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Dairy goats are personable, hardy, and a very rewarding animal. A female goat is called a Doe. A male goat is called a Buck. If the male goat is castrated it is called a whether. Goats milk is the most consumed milk in the world. Image File history File links N_write_green_black. ...

Breeds

There are 6 major breeds of dairy goats:

Nubian goats in their pasture.

• Alpine
• LaMancha
• Nubian
• Oberhasli
• Saanen
• Toggenburg

In addition there are several minor breeds of dairy goats: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 416 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 416 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... LaMancha Doe The LaMancha is a type of dairy goat noted for its lack of or much reduced external ears. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Oberhasli is a goat from the eponymous district of the Canton of Berne (Switzerland). ... Saanen goats. ... The Toggenburg is a breed of goat, named after the region in Switzerland where the breed originated, the Toggenburg valley. ...

• Nigerian Dwarf
• Golden Guernsey
• Kinder
• Sable Saanen
• Stiefelgeiss

Nigerian Dwarf goat on a farm in Ontario, Canada The Nigerian Dwarf goat is a miniature dairy goat breed of West African ancestry. ... Kinder is the german world for children; it may also refer to: Kinder Scout, a plateau in England Kinder, a trademark of Italian Ferrero SpA, products bearing this name include Kinder Surprise, Kinder Chocolate bars, Kinder Happy Hippo, Kinder Maxi, Kinder Pinguí and Kinder Bueno. ...

Feeding

Dairy goats need a good supply of roughage. Alfalfa hay is the most used choice for basic nutrition. Kids and bucks need a balanced grain ration and milkers should be fed a standard dairy grain ration. Kids are milk fed until two to three months of age, but should be consuming forage such as pasture grass or hay by two weeks of age and grain within four. All dairy goats should have loose minerals in a container that they can lick whenever they want. Fresh, clean water is also important. Dairy goats are very particular about the cleanliness of their food. There are naturally curious and may investigate newly found items, but they quickly refuse anything that is dirty or distasteful. Dietary fibers are long-chain carbohydrates (polysaccharides) that are indigestible by the human digestive tract. ... For the Our Gang (Little Rascals) character, see Carl Switzer. ...

Housing

Dairy goats adapt well in all climates. They do not need elaborate housing, but do require clean, dry, well ventilated, draft free shelter. They need at least 15 square feet of bedded area for each goat. The pasture area should be a minimum of 25 square feet of space per animal, well-drained and properly fenced. Dairy goats have a strong herd instinct and prefer the companionship of at least one other goat.Dairy goats grouth faster.

Bucks should be kept in separate quarters away from milking does.

Goat milk

More people drink the milk of goats than any other single animal in the world.^[1] Does are milked by hand or machine.

Goat milk can successfully replace cow milk in diets of those who are allergic to cow milk.^[1] However, like cow milk, goat milk has lactose and may cause gastrointestinal problems for individuals with lactose intolerance.^[1] Lactose is a disaccharide that consists of β-D-galactose and β-D-glucose molecules bonded through a β1-4 glycosidic linkage. ...

Many dairy goats, in their prime, average 6 to 8 pounds of milk daily (roughly 3 to 4 quarts) during a ten-month lactation, giving more soon after freshening and gradually dropping in production toward the end of their lactation. The milk generally averages 3.5 percent butterfat. A doe may be expected to reach her heaviest production during her third or fourth lactation.^[2] Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. ...

External links

• (French) La Chèvre : the french dairy goat journal

Sources

1. ^ ^{a b c} The World's Healthiest Foods. "Milk, goat."
2. ^ American Dairy Goat Assocation