Care of Alpine Dairy Goats

Alpine goats are a popular breed of dairy goat. Alpine females can produce up to a gallon of milk a day. Their milk is low fat and nutritious, with a buttermilk content of only 2 to 3 percent. These goats are highly intelligent and highly adaptable to their environment. Caring for alpine goats requires a lot of time and effort, but the reward is a high volume of nutritious goat milk and a clever, devoted herd of pets.

Things You'll Need

  • Pasture
  • Barn or shelter
  • Hay
  • Grain
  • Milking bucket
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Instructions

    • 1

      Start with at least two female goats. Alpine goats are herd animals by nature and may become lonely without at least one other goat to keep them company. Start your herd with two females, either kids or adults, to ensure that both goats have adequate socialization in addition to maximizing dairy production.

    • 2

      Turn your goats out to pasture for the majority of the day. Make sure you have about an acre of land or more to keep your goats on. Ideally, the pasture should contain shrubs and trees for the goats to graze on in addition to grass, as these plants provide necessary roughage to a goat's diet. If your land does not provide natural shade from the sun, set up a shelter or two for your alpine goats to take cover under.

    • 3

      Put your goats in their barn or shelter at night. Their shelter should have sturdy walls and a door that closes to keep out the wind during cold weather. A strong roof that doesn't leak will keep your goats warm and dry when it rains or snows. Put some shavings or straw on the floor of the shelter for your goats to lie down on.

    • 4

      Feed your goats twice a day. Alpine goats can be fed alfalfa hay, grass hay or a mixture of both. Goats pick through hay and waste some of it by nature, so if you feed them a flake of hay each and find some uneaten hay leftover, don't assume you're overfeeding them. One cup of grain a day is sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of adult goats. Increase grain to 3 cups, or about 1 pound, for goats that are pregnant or nursing a kid. Ensure that fresh, clean water is available to your goats at all times.

    • 5

      Milk each goat twice daily. The best time to milk goats is either right before feeding them or while they are occupied by their food. Wash off the goat's udders before milking them. Set a milking bucket directly underneath the udders. Milk the goat by squeezing one teat gently but firmly from the top of the udder to the bottom. Repeat several times with both teats.