[soccerchic21]

So DD is super allergic to cows milk. She is breastfed. I am 9 months pregnant so she hasn't gotten my milk in a while and I am hoping that she will continue to nurse after this baby is born.

So we have been giving her goat's milk which she likes. It is super expensive and DH is I think seriously considering buying a goat for the milk. We have the property to keep one and our city would let us I am just not sure how to go about it.

Of course I have ALWAYS wanted a goat since I was little too!

 

[cjr]

I don't know about getting a goat, but wanted to ask you a question or 2. What symptoms does your dd have with cow's milk? DS had been on milk formula as an infant, due to many failed bf'ing attempts. He had reflux and problem digesting some other foods. We started giving him cheese and yoghurt around 9 months and noticed that he was stuffy at night and had sleep apnea. When he turned a year we took him off formula and started him on non-homogonized organic milk. He got a running nose that wouldn't clear up. So, I took him off of all dairy and his nose stopped running and within weeks his night time stuffiness cleared up along with the sleep apnea. Anyway, I have been giving him 1 bottle of goats milk at night for just over a week and goat milk yoghurt every other day. He seems ok on it, but I'm watching him closely.

So, I was just wondering what your dd experiences.

 

[soccerchic21]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjr What symptoms does your dd have?

She gets very itchy blotches of exczema on her skin.

 

[gardenmom]

I'll ask dh about this. His Mom used to keep goats when he was little, and he drank a lot of fresh goat milk in his day!

Meanwhile, you might want to cross post this in the 'digging in the earth' forum--there are probably some goat owners there who can help you.

 

[alamama]

We keep Nubian goats for milk, got started for the same reason you mention -- good goat's milk can be quite expensive. Of course, now that we care for our own goats, we know why and when we sell it, the price doesn't seem high at all! I'm not sure it is any cheaper, given the time it requires, feed, etc. but we enjoy having them and also like knowing exactly where our milk comes from.

My dh is the main caregiver for our animals, so I'm not a whole lot of help on the "how to" side. A few tips we were given when researching goats:
*Be sure to have at least two. Goats are very social animals, and apparently it is very stressful for them to be alone.
*It's best to have two does. Keeping a buck with the doe can give the milk a very strong unpleasant flavor.
*We looked for a goat that was already an experienced milker, since we were neophytes ourselves. This helped a lot.

Good luck!

 

[root*children]

Instead of Diggin' forum, try the "Country-Living, Off-the-Grid" Forum. It's in Mindful Home Management. Everyone there owns farm animals! HTH!