Goats or Minicow?

[Workinthedream]

My wife really wants to start milking and was sold on dairy goats but I was reading recently about the mini Jersey or Dexter cows. Anyone had both? Which would you recommend if you have? What are the plusses and minuses for each? This is my second post here (posted the same question in the goat forum) so hello to all!

Rick

 

[AshleyFishy]

I've had both and it is goats for the win. The cows were expensive to get into expensive to replace if something went south. Harder to breed because we had to do AI with mini bull semen which is expensive, keeping a bull was out of the question. Hauling them to the vet was a larger ordeal. If one went down we had to get a friend with a tractor to help.

Goats are easily replaceable, lighter weight, less dangerous and keeping a buck is no trouble [with the right fencing]. They are easy for one or two people to lift if down. If you need to haul one to the vet you don't HAVE to have a trailer, you can just put it in your car. You can have more of them in place of a mini cow. Being a lady I find the goats easier to work with on my own as well. The kids as a by product are easier to sell in my area vs mini calves.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Too add what Ashley mentioned, you need a larger land base plus more feed to feed one cow than one goat. You can feed 1/4 of the feed needed for a cow to a single goat--maybe closer to 1/3 for a miniature bovine, and just as much less land is required for one goat. You can also have one acre of land for a herd of around 4 or 5 goats where you can only have one cow at the most--even two mini's may be stretching your resources--for that single acre. As far as expenses are concerned, a cow is more expensive to feed--a cow tends to eat a lot (she'll eat more lactating than when dry) and cows are lactating for most of the year anyway--than a goat not just because she has a higher consumption rate as I've mentioned twice already, but nutritional demands are such that you may need to invest in purchasing feed--as in feed grain, protein or mineral supplements--moreso than you initially considered. And as mentioned before (I can't stress this enough), an entire bag of feed for one cow would be for that one cow for maybe a couple of weeks, whereas that one bag can last for over a month for just one goat (as an estimate; it could last longer, depending on the weight of the goats and how much they eat per day).

I concur that miniature cattle are far more expensive upon purchase (let's not take into account the costs of keeping her, as that's a different story) than a small herd of goats. Cost of keeping that one cow is expensive as well. And it's not worth keeping a bull because he'll eat up more of your money than you think, not to mention bulls can be hard on fences, hard to handle and hard on you. They're not fun when they get ornery and rouge.

All of us cow people on here agree that if you only have one or two acres of land to work with, you're best option is buying a herd of goats instead of a cow or two.

 

[lovinglife]

Mini cattle are cool! I always wanted one, but after actually putting cows on my small acreage I decided to try goats (cows were too hard on my small space). got the cows gone, next year got the goats. I LOVE MY GOATS! OH my they are so much fun, and the personalities, just can't beat them. Can't say enough about "my girls", oh yes and boys....