My icon fits....
Jun. 16th, 2009 08:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiberaddictMan, the people on a dairy goat forum I lurk on are very, very militant about goats. I mean, I asked about milking Cashmeres - a valid question, yes? - and got slammed (politely, but still slammed) over "oh, no - you want a REAL dairy goat! NOT cashmere!" and on and on and on. :shakes head:
What makes this even funnier? I googled "milking + cashmere" and got....quite a few hits on people who are actually, y'know, MILKING thier Cashmere goats! And - gasp! - DRINKING the milk!
I tell ya, this is more fun than tossing the "single treadle is better than double!" into a flock of spinners (or "circs are better than DPNs!" into a whack of knitters) :lol:
Here's the deal - all female goats have udders. They all get milk. So.....why not *use* that milk? Granted, we won't get the quantity (maybe) from a Cashmere that we would from a goat bred for dairy use...but a) this is a backyard, homesteading operation, NOT a commercial dairy; b) we only need 2 gallons a *week* for drinking purposes (and....Nubians traditionally give 1 gallon A DAY - we have 2 coming!); c) the "excess" will become cheese/soap/butter/ice cream/baked goods.
Seriously - if I wanted a massive amount of milk, I'd go with 3 Nubians, tops (or Alpines, Toggenburgs, Saanens, or La Manchas). They would give us, in low estimates, 1.5 gallons a day (that's figuring .5 gallon PER GOAT.) - we have 6 goats coming. 2 are Nubian - small, yes, but that shouldn't affect output - the other 4 are Cashmere (well, 1 is a cross). If we get .5 gallon a day per goat, that's still *3 freaking gallons* a day. :boggle: MORE than enough for what we want to do.
:deep breath: I just - those folks are kinda nutty. They seem to be more concerned with quantity per goat in a commercial sort of sense than what we are looking for/at.
Wow - I needed to get that out of my system, I think. :lol: How's the weather out there? It was 95 yesterday - the pool was a balmy 90*. PERFECT for cooling off in. Today it's forcasted to be 100*....this is only June. I am NOT looking forward to August......
Plus, Nubians don't have spinnable fiber.......:hehehehehehehehehe:
What makes this even funnier? I googled "milking + cashmere" and got....quite a few hits on people who are actually, y'know, MILKING thier Cashmere goats! And - gasp! - DRINKING the milk!
I tell ya, this is more fun than tossing the "single treadle is better than double!" into a flock of spinners (or "circs are better than DPNs!" into a whack of knitters) :lol:
Here's the deal - all female goats have udders. They all get milk. So.....why not *use* that milk? Granted, we won't get the quantity (maybe) from a Cashmere that we would from a goat bred for dairy use...but a) this is a backyard, homesteading operation, NOT a commercial dairy; b) we only need 2 gallons a *week* for drinking purposes (and....Nubians traditionally give 1 gallon A DAY - we have 2 coming!); c) the "excess" will become cheese/soap/butter/ice cream/baked goods.
Seriously - if I wanted a massive amount of milk, I'd go with 3 Nubians, tops (or Alpines, Toggenburgs, Saanens, or La Manchas). They would give us, in low estimates, 1.5 gallons a day (that's figuring .5 gallon PER GOAT.) - we have 6 goats coming. 2 are Nubian - small, yes, but that shouldn't affect output - the other 4 are Cashmere (well, 1 is a cross). If we get .5 gallon a day per goat, that's still *3 freaking gallons* a day. :boggle: MORE than enough for what we want to do.
:deep breath: I just - those folks are kinda nutty. They seem to be more concerned with quantity per goat in a commercial sort of sense than what we are looking for/at.
Wow - I needed to get that out of my system, I think. :lol: How's the weather out there? It was 95 yesterday - the pool was a balmy 90*. PERFECT for cooling off in. Today it's forcasted to be 100*....this is only June. I am NOT looking forward to August......
Plus, Nubians don't have spinnable fiber.......:hehehehehehehehehe:
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goats
Date: 2009-06-16 01:21 pm (UTC)my chickens are getting so cute, even though they are bigger. they have personalities now, and the feathers are getting really pretty. my black australorps have a blue tinge on their feathers that I've love to capture in yarn dyeing. I might have to try that!
karen
Re: goats
Date: 2009-06-16 01:30 pm (UTC)We're not planning on selling cheese...but ya never know. :grin: And, not to enable you or anything, but you can make cheese at home using store-bought (pastuerised) goat's milk...:whistles innocently: There's some videos on YouTube showing how, as a matter of fact...:whistles louder:
goats
Date: 2009-06-16 02:05 pm (UTC)and I've always been here, I faithfully read you every day, even if I don't comment. if it's easier to answer my question on goats milk via email, my email is jkberg94@Frontier.com
cheese
Date: 2009-06-16 02:09 pm (UTC)http://www.gomestic.com/Cooking/How-to-Make-Goat-Milk-Cheese.60610
there's gotta be a catch, no?
Re: cheese
Date: 2009-06-16 02:15 pm (UTC)When it's all drained (takes a bit), add herbs, and either eat or refrigerate. :grin:
Hard cheese takes a bit more work and supplies....if you go to www.hoeggergoatsupply.com and search for "Cheesemakers Pantry", you'll see a kit with the basics for hard cheese. We haven't tried that...yet. :grin:
Re: cheese
Date: 2009-06-16 02:53 pm (UTC)karen
no subject
Date: 2009-06-17 01:25 am (UTC)Toggenburg milk = YUCKY!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-17 09:58 am (UTC)We went with Nubians for 2 reasons - the "Star Wars" connection (Ep 1, in Watto's junkyard, when Qui Gon is trying to get into the Pod Race. :lol:) and the higher butterfat. We'll see how it goes...