Maeda - How to raise dairy goats: everything you need to know explained simply

How to Raise Dairy Goats

Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

By Martha Maeda

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the people all over the world who know and love the more than 90 million dairy goats in the world.

Introduction

The prospect of raising dairy goats conjures up images of dainty white goats grazing in fenced green pastures and buckets of rich, frothy goats milk. As you progress through this book, you will learn that goats are indeed delightful creatures. They are also high-strung and sensitive, stubborn, curious, and quickly affected by their environment. Dairy goats, because they are being milked regularly, require more care and attention than goats kept as pets or raised for meat or fiber. Their milk must also be handled with proper care to avoid contamination and preserve its quality. Do not take on a herd of dairy goats without having a thorough understanding of their needs and requirements.

The expanding market for goats milk, goat cheese, and candy, lotions, and soaps made with goats milk has made commercial dairy goat farming a viable industry. If you are not prepared to undertake a commercial dairy business, you can keep your dairy goats as a source of fresh milk for your family and make occasional income by selling their kids or breeding and showing them. Dairy goats are an excellent way to diversify a small farm because they consume a variety of forage and vegetable discards and provide organic fertilizer for gardens or fields. Also, children enjoy raising and handling goats.

This book teaches all you need to know to get started with dairy goats. Learn about dairy goat breeds and how to select the best goats for your herd; how to construct fences, shelters, feeding, and milking facilities; how to feed and care for your goats; and how to recognize and deal with health problems. You will also read about goats milk, how you can enhance the production of milk, and how the feed you give your goats affects its quality. Dairy goats must be bred often to keep up their milk production. Learn how to breed your goats and care for their kids. The last chapter covers what you must know to start a commercial dairy goat business.