"Back to the land!' is the war cry of those who want to drop out of modern life. Instead of working nine to five and earning 'a good living', they want to live the good life and make it pay for itself. Five acres of land can support a family, if you do it right. A lot of small farmers know that sustainability using goats really is possible.
The goat has many advantages. It's small and gentle enough for even inexperienced people to handle. It's pretty tough and can live many years with decent care. It doesn't need a large pasture, a large barn, or a large amount of expensive feed. Two of these hardy animals can provide all the milk a family needs.
Cows need ample pasture, but a goat actually prefers weeds and brush. These browsing animals like to take a mouthful here and another one there, trying almost every green thing it finds. They can be kept on hay, but this is more expensive than letting them eat the weeds that are free. Letting them tidy up fencerows and roadsides saves manpower, too. Why mow or weed-eat when the goat will do it?
They will need hay during the winter but not nearly as much as a cow. You need to feed them grain if you want to get a lot of milk. Again, they need a lot less grain than a cow will. Goat's milk doesn't make butter, since it has little cream, but that's about the only drawback to not having a cow. Making cottage cheese and wonderful soft cheeses is easy with goatsmilk.
Your milk goats can also clear the land for you. A temporary electric fence thrown up around a weedy lot will keep them confined, and they will quickly clear it out, even if there are rocks or down trees that would defeat a mower. You can also tie them out on a picket string. Just be careful that they can get out of the hot sun, since they are prone to heat stroke, and make sure they have water.
Many people don't milk their goats but use them solely for clearing or use them for meat production. There's not a lot of meat on a goat, but per pound it's economical. Anyway, a small family can find it hard to use up an entire cow, so raising a beef cow may not be practical.
A goat will have one or two babies every time it's bred. It's not always necessary to breed every year; a good milker will often keep on going for two years or longer after it's had babies. The unpasteurized milk is considered more digestible than that of a cow, and it has medicinal properties, too. Many European cultures have used goatsmilk as a wound dressing and as a nourishing food for invalids.
Goats can be very affectionate; you can take them for walks like a dog. They can browse along the side of the road or along a wooded path, and you've fed them for free. If you have a goat or two, a few chickens, a vegetable garden, a berry patch, and an orchard, you've got almost everything you need for the good life.
The goat has many advantages. It's small and gentle enough for even inexperienced people to handle. It's pretty tough and can live many years with decent care. It doesn't need a large pasture, a large barn, or a large amount of expensive feed. Two of these hardy animals can provide all the milk a family needs.
Cows need ample pasture, but a goat actually prefers weeds and brush. These browsing animals like to take a mouthful here and another one there, trying almost every green thing it finds. They can be kept on hay, but this is more expensive than letting them eat the weeds that are free. Letting them tidy up fencerows and roadsides saves manpower, too. Why mow or weed-eat when the goat will do it?
They will need hay during the winter but not nearly as much as a cow. You need to feed them grain if you want to get a lot of milk. Again, they need a lot less grain than a cow will. Goat's milk doesn't make butter, since it has little cream, but that's about the only drawback to not having a cow. Making cottage cheese and wonderful soft cheeses is easy with goatsmilk.
Your milk goats can also clear the land for you. A temporary electric fence thrown up around a weedy lot will keep them confined, and they will quickly clear it out, even if there are rocks or down trees that would defeat a mower. You can also tie them out on a picket string. Just be careful that they can get out of the hot sun, since they are prone to heat stroke, and make sure they have water.
Many people don't milk their goats but use them solely for clearing or use them for meat production. There's not a lot of meat on a goat, but per pound it's economical. Anyway, a small family can find it hard to use up an entire cow, so raising a beef cow may not be practical.
A goat will have one or two babies every time it's bred. It's not always necessary to breed every year; a good milker will often keep on going for two years or longer after it's had babies. The unpasteurized milk is considered more digestible than that of a cow, and it has medicinal properties, too. Many European cultures have used goatsmilk as a wound dressing and as a nourishing food for invalids.
Goats can be very affectionate; you can take them for walks like a dog. They can browse along the side of the road or along a wooded path, and you've fed them for free. If you have a goat or two, a few chickens, a vegetable garden, a berry patch, and an orchard, you've got almost everything you need for the good life.
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