"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.
These long domesticated animals have many good points. They produce delicious and nutritious milk. You can eat them. They are easy to handle, even for the inexperienced, and their pasture and shelter can be modest. They don't require much feed. Two good milkers can give all the milk a family needs.
Goats don't like grass much. They prefer weeds, tree leaves, and bushes. This means that they are happier clearing out a fence row than being confined to a lush field of grass. You can keep them in a barn lot and feed them hay, but this is a lot more expensive than letting them browse any wastelands on your farm. It will save manpower, too, if you let them do the weed-eating and mowing around rocks or downed trees where a machine can't go.
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.
It's fun to raise goats, too. They can be as affectionate as dogs, and they love to go for a walk. A family with a small herd of goats, a few chickens, a vegetable garden, an orchard, a berry patch, and a beehive will really have all it needs.
These long domesticated animals have many good points. They produce delicious and nutritious milk. You can eat them. They are easy to handle, even for the inexperienced, and their pasture and shelter can be modest. They don't require much feed. Two good milkers can give all the milk a family needs.
Goats don't like grass much. They prefer weeds, tree leaves, and bushes. This means that they are happier clearing out a fence row than being confined to a lush field of grass. You can keep them in a barn lot and feed them hay, but this is a lot more expensive than letting them browse any wastelands on your farm. It will save manpower, too, if you let them do the weed-eating and mowing around rocks or downed trees where a machine can't go.
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.
It's fun to raise goats, too. They can be as affectionate as dogs, and they love to go for a walk. A family with a small herd of goats, a few chickens, a vegetable garden, an orchard, a berry patch, and a beehive will really have all it needs.
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