The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: littlelisa on April 07, 2010, 09:20:01 pm
-
do any of you milk them? how much milk do they give??
-
No, never milked my pygmy goats. For one thing, they are tiny, with tiny teats, and I don't think they have much milk. Of course that is not to say they cannot be milked!! My pygmy nanny who kidded a while back, never had much milk, and I have not seen the kid take milk for weeks, although he is now 12 weeks. He must have got enough, as he has grown well, but to be honest, I would not bother trying to milk mine.
-
If you google milking pygmy's, there are some people who do milk them, but I think mainly in America. Cannot remember why I was doing that a few months ago. Have to say I think a bit like Roxy, the amount of milk you would get would be pretty small, and then you still have to feed their kids. I suppose if their kids had been born dead you could hand milk one in order to give you milk.
Beth
-
I remember asking about pygmy goats for milking purposes some time back and read a lot of american articles on it. this one seems quite useful http://www.sillylilpygmygoats.com/milking_pygmy_goats.html
Have just found some pygmy X Golden Guernsey goats for sale and am trying to persuade hubby its the way to go ;) our children can't drink cows milk due to being intollerant so we buy goats milk all the time while our field sits empty ::)
-
would you be better off milking a sheep?? but a milking sheep will propably eat the same as a miling large goat wont it???
-
A milking sheep will probably eat about the same as a goat yes. Also, unless you get one of the specific milking breeds of sheep, remember that sheep generally have a lactation of 4 months, whilst goats can mostly milk for 2 years, and some for even longer. I know someone who is still milking his British Saanen milker and it is now 4 years since she last kidded.
Beth