

I wash my bottles and bucket with hot soapy water each night before bed so they are on the rack for me to use in morning, and I use disposable coffee filters for straining. Another doe really just adds grain and hay costs, another bottle to wash and 10m per day for milking.

DH is still suspicious I will arrive with a carload of kids and a trunk full of justifications for them....

[Alice In TX/MO]

Sounds like you've thought it through and come up with a good plan.

Just so you'll know, there are milk filters that work MUCH better than coffee filters.

[ani's ark]

The goat decision is hard, but I have to be realistic. And I do like the idea of getting another adult doe, which I hadnt really thought about. Now, since I really dont want to keep a buck yet, I need to find an meat breed buck within driving distance for next breeding season. I really only want kids for freshening and meat once I have my 2 milkers, I have years before they need replacing.

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Sounds like you've thought it through and come up with a good plan.

Just so you'll know, there are milk filters that work MUCH better than coffee filters.

I need to investigate that again I think. I couldnt find any at my local store that were not really expensive and part of a fiddly little set-up requiring much scrubbing! Part of my logic is that coffee filters are cheap, I can get them at the supermarket and they sort-of work without creating more washing up - I throw them into the compost. But it takes ages to filter and I find that annoying.

What do you recommend?

[Manchamom]

I use the 6 1/2" ones from here. I kinda fold them in a cone and put them in my canning funnel. They work really well.
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/milk.../2CA6C67S7AR2/

[CaliannG]

~chuckles~ I have decided that I must be the "Everything DIY" person.

If I have to, I use a clean paper towel for a filter. From a roll that I keep in a tupperware container.

For most of the time, though, I have a re-usable coffee filter that I love. It fits right into my strainer and filters out EVERYTHING.

I actually don't mind a piece or two extra of washing up if it works well. I have well water and it is RO filtered. That membrane isn't going to wear out any time soon, so water is cheap for me. Paper filter products, though, require more expenditure. Also, I hate using disposables if I don't have to, takes a bit of time for a tree to grow and be harvested to make paper. Lastly, there are Wild Things out here, Blue Jays, Crows, Ravens. Mocking Birds, Mice, Rats, Cats, etc., who will HAPPILY remove old milk-soaked paper products from my compost pile, eat half of it, tear the rest to shreds, and leave it littering my yard and pasture. UGH.

So paper products out here get burned, to keep the wildlife from making my place look like Guns-N-Roses had a concert here the night before.

[ani's ark]

Wow, those do look good thanks - I think I'll order them online. I've looked on NZ websites and I suppose due to our huge dairy industry, there is no supplier of reasonably priced home dairy equipment. Could be a gap in the market here!