How to Raise Goats for Milk & Meat

According to 2010 data from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, more than 3 million goats live in the United States. Although meat goats play the most significant role in the American goat industry--accounting for more than 2.5 million members of the U.S. goat population--many small-scale livestock producers and homesteaders want their goats to play a dual role, providing both meat and milk. Raising goats for milk and meat is challenging, but you can do it successfully if you start with high-quality animals.

Things You'll Need

  • Goat-proof fencing
  • Barn
  • Adult female dairy goats (pregnant)
  • Straw
  • Grain
  • Hay
  • Grass
  • Water
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Fence in a secure area for your goats before you purchase them. Use a goat-proof fencing material, such as 48-inch-tall woven wire. Allow approximately 1 acre of land for every three to four goats in your goat herd.

    • 2

      Provide your goats with shelter from the elements, ideally a four-sided barn that has a large sliding door. Open the door completely for extra ventilation during the summer. Gail Damerow, author of "Your Goats," states that you should provide minimally 15 square feet of space in the barn for each adult goat. For example, if your barn measures 10 feet by 10 feet, then you have enough room to house up to six adult goats comfortably.

    • 3

      Select adult female purebred goats (does) that are due to give birth within two to three months. Opt for a dairy breed, such as a Nubian, that is bred to produce plenty of extra milk for human consumption but also raises sturdy kids that gain weight quickly. Bed your does on several inches of straw. Arrange for an experienced goat owner to be present when each doe gives birth to help you care for each kid at birth.

    • 4

      Leave the kids to nurse with their mothers for at least one week before you first milk. From that point on, separate the kids from their mothers in the evening, and milk your does once daily, early in the morning, before letting the kids stay with them all day to nurse. Give your milking does a daily feeding of high-protein grain formulated for use with dairy goats; as a general rule of thumb, provide ½ pound of grain per pound of milk that each doe produces. Don't forget to provide the goats with free-choice access to hay, grass and clean water as well.

    • 5

      Castrate the buck kids no later than two months of age to avoid having them breed their sisters. Have your veterinarian or an experienced goat owner perform the operation to minimize problems such as excessive bleeding.

    • 6

      Leave the kids to nurse the milk does until the babies are at least eight weeks old. Sell the buck kids for meat or send them to your local butcher, if you wish to eat the goat meat yourself. Aim for the bucklings to be no more than 80 pounds at butchering time for the mildest, most tender meat. Avoid naming kids that you're raising for meat; doing so could cause you to get too attached to them.

    • 7

      Sell the doe kids as milking does, or retain them if you want to increase the size of your own milking herd. Breed your does to a high-quality buck goat during breeding season (typically August to December). Stop milking them approximately two months before their due dates. Repeat this same process each year.