Get your goat
Written by New Zealand Lifestyle Block magazine editor Nadene Hall, February 2010 issue.
Goats are a great small-scale alternative to a house cow, delivering a user-friendly 2-6 litres of milk per day versus 10-20 litres for a milking cow, taking up much less room, and not requiring copious amounts of rich feed.
Goat get a bad rap. Most often, in my experience, this comes from people who have inappropriate fencing, or whose Uncle's cousin's brother's mate had a bad experience with one 25 years ago. Goats are actually good-natured little animals, great fun, and highly productive livestock.
Goat's milk also has a higher milkfat content than cow's milk, which is why cheesemakers love it because you can make more cheese per litre. One of the biggest differences is the cream doesn't separate like cow's milk does; goat's milk needs to be put through a mechanical separator instead.
Goat's milk is also an excellent alternative for those allergic to or intolerant of cow's milk because its fat molecules are significantly smaller, making it easier to digest.
The beginner goat owners
Allergies were the main reason Junko and Neil Smith and their family got into goat ownership for the first time last year. The Smith family's five acre block in Darfield, 45km west of Christchurch, is now home to a small herd of Saanens, and the seven Smith children are all very enthusiastic assistants when it comes to their care.
"Most of the family suffer from some sort of allergies and sensitivities," says Junko. "The reason Neil finally let me get milking goats was so that we could make soap with fresh goat's milk."
However, their first attempt at goat ownership turned into a nightmare, highlighting the pitfalls anyone new to goats needs to be aware of (see page 12).
A good quality goat
It doesn't pay to buy just any goat. A healthy, well-conformed doe (female) is going to be an investment over the years, if well cared for. A doe with good body structure and a well-attached udder is worth its weight in gold.
"We didn't know anything much about goat breeds," says Junko. "We didn't even know Boer goats aren't a milking breed. We couldn't see why there was so much to learn about before you got a goat. When we finally decided we wanted a goat we just wanted to go ahead and get one. We thought to ourselves, 'why can't we learn as we go?'"
Besides a well-conformed goat, choosing a healthy goat is vital.
"When we found out all our goats were CAE positive (see page 12) we were advised to start again," says Junko. "It was heart-wrenching to have to say goodbye to our first-ever pets. We were really fortunate to be able to make a new start with three quality pedigree does."
The art of milking
Milking a goat is not quite the same as milking a cow but is much easier according to those who have tried both - you don't pull, but just gently squeeze the teat.
Junko took to the internet for tips.
"I did a crash course in hand-milking a goat by typing in "how to milk a goat" in a Google search and reading about it. I also watched a whole lot of YouTube videos of someone milking a goat."
Many breeders clip the long hair off the udder of their does so it doesn't end up in the milk. The udder and teats need to be cleaned with a veterinary-approved sanitising product (diluted to the correct solution), then wiped dry with paper towels - use new paper towels for each goat, and make sure your hands are clean too.
Using the milk
When Junko started drinking goat's milk, something unexpected happened.
"My hay fever went away! I used to suffer for six months every year with severe hay fever. Just walking to the letterbox and back made my eyes itchy and teary, and my nose was constantly running like a tap all summer."
Her three sons, who suffer the most from allergiesincluding eczema, asthma and hayfever, have also seen their health improve markedly.
Soap-making has now become a regular use for their leftover milk, and Junko even has their goat milk products for sale online for those with dry, sensitive skin (www.toosimple.co.nz).
In the kitchen their fresh goat's milk is used to drink, for making kefir, sourdough bread, ice cream and feta cheese.
"We love it, so I plan to make cheese more when we start to get more milk from our does. Another thing we are keen to make is butter. Luckily, we found an ancient (cream) separator... so we are looking forward to being able to use it on a regular basis to make butter."
Future plans
The Smith family's herd of goats are registered pedigree Saanens, so when daughter Sophia said she wanted to do a show she got off to a winning start, taking out two prizes in her first-ever attempt.
More land will be made available for the goats as fencing is improved, so there will be a chance to rotate grazing, and Junko hopes to grow the herd's numbers in the years to come.
"Our goats are here to stay as long as they live, they are part of our family now."
What you and your goats can achieve
Seven days a week, goat breeder and cheesemaker Andrea Gauland milks her herd of 10 dairy goats, made up of Toggenburgs and Saanens.
Because she has so many goats to milk, and has arthritis in her wrists, Andrea has invested in a milking machine that allows her to milk two does at a time.
"From the 10 goats I get roughly 22 litres (per day), but I do have a couple of oldies milking through. I freeze some, we take some for us to drink, feed some to the kids and the rest gets made into cheese. I make cheese five days a week, so 40-50 litres a week goes to cheese-making."
As a self-sufficiency enthusiast Andrea wastes nothing. Whey is fed out to the chickens, or to any sows with piglets. The cheese itself is demolished by the Gauland family at a great rate.
"With children in the house we eat a lot. I make about four different kinds of cheese regularly; my favourite is probably feta because there's so much you can do with it. I also make chevre, halloumi, cheddar, marscapone, sour cream, yoghurt, kefir and butter."
Having a daily routine is important, and the milking does appreciate it too.
"We usually start milking (once a day) at 8.30am - we feed the kids before milking otherwise they just yell. It takes about 40 minutes, but by the time I get their treats and feed, finish giving the kids breakfast, take the cups off, it probably takes longer than it should.
"While they're milking I usually work in the garden, and they yell when they're done."
Some milk is frozen each day for sale.
"I actually sell quite a bit of milk to dog breeders - they wean puppies onto goat milk when dogs have massive litters."
One of the drawbacks to having a milking doe is that to get the milk a doe must have had a kid (or typically kids) that you may not want to keep. To reduce the number of kids she has to find good homes for, Andrea milks her does through for two years.
"I breed one year and milk them through for two years. It reduces the numbers of kids, which is good because I don't sell to just anybody. I will always take a kid back if it doesn't work out, but people don't often take you up on that."
Cheese-making is done in the afternoon, with Andrea doing other jobs while she's waiting for the cheese-making process to do its thing.
"I catch up on paperwork, or do baking, or there's always preserves depending on the time of year - I do most of our food stuff from scratch."
Tips for the goat beginner
Use a stainless steel bucket
"Plastic scratches, and it gets hard to sterilise," says Andrea. "I always go for stainless steel."
Process it properly
Filter your milk through a fineweave sterilised cloth, then chill quickly.
"It has to be chilled, within half an hour of milking, or it starts to develop that off taste, that 'goaty' taste," says Andrea. "In summer I use blue plastic slicker pads in the bucket, that works really well."
Immersing a container of warm milk in a bucket of iced water is another option.
Routine matters
Goats like routine: milking at the same time of day and the order in which they are milked is important, and it should always be done by the same person/people.
"Mine go up onto a milking stand and are clipped in by their collar," says Andrea. "Most behave just fine, a few can be a bit crabby and bite other goats, but with some does I forget to clip them in and they just stand there, they are really good."
Check your goats morning and night
If goats do get ill, they go downhill quickly. Checking your herd morning and night gives you a much better sense of how animals are doing, and small changes in behaviour (often the first symptom of many illnesses) are much more apparent.
"I walk through the herd at least twice a day," says Andrea. "And we have a large buck herd (because of the three breeds we have) so sometimes a buck will do something stupid."
Always have at least two goats
Goats are herd animals, so always have at least two, preferably more. A goat without herd mates will go looking for company, and it is a common cause of goats escaping.
"A lot of people want just one but I think it's asking for trouble," says Andrea. "Their herd instinct is very strong."
Goats aren't sheep
Goats are quite different to sheep. They don't have lanolin in their fibre so they need physical shelter (a hut, shed or very good quality trees and hedges) from wind, rain and cold temperatures. They also don't form an immunity to parasites as they age like sheep do, so you always need to be thinking about parasite control. Goats tend to have a much higher mineral requirement than sheep, so allowing them to browse for fodder (ie, poplar, willow) is important.
Goats need water
It's amazing how many people believe goats don't require water 24-7. Goats must always have fresh water (they won't drink it if it's dirty), and it's super-important for a doe in milk, who will drink up to 10 litres or more a day during lactation.
Taste testing
A common myth about goat milk is that it tastes 'goaty.' Fresh goat's milk tastes quite mild, almost sweet, and is pure white, not creamy like cow's milk.
'Goaty'-flavoured milk is most often caused by not chilling the milk quickly enough, incorrect cold storage, by having a smelly buck in with a milking doe, or a doe can have genes for a strongly-flavoured milk.
Also be careful what you feed your doe - anything strongly-flavoured will "come out" in the milk, ie garlic.
Be aware of catching COD
Goats can be very addicitive, as Andrea - the owner of 67 goats on 10 acres - and I (14 goats) can tell you.
"I've got a friend who loves goats, and her husband calls it COD - Caprine Obsessive Disorder! It's so easy to waste so much time with them."
This article was provided by NZ Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today magazine.
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