milking goats and chickens

[daffodil]

This sounds like a stupid question but...what is a milking goat? Don't they have to have a baby to produce the milk? In a book I'm reading they just keep milking them but they are never bred. Isn't it like a cow who has to have the calf to produce the milk and then the calf is taken away so the people can have the milk? Also wondering about chickens. I guess they are called layers. These type of chicken don't get eaten right? You just use them for the eggs and then what happens to the chicken after they don't lay anymore? How many eggs does one chicken lay and how long does she lay for (years wise)? I worked with pigs and don't know that much about other livestock.

[bee_pipes]

You know the old saying - the only stupid question is the one you don't ask....

Goats are like other mammals - they lactate to provide nutrition to their offspring. The lactation is prolonged by milking. They do need to be bred - "freshened" - to start the cycle over. If she gives birth to one or more does and you want to increase your holdings, good. Otherwise the offspring is a bonus and provides meat for the freezer. The Story Book on Dairy Goats is an excellent read - check your library for it. Unless you want to get into breeding seriously, I wouldn't suggest keeping a buck. You use him 2-3 times a year, depending on how many does you keep, and he eats and stinks the rest of the year. We have enough people in the area that we can get does freshened without much trouble.

There are two major uses for chickens - meat and eggs. Breeds are developed to excel in one of the other. There are also a number of breeds recognized as "utility" birds - providing both eggs and meat. Buff Orpingtons are one of these breeds. We have had BO and find them nice, calm, manageable birds. They lay well. They do leave something to be desired for meat, but we have not been raising them on a meat bird ration. Regardless of what chicken you have, if you hatch eggs to maintain/increase your flock, what do you do with the unwanted cockerels? Those are your bonus babies that provide meat for the freezer. This year we are going to try dark cornish. We do run through meat birds - 25 in the early summer and 25 in the fall. These birds just sit around and eat and go to slaughter in 6 weeks. The Story's book on Chickens has some information, but does not read as well as the goat book.

Rabbits are also another possibility for meat production. They don't take up much space, compared to free range chickens or goats, and produce a lot of manure that can go straight into the garden without composting.

Regards,
Pat

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Meat goats don't give as much milk as some other breeds of goats which are generally referred to as "milk goats". *In the states, milk goats are usually Nubian, Sanaan, Alpines, Oberhasli, Toggenburg, LaMancha breeds. *Nigierian Dwarfs are also considered a milk breed, but don't give as much as the others. Meat goats are usually considered Boer or pygmy. *Meat breeds are just "meatier" than milk breeds. All of them give milk, but some just give more. *Nubian goats are the biggest milkers at about a gallon a day. I've milked boers that give a quart a day. My dwarf gives about a quart or so a day. Myotonic goats are also a meat breed, but I don't think people use them for that very often.
I have heard stories about precocious milkers, but it is not a common thing. *Most goats need to give birth to have milk. You milk for up to 10 mo (usually less) with the highest production being at two to four months (or so) after freshening. *It then declines because the doe is pregnant again, so you dry her off at least 2mo before birth if not sooner. You can eat both types of goats, and you can milk both types of goats. *But some breeds do better at one or the other. I prefer the personality of the milk breeds. *They just seem to have softer personalities than the meat breeds. Some people mix-breed milk/meat breeds to have dual-purpose type goats. I have never really liked the boer mixes, but the kinder type mixes are ok if you want smaller goats. (that is just an opinion)
We do have a billy. You do have to change them every couple of years because you end up with too many kids with the same daddy. If you can stand the smell, billys aren't that bad to keep.

Chickens are layers, dual purpose, or meat bird breeds. *Layers are usually skinny birds that lay over 300 days a year or more. *They just lay and lay and lay. *Meat birds will also lay eggs, but they get fatter and grow meatier at a quicker pace. *A duel purpose, all-around type breed is heavier than an egg layer, and lays better than a meat bird. They can provide both meat and eggs. You can eat both layers and meat birds, but layers are just skinny things. Meat birds don't lay as many eggs per year as layers.

[fancyfowl]

I have had 2 precocious milkers over the years; 1 doe milked for over 2 years w/o freshing and a short yearling came into milk w/o ever being bred. I began to milk her until I was tiold it could ruin her future so dried her off, she didnt make a lot of milk, not quite 1 quart daily.

I have kept a few valuable breeding hens until the age of 8 and 10 years still making eggs and producing vigorous quality chicks, tho not too many, maybe 25-30 eggs a year. The cocks seem to be infertile at an earlier age.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

*I have had 2 precocious milkers over the years; 1 doe milked for over 2 years w/o freshening and a short yearling came into milk w/o ever being bred.

What breed was she?

And a hen laying that long/living that long is amazing. You obviously take very good care of them.

[daffodil]

I'm vegetarian so I wouldn't use them for meat. I do use eggs and milk but don't want to have to kill anything (so to speak, I guess eating eggs I'm killing a chick) to get that :-/. That's why when I saw in the book that they were milking for a year without breeding, I thought that might be the way to go for me. And of course the hens would become pets after not being able to lay anymore but I don't want to get overrun either! I worked on a hog farm and ended up becoming vegetarian. Luckily I like soy! Maybe I'd be better off growing soy and making my milk products from that. Not sure how hard that is to do though.

[GoodDaughter]

Eggs that are not fertilized are not a chick, so to speak. For those concerened about this, keep hens and no roos.

If I am not mistaken, Carla Emery wrote about how to make soy milk etc in her book. I haven't had that book off the shelf in ages, but I seem to recall reading it.

[daffodil]

I'm waiting for it (Encyclopedia of Country Living) to come in at the library. They said it should be in on Monday. I'm looking forward to reading it. I've heard it's a really good book.

[fancyfowl]

Those particular hens were large fowl black Hamburgs. I always kept the females which produced the best young birds when mated to several different males, they were my female line producers. I dont think its that uncommon for older hens to make eggs if they have good care. I know several breeders with old birds.

[annabella1]

Yep I heard o milking goats, never heard o a milking chicken though :-/

[Steve_L]

If I am not mistaken, Carla Emery wrote about how to make soy milk etc in her book. I haven't had that book off the shelf in ages, but I seem to recall reading it.
Yes! Page 310, right hand column of the 10th edition explains how to make soy milk from soy beans. .