Raising Goats For Milk - Vital Skills and Knowledge To Learn Before Starting A Goat Farm

A lot of people nowadays are interested in
raising goats for milk due to an increasing
demand of milk by consumers worldwide. There are
also other products made from milk which are high
in demand such as cheese and butter. If you are
interested in raising goats for milk, it is
essential to acquire skills and knowledge about
raising them before starting out.Although milk
can be produced from cows, raising dairy goats
is much easier to do. It also requires low
initial capital investment and is low
maintenance because goats eat tree leaves,
grasses, weeds and agricultural by-products. <br
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When raising goats for milk, you should know
that a female goat starts mating at the age of
seven to nine months and can be milked when it
reaches a year. Goat milk production is seasonal
and goats usually lactate for eight to ten
months. During that time, they produce about 750
quarts or 1500 pounds of milk. About 2000 pounds
of milk is considered as sufficient production
to sustain a viable commercial operation.

In milking your goats, a regular schedule should
be established. Usually, you milk the goats twice
a day with a 12 hour interval in a clean
environment. Another tip to remember when
raising goats for milk is that when you milk the
goats less especially in early lactation, the
production milk also decreases. Make sure to
milk the udder completely for continuous milk
production.

You can milk the goat manually or it can be
extracted by machine. It depends on the
equipment and work force you have. You can do
hand milk for a few goats like 15 goats and
below, while it is more practical to use a
machine for a larger group of goats. When using
a milking machine, make sure to monitor your
equipment to make sure that it is functioning
properly. Also perform milking in a clean and
sanitary environment and use equipments that
have been cleaned prior to using them.

Also remember that in milking you start from the
young, the healthy ones and the oldest animals
last. Before milking, strip the teats of the
goat to inspect it for any changes or
abnormalities in the milk. Clots found in the
milk and stringy milk are signs of mastitis.
When you are milking, regardless of the setting,
ensure that the surroundings and the materials
used are clean. By observing and practicing
this, the spread of infections and diseases can
be prevented.

These are just some basic tips on raising goats
for milk. Aside from these tips, dedication,
patience and hard work are also necessary for it
to be a success.

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Are you searching for more tips on raising goats
for milk? Separate yourself from the usual goat
owners who are prone to common mistakes. If you
would like to learn other important tips on
caring for goats and how to raise goats
correctly, click here:
http://www.raising-goats.com

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