# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Livestock and Animal Husbandry >  Cows or Goats? Which is Best?

## Rick

Here's a short article I found on Mother Earth News that compares owning cows to goats. Be sure and read the comments section at the end. Some good info there, too. 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Ask-O...mily-Milk.aspx

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## Ridge Wolf

Good article Rick.. I have a question though... there are no local stores in my area, that I know of, that sell goats milk. Would you know of any stores (Winco, Safeway, Albertsons types) that sell it? Might be better if I ask around the local area farms here about goats milk... but I think it was last year that we had a couple of scares about raw cows milk and a few people got sick. Here, I am thinking that raw milk off the farms is a no no.

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## crashdive123

Health food stores often carry goats milk.

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## Ridge Wolf

> Health food stores often carry goats milk.


Aahh.. didn't think of them.. let's see.. GNC and Fred Meyer.. Also Super Supplements in the Seattle area.. I thought they only had pills.. I'll check. Thanks.

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## Rick

I don't think they can sell it raw anyway. It has to be pasteurized before they can sell it so farmers might be a good source. If they don't happen to pasteurize then find someone that does. Here's a link to the American Dairy Goat Chapters in Washington state: 

http://www.adga.org/clubs.htm#WA

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## Ridge Wolf

> I don't think they can sell it raw anyway. It has to be pasteurized before they can sell it so farmers might be a good source. If they don't happen to pasteurize then find someone that does. Here's a link to the American Dairy Goat Chapters in Washington state: 
> 
> http://www.adga.org/clubs.htm#WA


How'd you know I was from Washington?

Oh,, I mentioned Seattle... :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## crashdive123

Must be psychotic.  Um, err,  psychic.

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## Chuck

We have had goats in the past on our remote homestead where everything is flown in. Goats are the only animal we've had that we didn't have to buy food for, we turned ours out in the morning and they browsed all  the food they wanted.  Ours  thrived on  spruce,  birch,  cottonwood, and  highbush cranberries even in the dead of winter(we're talking temps ranging from freezing down to -40f.  They were a little smaller than  grain fed  goats  and produced a little less but better milk.  Most breeds of goats can also be trained to  wear packs  to haul  light loads, about 20% of their weight. Also since they were allowed to browse free choice they were healthier than their grain fed cousins.

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## Beo

Goats milk is gross, goat meat and lamb is nasty (only drinking and eating it if in dire need) beef is the KING of meats... nextto Deer :Big Grin:

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## wildWoman

> We have had goats in the past on our remote homestead where everything is flown in. Goats are the only animal we've had that we didn't have to buy food for, we turned ours out in the morning and they browsed all  the food they wanted.  Ours  thrived on  spruce,  birch,  cottonwood, and  highbush cranberries even in the dead of winter(we're talking temps ranging from freezing down to -40f.  They were a little smaller than  grain fed  goats  and produced a little less but better milk.  Most breeds of goats can also be trained to  wear packs  to haul  light loads, about 20% of their weight. Also since they were allowed to browse free choice they were healthier than their grain fed cousins.


Man I love this forum - this is EXACTLY the info I've been scourig the internet for for a couple of YEARS, unable to find anyone up in the north who keeps milk goats without supplying them with hay in the winter!!!!!
We really want milk goats but because we're in much the same situation as Chuck, thought it would be hideously expensive as we'd have to ship in hay for the 8 months where nothing green grows.

Thanks Chuck and whoever organized this forum!! We'll be getting goats. Good-bye canned milk and plastic cheese. I love you guys.

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## Rick

Wildwoman - Here is the info for the American Dairy Goat Association in Alaska: 

Alaska Dairy Goat Association
Carol Hepler, HC 34, Box 2195, Wasilla, AK 99654
(907) 892-8002
dhepler@gci.net

She can probably answer all your questions!

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## wildWoman

> Goats milk is gross, goat meat and lamb is nasty (only drinking and eating it if in dire need) beef is the KING of meats... nextto Deer


My guess is you had some milk that maybe had a hair in it, Beo. If that hapens, it makes the milk taste really yucky. Cleanliness is very important when milking goats. Uncontaminated goat's milk is taste-wise indistinuishable from cow's milk, less greasy. I've had plenty of it.

And the best meat I've ever eaten by a long shot is mountain goat, but I guess that doesn't really count because they are not true goats but related to antelopes.

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## wildWoman

Thanks Rick! Jeez, shaping up to be a real homestead here, what with our ducks and now future goats!

A number of friends of ours have had goats. What they did to avoid predation on the goats is they didn't dehorn them and they constructed something almost like a treehouse that the goats could climb up to. Wolves can't follow, although a bear could. One couple used to take their goats along for walks with them. They also had a horse, 3 dogs, and a cat, and sometimes would take the whole menagerie out on a walk. One time in spring they went along a muddy trail, on on their way back ssaw by the tracks that a wolf had trailed them for quite a ways. Must have been pretty confused by finding cat, dog, people, goat and horse tracks leading into the woods!

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## Chuck

> Goats milk is gross, goat meat and lamb is nasty (only drinking and eating it if in dire need) beef is the KING of meats... nextto Deer


I'll bet you have never eaten free range goat meat. They browse much of the same as a moose. I wouldn't place a GMO corn fed cow and a free range goat in the same class. As far as the best meat you will never beat Dall sheep at least IMHO.

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## Beo

Deer and Elk are the best meat IMHO

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## trax

Caribou, moose, elk, pronghorn, bison deer, (in that order, starting to drool, just a sec...there we go)  never tried dall's, mountaingoat, or goat, domestic meats are all way down the line somewhere compared to the first five. I'm going to have to be really thirsty if I'm going to milk a goat and if it's male, I'll send Tony or marcraft out to milk it  :EEK!:

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## Beo

Never had Caribou, heard its really good though.

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## nell67

Goat milk is actually pretty good,and is good for those who suffer from heartburn,we got our first goat when my mom was pregnant with number 9 ane suffering daily from heartburn and her doctor actually suggested goat milk over medications to treat it,but for a pint of it in the store was over $5,so my father traded one of his guns for a doe with a kid. She said it took care of the heartburn right away.
The meat on the other hand is pretty strong.But they were grain fed,not free range.

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## BraggSurvivor

Goats milk tastes exactly like what they eat. If they forage in the bush, thats what it will taste like. Strong and foul smelling IMO. I grain feed with 40% corn, 10% wheat, 20% barly, 10% flax and 10% oates that I mix and mill here on my property. They also are allowed all the 30% alphalpha/grass hay they can eat. I also add a good laddle full of heated mollasses (low sulfur) to the grain to give the milk a touch of sweetness to the milk once a week. I could place a glass of cow milk and goats milk in front of you and you couldnt tell the difference. 

I cull and sell all newborn male kids to the the local east indians folk that goes to pay for feed for the whole herd. Females I keep or sell for breeding stock and or for stud service since I dont keep Billies around. The meat from a Kiko goat is truley unique and if raised properly a true asset to a homestead.

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## offgridbrandon

Unless you have fifteen people in your family or plan to live off of cheese, doesn't the answer have to be goats?  The smaller amount of milk to deal with daily and the lower food requirements seem to make the decision for me, but I tend to over analyze things...  I do need to find a store that stocks goat milk just out of curiousity.  For those of you who have had both, is the difference noticeable?

I seem to be noticing a trend, should I be looking for an image with a wolf in it for my avatar?  Ha ha, later!

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## BraggSurvivor

offgrid, as stated above there is no noticable difference in taste when fed properly. Ive had both, jersey cow and Kiko milk goats. Whatever milk I couldnt consume or sell it didnt go to waste. Growing pigs love milk and they seem to gain twice as fast. I sold the jersey a couple years ago because my second daughter was allergic to cow milk so I just kept the Kiko's.

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## Ridge Wolf

> Unless you have fifteen people in your family or plan to live off of cheese, doesn't the answer have to be goats? The smaller amount of milk to deal with daily and the lower food requirements seem to make the decision for me, but I tend to over analyze things... I do need to find a store that stocks goat milk just out of curiousity. For those of you who have had both, is the difference noticeable?
> 
> I seem to be noticing a trend, should I be looking for an image with a wolf in it for my avatar? Ha ha, later!


You can have this one if you want... You can take the little squares out of it at the bottom with paint or what not.. 
400hunt-thumb.jpg

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## JDJ

I have it on good authority that goat milk on cheerios is terrible.

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## Beo

I'm a cow guy for sure, although that's prejudging because I have never had any goat milk or meat. Only tried lamb and didn't like it, guess you need to Greek (oh my Gawd Remy there's that Spartan thing again) to really apprieciate it :Big Grin:

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## buttercup

> Goats milk is gross, goat meat and lamb is nasty (only drinking and eating it if in dire need) beef is the KING of meats... nextto Deer



Oh, no it isn't........I drink goat's milk every day and it is great. You must have got some bad somewhere. Good stuff. drink it, make cheese, make yogurt.......much better than cow's milk for my money and certainly better than the sad stuff they sell in the grocery disguised as milk.

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## Seppo Karhu

Store bought goatsmilk won't generally carry the dandelion taste in the spring like the fresh stuff.

Having grown up on both cow and goat milk fresh from the barn, and tried various supermarket brands I still prefer the farm fresh goat over all else.

Of course there's also a trend towards goats milk for babies too, as it is closer to human milk in fat content and such.

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## nell67

The dandelion taste isn't as bad as the wild onion taste,not a good flavor for milk :EEK!:  :EEK!:

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## Beo

Well I was raised on mama's br*** milk till ween'd but then its straight cows for me. Nothing beats a cold glass of milk whatever cow or goat you get it from.

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## nell67

You said it big brother,now,how 'bout a beer??

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## Beo

Sorry don't drink of the fermented anything, no beer or liquor here sis.

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## nell67

Ok,I'll drink one for you then,her's a glass of milk  :Big Grin:  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Sam Reeves

> but I think it was last year that we had a couple of scares about raw cows milk and a few people got sick. Here, I am thinking that raw milk off the farms is a no no.


I was raised on farm milk, eggs and butter and so was the rest of the world once upon a time. 

Maybe the cows were sick?

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## nell67

> I was raised on farm milk, eggs and butter and so was the rest of the world once upon a time. 
> 
> Maybe the cows were sick?


Maybe the people just don't have the antibodies they used  to have and now when they get raw product,they just cant handle it ???

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## Beo

In the old days we were a much hardier stock of people than we are today, now we're spoiled by our modern luxeries.

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## nell67

Exactly Beo,the milk maids didn't come down with certain diseases that other people came down with,because they developed antibodies to certain things that cows had.


http://www.jdaross.cwc.net/introimmunity.htm

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## crashdive123

Life expectancy 200 years ago - what? 40?  Today? - 80?  Seems like we're doing OK.  (Must be those chemicals Trax is talking about)

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## Beo

Or all the junk in the food your already preserved.

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## crashdive123

Hmmmmm?  Pass the Twikies please.

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## Beo

TWINKIE! Did someone say TWINKIE! Why thank you don't mind if I do, Rick ya want one?

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## Rick

I have no antibodies to twinkies.

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## Beo

But they're soft golden spounge cakes filled with a delious cream filling, actually eating one right now but its banna flavor... yum yum.

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## bulrush

I heard this on a documentary. If you look at the world as a whole, goats are the most common farm animal. Not in the US of course, but in Europe, Middle East, and Asia. You can use their fur, milk, or meat, and they eat anything, even dry twigs in the desert. I'm not saying their meat will taste great but it will keep you alive.

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## wareagle69

> Goats milk is gross, goat meat and lamb is nasty (only drinking and eating it if in dire need) beef is the KING of meats... nextto Deer


never had lamb chops until a couple of weeks ago a farm up the road raises goats for milk they also have some sheep she butchered one for a bbq  gave me some for home cooking i used my home firepit was absolutley tastey
we are looking at getting a couple of bucks(male goats) to help keeep my pastures clean my butts getting sore from riding the john deer keeping it clean for the spoiled horses, i know they are escape artists and will eat anything so i may be just trading ridn a tractor for riding a fenceline.

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## dukenukum

I grew up on my uncles farm and we had goats milk, goat butter, goat cheese ,goat meat and mutton ( that's sheep meat , not dog ) sorry deer sheep and goat rule the meat world . :Big Grin:

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## HeritageFarm

> Good article Rick.. I have a question though... there are no local stores in my area, that I know of, that sell goats milk. Would you know of any stores (Winco, Safeway, Albertsons types) that sell it? Might be better if I ask around the local area farms here about goats milk... but I think it was last year that we had a couple of scares about raw cows milk and a few people got sick. Here, I am thinking that raw milk off the farms is a no no.


The stuff from the store is gonna have that horrid 'goat' flavor. Your best bet is to buy it locally.

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## carnivor way

i have had both and cows i will have again . goats i will not ever have again , i have kept animals most of my life ,love them ,hate goats . goats are the only wantonly destructive animal iv ever had. if i never have another it will be too soon.

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## Rick

I once had a goat team up with a German Shepherd to take me out. They nearly got the job done, too. Goats are chit stirrers. I had seen him talking to the Shepherd but had no idea they were discussing something sinister.

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## nell67

> The stuff from the store is gonna have that horrid 'goat' flavor. Your best bet is to buy it locally.


Depends on what the goat was fed,goats are browsers,(which is why they are so good at cleaning fence rows and woods) BUT it comes with a price if you are going to eat the meat,they will have nearly the same "gamey" taste of a deer if their only diet is browse,if you feed the commercial pellets or even corn,they will lose a lot of the game taste. 

Milking does that are allowed to run with a rutting buck will absorb his smell,and it WILL make the milk taste funky.

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## Rick

They must produce some hormone that affects the taste of the milk when they are around the male. Interesting. I didn't know that.

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