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Author Topic: Which breed of dairy goat is best?  (Read 8368 times)

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« on: July 30, 2013, 04:48:39 pm »
Hello all!

New to the dairy goat world and wanted a bit of advice please  ;D

I want to start with dairy goats for milk, cheese and yogurt! I will be starting with two or three and all being well build up gradually. I want to zero graze and keep them in a nice ventilated barn the vast majority of the time. Feeding silage and hay. So which breed do you think would be best suited to this system. I love the AN I have met but I am told maybe Saanen's would be better or BT... what are your experiences?

Any advice much appreciated!

 :excited:

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2013, 05:10:16 pm »
I think everyone on here has favourite breeds  ;D

I don't know much about zero grazing systems as ours free graze with access to housing. Out of the pure toggenburgs and saanen types we had, I prefer saanen milk and we use it mainly for the soap business but also for consumption in the house and to make cheese/yogurt and icecream.
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2013, 05:25:03 pm »
Pure Saanens are the best.........some will say British Saanen.   The most important point is the BF content  of the milk...........and for this you need to look thro the background of the goats you want to buy.
Also NEVER, NEVER  EVER feed silage to goats..............Listeriosis is a disease that kills in less than 36hrs and the bacterium is in silage & haylage.     Feed only the best hay you can find........that doesn't mean horse quality, it means hay full of nutritious weeds !!!!!!!!!!
A lot of folks do zero graze..........but goats generally are healthier & happier if allowed access to grazing as well as a nice big barn.    They really do need the opportunity to browse.

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2013, 05:29:51 pm »
would silage not also flavour the milk? when we lived in hampshire the milk often tasted/smelt of silage - was quite of putting.

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2013, 05:48:52 pm »

Also NEVER, NEVER  EVER feed silage to goats..............Listeriosis is a disease that kills in less than 36hrs and the bacterium is in silage & haylage.

Thank you for this!! I was told by a commercial farmer I met at market to feed them hay and maize silage as that's what he feeds his 400 or so milkers... he also told me that feeding them this way with zero grazing prevented the milk from becoming "tainted" and kept the flavour consistent. They run a commercial enterprise so I suppose that was his main priority  ???. I want happy healthy goats that are also, productive! I will have to do more research on listerosis!!

Thanks for the breed advice too, it looks like i will end up going for the S or BS and maybe a AN just because I love what they look like  :thumbsup:


Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2013, 09:25:59 pm »
If you are purely after good quality milk, the actual (pure) breed of the goats is not important at all, but her pedigree and the milk (quality and quantity) of both her sire and dam. And there are loads of cross-bred goats (they have individual registration numbers starting with HB) that would be great for dairy-ing.
 
I am surprised that you would like to zero-graze - why? Mine do go stir-crazy if they don't get outside for a few days in the summer/autumn... It also improves the milk quality if they get good grass/browsings and greenery in general.
 
One disadvantage of BS and S goats - they are white and quite difficult and time-consuming to keep white!
 
Also probably need to think about a milking machine fairly early on, as milking more than 2 to 3 by hand can quickly get too time-consuming and if you ever wanted to go commercial hand-milking would be very difficult to get past the food hygiene people...

NetherBrae

  • Joined Dec 2012
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2013, 10:18:30 pm »
I have a non-registered Saneen that I took on a few months back and milk her by hand each day. She's a dream to milk with the laid back attitude that Saneens are well known for. In fact, I can milk her with or without food. I've recently been told this is quite unusual and normally it's "no food = no milk". I'm sure there are others like her though  :D

Munchie (sorry, kids named her!) has an acre of hill to browse (short grass, trees and stinging nettles) with her half-sister and a field shelter for the weather. Whilst she's never show white, she doesn't get mucky and dirty - even when the pigs escape into their field  :-\ However, I do have a normal routine of hay whilst milking with concentrates after, at which point I give her a quick brush over whilst she's eating.

Her milk is delicous with no taint issues and I comfortably get over three litres every day from her. Whilst others running a commercial enterprise might be aiming for more, you would probably find this more that enough for your initial plans.

Depending on how commercial you're thinking of getting, I would suggest, as one newcomer to goats to another, that attitude and ease of milking is most important for your first couple of girls. Once you've got the hang of everything, then worry more about butterfat contents and increased yields.

As I've said, I'm new to this too but thought my experiences might be useful.

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2013, 03:10:49 pm »
Thank you for your helpful replies! All advice is greatly appreciated no matter if from a novice or an experienced goat keeper!
The only reason i was contemplating zero grazing was because of what the commercial chap said to me when we chatted at market... I thought it was a bit odd but presumed he'd know what he was talking about... I feel happier to let them out especially as you all agree it seems to be better for them :) And yes they don't need to be pedigree, i hear some of the best producers are crosses.

This brings me to another question... When reading a pedigree what do the different stars stand for? I know it is to do with achieving certain levels of milk production... But what for example is Q* and number* eg 3*? I can imagine that the number may relate to generations of high performance but no idea what the Q is!

Thanks one and all. This seems like a wonderful forum :D

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2013, 05:18:33 pm »
Reading a goat's pedigree:
 
If she has a R123 (or similar three-digit number) in front of her name it means that she was officially milk-recorded over a 365 day period, and that her milk yield was 1230 kg over that 365 day period. (as in three-digit number and add a zero). Only goats that give more than 1000kgs in that year get the R number in front of them.
 
If she has a star, it means that hse achieved 18 points in an official BGS recognised milking competition - it means that she gave (in a 24 hour period) more than 4kgs of milk and with a butterfat content of (I think) 3% or maybe 3.5% at both the morning and evening milking. The star stays with her for life and if her daughter gains a star, the daughter becomes a *1 goat and so on and so on... so if you see a *5 female you know that she as consistently high milk yields behind her in the female line.
 
If the sire has symbols in front if his name (mostly a set of two numbers) it means that his dam also had more than 1000 kgs per year.... it all gets awfully complicated once you go to the male line....
 
A BrCh - stands for breed champion, a Ch stands for full champion.
 
So really what you are looking for is lots of R numbers in the pedigree - it gives a more useful pointer to year-round performance. If you then look into the pedigree and the milk recording figures in more detail you will also find average butterfat and protein contents, again useful. Anglo Nubians often have higher butterfats than the other breeds, but occasionally you will find a BT or a BS with ave butterfats of more than 4.5%.
 
The only downside with grazing commercial milking stock is that none of the wormers are licensed for the use in milk-producing goats, so withdrawal times can be difficult. However with careful management you can have worm-free ground, and avoid fluke too. Many commercial herds are indeed zero-grazed, but I know others are not. It will all depend on the amount and quality of any grazing you have available, the size of the herd etc etc.

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2013, 06:28:38 pm »
Thanks so much! Very interesting! You are like wiki for goats!! :) I have some researching to do!!

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2013, 09:28:20 pm »
I have a pure Sanaan and also had her mother so I am biased. My girl is always placid and easy to milk. I also have a Sanaan x Boer who is pretty good although she has her moments. My girls have a shed but constant access to a yard and they love to be outside even at night. I have seen goats that are kept in barns but I believe that having access to outside is necessary for happiness. I would hate to be shut in all the time. Ideally, I would love my girls to have access to pasture but I only have a large garden.

ferretkeeper

  • Joined May 2013
  • Carmarthenshire
    • Brecon View Farm
    • Facebook
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2013, 10:13:41 pm »
Wow Anke, thank you for that! :thumbsup:

I've just dug out all my lot's pedigree papers and I now understand  :idea:

And it looks like I've got some very decent milking stock, lots of squiggles and numbers by the boys and stars and numbers by the girls, even a couple of BrCh!

Just so you know Roddycm I have ANs and am totally biased, they are the best  :goat:

Mine prefer to be in their open fronted stable most of the time, I leave the gate open and they don't often wander out. It has a large covered yard over it too which they have free access to all the time, and when they don't venture out I bring a load of branches in for them - they also keep my nanny still enough to milk  ;)
breconviewfarm.co.uk Rare breed, free range.

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2013, 06:44:29 am »
If anybody wants to improve their Saanen/British Saanen butterfats................my SAANENS are bred to produce 4 - 4.6% BF consistently.    I have NMR records to prove this.     July recording, Grietje was 4.71%.
Next year I will have stock for sale.....males and females.

roddycm

  • Joined Jul 2013
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2013, 05:59:21 pm »
I will pm you with my email etc so we can be in touch re your saanens!

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Which breed of dairy goat is best?
« Reply #14 on: August 02, 2013, 12:08:50 am »
If anybody wants to improve their Saanen/British Saanen butterfats................my SAANENS are bred to produce 4 - 4.6% BF consistently.    I have NMR records to prove this.     July recording, Grietje was 4.71%.
Next year I will have stock for sale.....males and females.

Pity you are not a bit nearer to me, Wytsend. I was looking for a pure Sanaan male a couple of years back. I will be heading off to Sandra Jones this autumn as she is fairly near. In fact, Bouffant was my Pom's father. I understand you ended up with him.

 

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