Selecting the Best Dairy Goat Breeds
What breed produces the best tasting goat milk?
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If you’ve considered getting goats for milk production, you’ve undoubtedly asked yourself, “What are the best dairy goat breeds?” This is certainly a subjective question and depends in large part on what you are looking for. Do the best goats for milk produce the best tasting milk to drink? The most prolific milk producers? The best milk for cheesemaking? A breed that does well in small spaces or under certain climate extremes? A breed that’s compatible with children, other livestock, or neighborhood considerations? These are just a few of the factors that might influence your final choice as you decide which is the best dairy goat breed for you.
Milk Taste
Just as taste for art is in the eye of the beholder, taste for milk is in the mouth of the taster! We don’t all experience taste the same so opinions about which breed’s milk tastes the best can vary wildly. Plus, breed is only one of the factors that influences how milk will taste. Here are some of the other factors influencing taste:
- What the goat is eating: A sweeter diet = sweeter milk (such as sweet feeds, alfalfa, etc.). Grass-fed goats will produce a more earthy, mineral-rich flavor. Onions will make milk taste…oniony!
- Where the goat is in her lactation cycle: Milk at the beginning of the season is richest in flavor, becomes more mild during the midseason, and late season milk gets much stronger in taste.
- Proximity to bucks during breeding season: Stinky boys too close = stinky milk!
And even in a herd of one breed of goats where these things are consistent, individual does may have different flavors and components to their milk. So, here are some general traits attributed to different breeds that you may wish to consider:
- Nubians and Nigerian Dwarfs typically have the mildest, sweetest and highest butterfat milk, with Nigerians being the highest in fat and sweetest of all.
- Swiss breeds such as Toggenburgs, Saanens, and Alpines typically have lower butterfat milks that tend to be a bit more “goaty” or musky.
- The milk of LaManchas and Oberhaslis may fall somewhere in between these two generalizations.
Being free-range—You can’t work outside without an “assistant” in your way, trying to help.