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Goat Milk:
The other white milk
By Daniel Peterson

Georgia Dairy Goat Breeders Association’s
Youth Representative

When most people think of goats, they think of the cute little pygmy goat they saw at the petting zoo or on some farm. What most people don’t know is that there are also dairy goats just the same as there are dairy cows. I live on a small family owned and operated dairy farm in Haddock, Georgia where we raise these fine animals.
I can imagine at this point quite a few people might ask "Who on earth would want to drink goat milk?" Well, this question is fairly simple to answer: more people consume goat milk than they do cow milk. As unbelievable as this may sound, it is true. Most third world countries and quite a few European countries prize goats and goat milk over cow milk. Dairy goats were also often present during the early years of our great country and helped many a settler’s family keep food on the table by supplying them with milk.
Often the dairy goat has been called the "poor man’s cow," because good dairy goats do not cost near as much as good dairy cows do. You can raise more goats on a smaller amount of pasture than you can cows. While it takes an acre for a cow/calf, you can successfully raise six goats on one acre. Cows usually have only one calf per year, while goats have two kids (that’s what you call a young goat) after their second year. Pound for pound a good dairy goat will produce more milk than a cow will. Unlike a cow, a good dairy goat can produce up to 10% of its body weight in milk.
The most common question I get asked is, "What does goat milk taste like?" It is a common misconception that goat milk tastes bad. People believe that it tastes "like a old billy-goat." This is not true. Milk that is properly handled and cared for will not have an off-taste. When folks first taste goat milk they are expecting it to taste different, but to their surprise it tastes just like cow milk. You could not tell a difference between the two types of milk no matter how hard you try.
Goat milk is also a healthier alternative to cow milk. Why? Cow milk has to be homogenized to be more easily digested, which is a process where the fat globules are broken down. However, this is not necessary with goat milk because it is naturally homogenized. Therefore goat milk is much more easily digested than cow milk is.
Goat milk has more of the essential vitamins that we need. Goat milk has 13% more calcium, 25% percent more B6, 47% percent more vitamin A, and 27% more selenium. It also has more chloride, copper, manganese, potassium, and niacin than cow milk. It also produces more silicon and fluorine than any other dairy animal. Silicon and fluorine can help prevent diabetes.
Scientist are not sure why, but people who are lactose intolerant can often drink goat milk without having to worry about side effects. Goat milk does not cause phlegm like cow milk does, so you can drink goat milk even when you have a cold or bad allergy problems.

One of the RISKIEST things you can do with your Goats

I'll admit to putting dog-collars on my goats now and again - most of us have for the convenience of moving them around easily.  But how many of us realize what risks we are taking with our goats by doing this.
We have found it is much better to use BREAKAWAY collars like these:

Especially with mischievous horned goats like we have. (And what goats are not mischievous?)
As they get to playing, they can get those horns inside a collar and twist.
With the breakaway collar - it breaks and you find it laying on the ground - and your goat is alive and well!
You can buy these plastic chains and connectors at your nearby feed store on online at JEFFERS.COM or CAPRINESupply.com and they are inexpensive. Tip: buy extra connectors as they seem to get out of shape and break before the chains do. You can buy tags and write their names on them if you like. A special ink pen that doesn't wear off is available to write on the tags. Since they come in all colors, you can use them to identify moms and their kids - or any number of categories.

By the way - the same goes for your dogs - esp. if you let them run free on your property. They can get caught and twist till they choke. This happened to my brother's dog years ago - he ran over to a neighbor's property and got hung up on a fire pit grill and while trying to free himself - well, you guessed it - he lost his life as he choked.

I am not against collars if you are right there with your pets - your situation may be much different than mine. Until then happy goating!