Choosing a Goat Breed for your Small Farm

Milking Goat: A mixed breed milking goat can satisfy a homestead as well as a pure bred. Photo by J&J

Much like chicken breeds, goats can be selected for either what they produce, milk or fiber in this case, for their meat, or for both. Before you look for goats for sale, take a moment to learn about the different breeds. Numerous varieties exist and each person who raises goats has a bias and opinion on which one is best – and rightly so. Everyone would agree, however, that goats are smart, or at least crafty. Because of that, you need to be sure to have proper livestock fencing installed before you purchase your goats.

Goat Milk: Selecting a Dairy Goat

Out of the view of most Americans, goats serve as the majority source for milk throughout the world. When you start looking into milking you will quickly be bombarded with percentages of butterfat and the volume of milk a particular breed typically produces each day. Unless you are determined to run a dairy goat factory, or you want as much butterfat as possible for butter, I would not be overly concerned with these numbers. Our milking goat is a cross-breed. I could not even tell you what breeds she comes from, nor do I care. She is a healthy animal that produces a fine tasting milk in quantities sufficient for our needs. Plain and simple. That said, a few of the popular goat breeds for milk, which are known as Dairy Goats, including Alpine, Nubian and several others.

Continue Reading for Page 2: Goats for Meat