Family Milk Cows: Get a Goat FIRST! Here’s why.
No one tells you how much a cow changes your life. It’s like a relationship. Either you will love it, or be miserable. Having a cow isn’t right for everyone. Even if you love cows, getting a dairy goat first might make getting a cow easier. Let me paint you a picture of why.
You want a cow, but maybe you are intimidated by their size, or you haven’t owned a dairy animal before, and you are shocked at how expensive a cow can be.
What if you could gain confidence, experience, and find out if you really want the commitment a dairy animal requires without spending thousands of dollars, without risking having a large potentially dangerous animal, and find out if you like hand milking, or prefer machine milking?
Don’t get me wrong. In my opinion, based on years of having both goats and cows, I prefer cows over goats in ALL regards…except two. Brush control, and gaining experience. Goats are great at both! After a year with goats, you will have experience with animal birthing, milking, training, and routine all at a fraction of cost, risk, and danger. You DON’T want to get this experience the hard way.
I wanted a cow in the worst way. I had goats, and longed for butter, for quiet (if you have or have had goats….you know what I am referring to), I wanted beef, I wanted enough milk for the calf, our family, AND to supplement the pigs and chickens feed, I knew feeding the 4 dairy goats I had cost me more in hay because goats waste 50-75% of their hay by purposefully dropping it on the ground, and smaller cow would eat less and provide more milk and a valuable calf each year was what I wanted.
Yet, I am SO glad I didn’t get what I wanted. Like with most things, I got what I needed instead.
Many people who get cows and are new to milking have a hard time dealing with learning to hand milk, or use a milking machine. If you already have experience milking other animals such as goats, then you will have a much easier time.
Getting a goat, when you want a cow, gives you experience…which is priceless.