Shortages

[farmerjan]

@Mike CHS ... any particular place you are getting your news from? I found a website and now can't find it and if I don't write it down I forget 5 minutes after the fact. Don't remember the name.... I am getting VERY concerned and this is happening very quietly behind all this hoopala with the Trump indictment.....

 

[Margali]

My (human) food bill has gone thru the roof since start of year with inflation on basic goods. It doesn't help that the bottomless pit has opened in 10yrs stomach.

I can't get kids to each many vegtables but I am seriously thinking about a milk animal now. I bought 3 gallons of milk on Sunday and we are on last one.

 

[Mike CHS]

@farmerjan, I browse several sites so I can sort through the hype. One that I have found to be most accurate is

https://citizenfreepress.com/

They seem to pick up info from a lot of what seems to be above some of the looney tune places.

 

[Baymule]

My (human) food bill has gone thru the roof since start of year with inflation on basic goods. It doesn't help that the bottomless pit has opened in 10yrs stomach.

I can't get kids to each many vegtables but I am seriously thinking about a milk animal now. I bought 3 gallons of milk on Sunday and we are on last one.

Take a look at milk goats. A cow would give gallons every day and cost a LOT more to feed. @frustratedearthmother is working on her own mix of breeds, for meat and dairy. Y’all might need to go pay her a visit.

 

[farmerjan]

@farmerjan, I browse several sites so I can sort through the hype. One that I have found to be most accurate is

https://citizenfreepress.com/

They seem to pick up info from a lot of what seems to be above some of the looney tune places.

Thank you... the site I am trying to "refind" was either Australian or British... accents you know.... and it was really very somber and sobering...

 

[SageHill]

Thank you... the site I am trying to "refind" was either Australian or British... accents you know.... and it was really very somber and sobering...

You may be able to find it in your "history". When you are online browsing do a "Ctrl h" and all the sites you've been to should pop up in a new tab or window.

 

[murphysranch]

Hey!! I like that site - no paywalls!! Thanks @Mike CHS

 

[Ridgetop]

My (human) food bill has gone thru the roof since start of year with inflation on basic goods. It doesn't help that the bottomless pit has opened in 10yrs stomach.

I can't get kids to each many vegtables but I am seriously thinking about a milk animal now. I bought 3 gallons of milk on Sunday and we are on last one.

Full size dairy does would give you enough milk for the family. Don't buy "junk" goats, instead do your research and find registered dairy goats. since your daughter is showing her sheep she can also show the dairy does. Everything I wrote about showing the sheep applies to the dairy goats as well.

IMO Nubians have the best milk, it is the highest in butterfat. They are like the Jerseys of the dairy goats. Their milk is good tasting and the only difference in taste from cow milk is that it is richer, like putting a dollop of cream into a glass of milk. Nubians are the largest of the standard dairy breeds bu a coupe inches but don't eat more than the smaller breeds. They are known for having triplets and quads, and have the longest breeding season of all. If you put a Boer buck on them you will be able to sell meat kids easily. The next best tasting IMO is LaMancha. These goats are slightly smaller in size than Nubians but give a lot of milk and it is also rich. Our family also had Alpines. We didn't like their milk much, BUT don't buy a Toggenburg! Their milk is really nasty tasting although it is supposed to make a good quality sharp cheese. (Limburger?) We bought a Togg first then found out about the taste of the milk. They gave incredible amounts of mill, but we had to put a lot of chocolate milk powder in their mil to be able to stomach it. We only drank it when the others were on their 2-month dry spell before kidding. We bred the Toggs later in the year so they were still milking. We used their milk to raise the Nubian kids and calves after pasteurizing. We finally sold them since we couldn't stand the taste of the milk.

If you decide to get dairy goats, read about Rachels.haven's problems. When getting dairy goats make sure that the breeder raises all her kids on pasteurized milk. Don't listen to anyone who says they test for CAE and then let their does raise their kids. First, CAE can develop in exposed animals between testing dates. Second, doe raised kids are kind of spooky andharder to train to the milking stand. Third, the only way to be sure that the kids are not exposed to CAE milk is to pull kids at birth and feed heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk.

If you can find a breeder who is selling an older doe you will have the benefit of learning to milk on a trained goat. Always a plus for a beginner. Make sure to check the tattoo in the ear against any paperwork the breeder has. Ask to see the printout of the CAE testing results. These days the printout s sent via email and can be printed off the computer. If the breeder claims they lost it, or can't find it right now, make an appointment to return when it is available. Don't take chances on test results or paperwork. Also ask to see the ADGA registration paperwork ob anything you are interested in. If buying kids check the sire and dam paperwork. Remember Baymule's problems with getting registration papers. Don't take chances.

Actually, this is a good time to buy milkers since goats are seasonal breeders and kidders. Kidding time lasts between January (Nubian) through May (other breeds). If you know any 4-H kids, check to see who is in the dairy goat project and check about anyone planning to sell off extra milkers. Kids close to 18 will be graduating from 4-H and unless they are passing their herd on to a sibling will be selling out. Good 4-H dairy goats that have been showmanship goats are often sought after by incoming project kids. BE SURE TO TASTE THE MILK FROM THE GOAT YOU BUY. (See Toggenburgs above) LOL

We raised our children on goat milk for 16 years. Surprisingly none of them had any trouble with acne, or even a zit! LOL When their friends came over we didn;t tell them it was goat milk and the children thought it was hysterically funny that kids would ask for 2nd and 3rd glasses of milk if they didn't know it was goat milk. Once they knew they would claim that it tasted funny or refuse to drink it. Occasionally, we would save commercial gallon milk jugs to serve the goat milk in them if we thought anyone would complain. Otherwise, we always stored our milk in glass containers.

BTW if you put blue or green food coloring into the milk after pasteurizing it, it makes keeping the pasteurized milk separate from unpasteurized easier. Still safe to drink in an emergency, but easy to tell the difference. We didn't like the taste of pasteurized goat milk and drank it unpasteurized. We chilled the milk and drank the morning's milking in the evening and the evening's miking in the morning. Anything left over went into the pasteurizer.

We loved our dairy goats. Milking is more work but worth it.

 

[canesisters]

Take a look at milk goats. A cow would give gallons every day and cost a LOT more to feed. @frustratedearthmother is working on her own mix of breeds, for meat and dairy. Y’all might need to go pay her a visit.

Agree! The only way for a dairy cow to be cost effective is if you have A LOT of very high quality pasture. And even then you will probably need to supplement with grain.
My Eva is - at best - 2.5 gals a day. Very low producing; but she's jersey/angus.
She's small - closer to an average Jersey's size than an angus
When she's on her own, she manages very well with just pasture. But raising a calf means that she needs extra groceries to keep weight on. My 'go to' was always beet pulp. But that has gotten so expensive that it works out cheaper to feed cattle cubes (giant pellets), even though I have to feed more volume of those.

 

[Mini Horses]

I love my dairy goats. While I agree with things @Ridgetop says -- I have mostly Saanen and Saanen x Nubian (kept a Nubian buck). Milk is awesome and plentiful. The Saanens have a quieter overall demeanor, IMO. Plus they will often give you a longer lactation. I did bred all of my dairy to my full blood Boer buck this year and the kids are great. Fast grow from Boer genetics an topped with huge quantities of milk from dairy doe!

It is an extra chore to milk BUT if trained and good teats& orifices, it only takes a few minutes. Check it out. I get 1.5-2 gal per doe. Store milk costs more than her feed! Plus it's better for you. I use mine raw. Oh, cheese, yogurt, etc are easy to make.