| Dairy goats are small ruminants domesticated for | | | | but must be given high protein forage such as |
| their milk and meat, among other things. Dairy | | | | legumes, hay, and alfalfa. Good quality hay must be |
| farming is a simple job and is very profitable. What | | | | given to goats regularly because it serves as their |
| follows are some tips about how to raise a dairy | | | | cheapest source of vitamins and minerals. Goats even |
| goat. | | | | eat vegetable peelings and leaves such as cauliflower, |
| How to raise a dairy goat begins with understanding | | | | cabbage, carrot leaves, and turnip tops. These |
| the goat. A female goat is called a doe, a male is a | | | | additional must be given together with, and not in |
| buck, and the young are kids. In temperate climates, | | | | place of, their regular diet. |
| a doe shows signs of seasonal breeding, mating in | | | | In some farms, the forage diet is further |
| autumn and bearing children 5 months later. In tropical | | | | supplemented with a mixture of different materials |
| climates, this seasonal behavior is less marked and | | | | called concentrate. The concentrate is used to |
| they can give birth three times in two years. In each | | | | enhance their growth and keep them producing milk |
| pregnancy, two to four kids are born. Young ones | | | | in good quality and quantity. This concentrate can be |
| reach maturity in about five months and can already | | | | a mixture of seeds and other materials such as |
| give birth by 12 to 15 months. | | | | cottonseed meal, rice bran, cassava waste and other |
| Feeding dairy goats is also a low cost part of how to | | | | farm by-products. |
| raise a dairy goat. The goat has four stomachs which | | | | The goat is a very sturdy animal and can survive |
| digest food very efficiently. They get much of the | | | | even with minimum supervision, while still producing |
| nutrients in the food they eat and thus need | | | | good milk. How to raise a dairy goat is indeed very |
| relatively little food for proper growth. They have a | | | | easy. Occasional inspection is all that's needed to |
| high capacity for eating fibrous food such as barks, | | | | ensure these animals serve their farms owners well. |