Posted by Mike (WA) on December 17, 2011 at 17:10:20 from (174.31.195.75):
In Reply to: Goats . . again posted by LJD on December 17, 2011 at 14:47:34:
You older guys can remember back in the '50's, with gas at about 30 cents, the family would go for "a drive" on a Sunday after church.
We went for a drive when I was about 7, in 1955, and ended up about 50 miles from home. Dad said he wanted to stop in and see an old guy he knew, Hannibal Justice. We did indeed, and he took us out to the barn, where about 50 goat kids were all over us instantly (me and 2 sisters, one about 4, the other about 10). For those who don't know goats, the kids are even more people friendly than dogs. As we're having a great time fending them off, dad says we can each pick out one (we found out years later that it was all a set-up). We always had some goats during my childhood.
When I was in high school, dad got a call from a stranger- he had heard Dad might be interested in getting some goats. Turns out the guy's dad was a hermit a few miles from us, and died with a bunch of goats. His children were all in Seattle, didn't want to be bothered with them. If we took them all, we could have them for $2 apiece. There were 75, of which about 25 were milking does. Pretty good deal at the time- milking does were $35 and up.
We used them to clear brush land, and little sister and I raised calves with the milk. I milked the goats, sister fed them, and dad bought the calves.
Feeding calves on goat milk is elegant in its simplicity. Get a bunch of calves, and a bunch of buckets. Somebody (me) milks the goats. Someone else (little sister) shuttles the buckets to the calves, who were locked in stanchions. Give buckets to calves, starting at one end and going down the line. Check the buckets as you go along- if bucket is empty, give him another one. If calf is standing with head hung, gasping for breath, he's done, so go on the to next one. When nobody will drink any more, you're done- take the rest of the milk to the house.
Anybody who has ever raised calves is thinking all of them will be dead in a week from scours. Not so- goat milk is much more digestable than cow's milk or replacer- believe it or not, you can feed it free choice. Calves will grow so fast you can almost see it- like corn in Iowa. We never lost a single one.
Sis and I made about $500 that summer- pretty good money at the time. We have some goats now, and our grandkids like them as much as I did, all those years ago.
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