Your Complete Guide to Raising Dairy Goats

Raising a healthy, productive milking herd requires lots of information and close attention to detail. This comprehensive handbook is the only reference you'll need.

Learn how to:
   Choose the right goats for your goals
   Set up secure fencing and humane facilities
   Keep your herd healthy
   Oversee breeding and kidding
   Milk your does properly
   Produce cheese, yogurt, soap, and chevon

1: Basic Information about Goats
   Terms to Know
   Goat Myths and Truths
   A Little History
   Breeds of Goats
   Selecting a Breed
   So You Want a Goat?
2: Milk
   How Much Milk?
   Discovering a New Taste
   Goat Milk as "Medicine"
   Exploding More Goat Milk Myths
   Goat Milk vs. Cow Milk
   Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized
3: Getting Your Goat
   Beginning Your Search
   Terms to Learn
   Which Goat Is Best for You?
   Spotting a "Good" Goat
   Assessing a Goat's Worth
   Getting Your Goat Home
4: Housing
   Ideal Housing
   Size Requirements
   The Manger
   Gates, Latches, and Fences
   Other Considerations
   Final Thoughts
5: Fencing
   How Much Is Necessary
   What Kind of Fence?
6: Feeding
   The Long and the Short of It
   The Digestive System
   Basic Nutritional Requirements
   Formulating a Goat Ration
   The Science and Art of Feeding
7: Grooming
   Hoof Care
   Disbudding
   Dehorning
   Tattooing
   Hair Care
8: Health
   The Natural State
   Finding and Using a Veterinarian
   How to Tell If Your Goat Is Sick
   An A-to-Z Guide to Common Health Problems
   Don't Expect to Be a Goat Doctor
9: The Buck
   Whether or Not to Keep a Buck
   Improving the Breed
   Choosing a Buck
   Living with a Buck
   Caring for the Buck
10: Breeding
   Milking Through
   Preparing for Breeding
   Successful Breeding
11: Kidding
   Anticipating the Delivery
   The Birth
   Caring for the Newborns
12: Raising Kids
   Early Feeding
   Weaning
   Castration
13: Milking
   Milking Essentials
   Facilities: A Milking Parlor or In-Barn Milking
   Preparing to Milk
   Milking Procedure
   Milk Handling
   Cleaning Your Equipment
14: Keeping Records
   The Basic Barn Record
   Figuring Out Costs
   Capital Costs and Operating Expenses
15: Chevon
   The Market for Chevon
   Slaughtering and Butchering
16: Dairy Products
   Preserving Milk for Future Needs
   Cheesemaking
   Yogurt
   Kefir
   Koumiss
   Butter
   Cultured Buttermilk
17: Recipes for Dairy Products
   Cooking Chevon
   Soapmaking with Goat Milk
   What's Next?
Appendixes
Resources
Glossary
Metric Conversion Charts
Index
  

Jerry Belanger and Sara Thomson Bredesen are the coauthors of Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats. They have both been involved in dairy goat farming for more than 30 years. Belanger is the former editor and publisher of Countryside & Small Stock Journal. Bredesen is a licensed cheese maker and goat cheese promoter and a former operator of one of Wisconsin's first goat cheese farmsteads.