Goats for Self-Sufficiency

frustratedearthmother

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This forum IS about self-sufficiency (even though some of us drift away sometimes!) This thread will be a place to discuss the ways goats can help us be self-sufficient. Maybe some of the non-goaty folks get tired of reading about goats, but a lot of us think they are imperative to our journey of self-sufficiency.

Goats can provide so much to a homestead. Have brush? Goats will clear it. Goat milk sells for two to three times what cows milk sells for (where it's legal) and it's cheaper and easier to produce. Goat milk is delicious and healthier than cows milk.

In a SHTF scenario goats can contribute mightily to survival. Goat milk is very nearly the perfect food. It's chemical structure is very similar to mothers milk. Goat milk is the most widely consumed milk worldwide.

Can't live on milk alone? What about cheese? What about yogurt or kefir? Need to get clean? Make goats milk soap! Skin dry - yep - you can make lotion with goats milk also.

Centenarians in many countries attribute their long life to drinking goats milk. Drink up!

Can't live on milk/milk products alone? Goat meat tastes mighty good! Goat meat is the most widely consumed red meat worldwide. "The low levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, combined with its high iron and protein content, make goat meat a good choice for anyone looking for a healthy red meat. It's a leaner, healthier choice when compared to equal serving sizes of chicken, beef and pork." (LIVESTRONG.COM)

Goats reproduce quickly and abundantly. Don't want a 250 lb goat? Pick the size you're comfortable with. They come small, medium and large.

In my own journey towards self-sufficiency I've learned many new skills. I can milk with my bare hands or a machine. I've learned to make many of the above mentioned goat milk products and I'm about to learn a new skill. Goat milk liquor, lol! I can dispatch and butcher a goat on my own - even though DH will handle the hard part for me if I ask him to.

You don't need tons of land to keep goats. They are very adaptable. They can live in a dry lot or wooded and/or grassy land.

I haven't touched on all the benefits of goats.

One of the best things? They're so darn cute!!
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tortoise

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Dang, they sure are cute!

I am not up to dairy animals at the moment.... okay, not really feeling able to keep up with any livestock or pets. I sold our 2 pygmy girls. They are adorable, but not contributing to sufficiency, just more mouths to feed. I replaced them with a bottle raised billy goat of a dairy breed. He is a year old, very well lead trained. I walk him when I'm able and have plans to train him for carrying packs. I am hoping this would help me be more mobile around the farm. We have a hill between house and garden that prevents me from getting out there much in summer. I'm hoping that the goat can carry produce back up the hill for me.

Our goats have been eating down a brushy hillside. They're doing well, most of the brush is stripped completely dead. We might be able to use it for sheep pasture soon.
 

frustratedearthmother

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That's awesome! I didn't even think about pack goat/ service animal! That's one of the reasons I started this thread- as a way to exchange ideas. I have a big ol' Nubian buck that is a total baby. I'll bet he could carry quite a bit of weight if ever needed.

Thanks for giving me another idea about how goats can help us out!
 

sumi

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This is awesome, FEM, thank you so much for starting this thread! I am deeply tempted to get some goats, once I have space and facilities to keep them properly. I'm curious about the different breeds, their characteristics etc. What goat breeds are best for milking, meat, dual purpose, good with kids, good for beginners, hardy, etc?
 

NH Homesteader

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Ooh I love talking goats. They truly are useful little critters. While most goat keepers do feed grain and hay, in a SHTF scenario they can live off brush and give you milk and meat!

I have mini alpines and a nigerian dwarf. I think there's a lot to be said for each breed, but to me the minis (cross between a full size and a nigerian) and kinders (nubian/pygmy cross) are the ultimate homestead goats. They are smaller than the full size goats and have a good feed conversion, and give more milk than a nigerian.

For dual purpose, people often cross a meat buck with a dairy doe. I was going to cross a pygmy buck with my minis to get more meaty offspring, but for now I am focusing on my mini herd.

The breeds are so unique... Different taste of milk, butterfat content, personalities...
 

frustratedearthmother

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@sumi - I really hope you can get some goats! As long as I'm physically able I will have goats. Right now - with DH not working they've really been a life saver. It was nice that kidding time coincided with his resigning from his job because I don't buy milk at the store any more. I'm making tons of cheese that we both love. And I sold some goats
for extra money!

One of the other topics I didn't touch on earlier (keep thinking of more ways goats help us ) is that they can provide supplemental income. I sold over a dozen goats a couple weeks ago and the extra money sure comes in handy. If I would actually sit down and catch up on my paperwork I would start selling them registered and the prices I would ask them would be substantially more than what I ask now.

This time of year I don't give a lot of feed to the "pasture" goats. I give grain/supplements to the pregnant and lactating ladies and a little to the bucks because they are penned. But, from this time of year until the first freeze my goats will mostly feed themselves.

@NH Homesteader - I agree with mini's. They are the perfect size for me. Even though I still have full-sized Nubians, eventually I will probably go with straight kinder-type goats. They meet all of the criteria that I'm looking for.
 
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frustratedearthmother

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@tortoise - have you ever considered teaching your guy to pull a cart? That's another thing I forgot to mention. Goats have been used not only as pack animals, but also to pull carts, for eons!
 

NH Homesteader

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Also in the income department- I hope to eventually master the soap/lotion making process and sell some of that, I have people asking to buy it already lol. Plus the whey left over from making cheese is great for pigs and chickens. And if you have a litter of puppies, pigs, kittens, whatever, that needs to be bottle fed... Guess what milk is the best substitute? And people are willing to pay for it for their animals too!
 

frustratedearthmother

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Several years ago I had a guy contact me from Craigslist. I had a doe offered for sale and he just wanted to know if I had ANY goats milk for his orphaned litter of Rottweilers and he was willing to pay good money!
 

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