Could I have your attention please? If you will allow me to butt in, I would like to clear up some of the tales, myths and rumors about goats and goat milk.
Goats are friendly, intelligent, full of personality and they can be a lot of fun. If you get to interact with a goat, every rumor you've heard about goats will be blown away. You'd probably want to keep a few goats yourself, if you don't already do so.
Goats are easier to handle than cows because they require less work, feed and housing space. As a matter of fact, you can transport a doe (a female goat) for breeding, in the trunk of your car. Try doing that with a one ton heifer.
There is no in between with goats. You either love them or hate them. However, the hate is hard to understand, unless it stems from the mass of tales, myths and rumors that abound concerning goats.
Many people have never even seen a live goat and yet they seem to have opinions about them. Perhaps it comes from the myths and tales that originated in cartoons, comic strips and ill-informed story books. One of the tales many people believe about goats is that they smell terrible. This tale probably originated from the aroma of the buck (a male goat) during mating season. And you really don’t want to know why they smell so foul at that time of year.
However, this should be of little concern since most people do not keep their own buck. The does do not smell. As a matter of fact, if given the opportunity to keep themselves clean, does are less smelly than a lot of dogs.
Another tale that needs to be clipped is "goats will eat anything, including tin cans." One of the problems here is that goats are unlike most other animals folks are used to. Not only are they not carnivorous like dogs and cats, they aren't really grazers like cattle and sheep either. They are more closely related to deer.
This means that not only do goats prefer trees and bushes to grass, but they also take a bite here and a nibble there. And yes, that will include your shirttail or anything else that looks interesting. But as far as tin cans go, they may eat the labels off them, but I have never met anyone that has actually seen them eat or attempt to eat a tin can. And, after all, paper is made from trees and goats do like trees.
Now let's talk about goat milk. Many people have a false impression that goat milk tastes strong, or goaty. While it is true that some goats have off-flavored milk, just like some cows do (usually due to diet), most goat milk is quite mild flavored, especially when it is cold. Goat milk is very healthy for you. When Dad was a child, he suffered from bronchitis. His family doctor recommended that his mother get a goat and feed him plenty of goat milk. Within six months his bronchitis was cured and he has never had an attack since. However, you must remember that goat milk is a very healthy food, not a medicine.
Goat milk is very similar to homogenized cow milk. Raw cow milk has a heavy layer of cream (fat) on the top. To mix the cream into the cow milk it is homogenized (thoroughly mixed together). Most people can't tell the difference between goat milk and homogenized cow milk, unless they're told. However, goat milk is more easily digested than cow milk. This is very important in cases where infants, especially, are allergic to cow milk. But for all practical purposes the two types of milk are the same.
Another myth that needs to be blown away is the myth surrounding the richness of goat milk. In actual fact, goat milk is no richer than cow milk. Just as there is a wide difference in butterfat content among individual cows, between breeds and at different seasons of the year, it's the same for goats. One reason that this myth seems to continue is that cow milk sold in stores as well as being homogenized also has had most of its butterfat removed. Most cow milk is 1 or 2 percent butterfat. Goat milk on the other hand seldom has its butterfat, which is traditionally less than that in cow milk, removed.
Now here's a fact, not a tale. More people in the world drink goat milk regularly than cow milk. Only in the United States and Canada and to some extent Great Britain and Australia, is the less efficient cow favored.
Goat dairying as a commercial enterprise has never taken off in the United States or Canada mainly because there has not been a great demand for goats or goat milk. However, that seems to be changing as our population changes and grows.
No one knows how many goats there are in the United States because most of the goats are on homesteads rather than large farms and homesteaders aren't invited to participate in the agricultural census. Similarly, large herds of goats in Canada are few and far between. However, herds of four to ten exist on farms all over the country. As a result, instead of classifying goats as dairy animals, in North America they are treated more like pets.
The interest in goats and goat milk continues to slowly climb because more folks are becoming intent on doing more with less. Also, as the population becomes more health conscious, people are learning the advantages of drinking goat milk.
In summary, the dairy goat is coming into the respect and appreciation that it so truly deserves. Try some cold goat milk and learn how enjoyable a beverage it is.
Until next time,
Teia
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