This best-selling handbook is packed with detailed information on housing, feeding, and fencing dairy goats. It’s been the trusted resource on the topic for farmers and homesteaders since it was originally published in 1975, and the new edition — completely updated and redesigned — makes Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats more comprehensive and accessible than ever. In-depth sections explain every aspect of milking, including necessary equipment, proper hand-milking techniques, and handling and storing the milk. New color illustrations show each stage of kidding, and substantial chapters on dairy goat health and breeding include the most up-to-date research and practices. “With an engaging style, the authors delve into both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of raising dairy goats, educating with the facts and the underlying philosophies to help you make good decisions in all aspects of your dairy goat enterprise. A valuable resource for beginners and experienced producers alike!” — D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, professor of pathology and genetics, and technical advisor for the Livestock Conservancy   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 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. Storey's Guide to Dairy Goats Breed Selection & Feeding * Fencing * Health Care * Dairying * Marketing By Jerry Belanger, Sara Thomson Bredesen, Deborah Burns, Sarah Guare Storey Publishing Copyright © 2018 Jerome D. Belanger All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61212-935-8 Contents 1. Basic Information About Goats, 2. Milk, 3. Getting Your Goat, 4. Housing, 5. Fencing, 6. Feeding, 7. Grooming, 8. Health, 9. The Buck, 10. Breeding, 11. Kidding, 12. Raising Kids, 13. Milking, 14. Keeping Records, 15. Chevon, 16. Dairy Products, 17. Recipes for Goat Products, Appendixes, Resources, Recommended Reading, Interior Photography Credits, Glossary, Metric Conversion Charts, Index, Round out Your Caprine Education with More Books from Storey, Storey's Guide to Raising Series, Copyright, Share Your Experience!, CHAPTER 1 BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT GOATS Perhaps your heart has been captured by the antics of baby goats at play, or your self-sufficient spirit has lead you on a course toward finding a family-friendly source of fresh milk, homemade cheese, and maybe some nontraditional meat products. Whatever the inspiration, this book assumes that you are interested in goats but does not assume that you know anything about them. A good place to start the journey is the very beginning, with some basic terms and facts. Terms to Know Female goats are called does or sometimes, if they're less than a year old, doelings. Males are bucks, or bucklings. Young goats are kids. In polite dairy goat company, they are never "nannies" or "billies," although you might hear these terms applied to meat goats. Correct terminology is important to those who are working to improve the image of the dairy goat. People who think of a "nanny goat" as a stupid and smelly beast that produces small amounts of vile milk will at least have to stop to consider the truth if she's called a doe instead. Goat Myths and Truths Over the many centuries and generations that goats have been humankind's companions and useful domesticated stock, myths have been passed along that have their origins in goat behavior and characteristics. As myths tend to be, however, these are exaggerated truths or downright fiction. The Truth about Goat Aroma Does are not smelly, they are not mean, and of course they don't eat tin cans. They are dainty, fastidious about where they walk and what they eat, intelligent (smarter than dogs, some scientists tell us), friendly, and a great deal of fun to have around. Bucks have two major scent glands located between and just to the rear of the horns or horn knobs and minor ones in the neck region. Bucks do smell, but the does think it's great, and some goat raisers don't mind it either. The odor is strongest during the breeding season, which usually runs from September to about January. The scent glands can be removed, although some authorities frown on the practice because a descented buck can be less efficient at detecting and stimulating estrus and will