Author of " Poultry Fanning for Women" etc.

The Economic and Medicinal Value of Goat's Milk - The Goat as a Small-holder's Asset - Goats in Confinement and at Liberty - Housing and Shelter

Had goat-farming been given the atten-tion it deserves, the commonly called " poor man's cow " and its produce would long ago have been popular.

Owing to the declaration of medical men concerning the nutritious qualities of goat's milk, much of the prejudice that existed against its use has vanished, and it is being sought after, not only for invalids, but for family consumption.

Goat's milk is far more nutritious than cow's milk, but that is not the main feature which places it in advance of cow's milk as a food product. Its great value lies in the fact that by its use the risk of tuberculosis is obviated. We all know the value of rich milk as a food for consumptives, it is almost an indispensable commodity, but so long as tuberculosis prevails among milch cattle, the risk of intensifying rather than allaying disease is likely to be entailed.

The " Little Cow "

But apart from goat's milk as a healing factor, its general use is to be recommended in the home, owing to the fact that the goat is adaptable to the requirements of most people, and from it, under right management, a constant supply of the pure article is available. There is no reason why every housewife in possession of a good-sized garden, should not keep her " little cow."

Only those who have kept goats fully realise their value. In comparison with their size, goats yield a great quantity of milk, and where waste garden produce is available, or in the neighbourhood of a grass plot or common land, they entail but little expense.

The goat may be rightly termed the smallholder's cow. By the aid of these prolific little animals the small-holder may profitably increase the stock on his or her holding. Today very few grass farmers care to retail small quantities of milk. They prefer to make contracts with townsmen who have good milk rounds, and whose demand equals, and as often as not exceeds, the supply. The milk from the farms is daily entrained to wholesale customers by the name of " railway milk." On this account people residing in rural districts often experience a difficulty in obtaining a regular supply of fresh milk for home use. This may sound strange to many readers, but it is undoubtedly a fact, and one that smallholders should take advantage of by stocking their holding with a few goats. I shall endeavour to show in these articles that the goat is a most profitable animal to keep, either on the premises of the rural resident or on a small holding.

In a wild state the goat covers a wide area in search of sustenance, but domestication has rendered it capable of maintaining health under restricted conditions, so long as they are sanitary, for, be it remembered, this animal is somewhat particular as regards shelter and the class of food fed to it. Many people in possession of back yards manage to keep goats in a fair state of health by confining them to stalls, and providing them with the necessary food, the animals seldom or never knowing the delights of grazing," but it cannot be said that the best results in the way of milk are secured from them. The goat needs exercise to do justice to its owner, and therefore where only a single animal is kept to supply milk for household use, it is as well to provide a plot of ground for it, and also a roomy day shelter in addition to its night abode. If a plot of grassland adjoining the dwelling-house can be hired, the question of exercise will be solved, but failing this, the animal should have a portion of the garden devoted to its use. This need not necessarily be large in area, the object being mainly to allow the animal to " stretch its legs " in fine weather and obtain fresh air. The goat, however, must be tethered when allowed in the open, otherwise it will do much damage to trees and other garden produce.

A Small-holder's Asset

. The small-holder who takes up goat-keeping will naturally be in possession of grassland. Anyone with a couple of acres of such land is enabled, if the grass is rich and plentiful, to keep three goats without having to provide extra greenstuff. If the grass is poor, the same number of goats may be kept on it, but extra green or other food must be provided to make up the deficiency. If one lives near or on a common, one will be doing better with goats than one's less fortunate neighbour, as the goat loves to browse over rough land on which there is an abundant supply of its favourite food such as twigs, gorse, etc.

Goats need housing in dry, airy, but draught-proof shelters, and, although the structures need not be costly or elaborate, they must be substantially built. Any well-equipped building devoted to the stabling of horses will convey an idea as to what a goat-house should be like, but in erecting it due consideration must be given to the size of the goat compared to that of the horse, and the size of the building must be governed by the number of goats one intends to keep. If only a single animal is to be kept, a house 8 feet high in front, 6 feet high at the back, 2 feet wide, and 6 feet deep will suffice for its night abode.

The Goat-house

Such a house should have an attached roomy shelter in which its inmate can walk about when inclement weather prevents it being safely tethered outside, the goat positively disliking exposure. The floor of the sleeping-house or stall should be laid down with cement, as bricks retain the moisture, whilst boards quickly rot away, and it should slope gradually from the back to the front of the building to facilitate drainage. The door, which should be made in two sections, should be hinged at the front of the house. By having the door in two sections, the upper part can be left open on warm nights for ventilation, or during the daytime when it is desirable to confine the goat to its stall. The stall should contain a hayrack and a manger, and these should be fixed to the back wall, the former being placed above the latter, and both at a convenient height for the use of the animal. The rack can be made out of slate battens with their corners planed off, whilst the manger, which may be in length the width of the stall, can be made out of three pieces of 6-inch-wide floor boarding.

So much for the goat-house built on the single-stall plan. We will now deal with the building suitable for the smallholder or anyone desiring to keep goats on commercial lines. The height and depth of this structure may be the same as that recommended for the smaller one above mentioned, but its width should be governed by the number of goats it is intended to shelter, 2 feet of stall width being allowed for each animal. To some readers 2 feet of floor space per animal may seem small, but it is ample ; a wider space would admit of the goats turning round in their stalls and fouling their food and their bedding. In the making of the floor, the arrangement of the racks and mangers, and the location and construction of the door, the plan relating to the one-stall structure may be followed.

Day Shelters

Adjoining the goat-house, a loose-box, about 6 feet square, must be erected. This building will be found useful in the mating season, or during the time kids are being born, or for the housing of a young goat. A few portable, open-fronted sheds, each measuring 4 feet deep, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet high, must be secured for use about the land on which the goats are to be tethered, so that the animals may resort to shelter in the event of rain. As pointed out previously, the goat dislikes stormy weather ; indeed, it is so frightened by a heavy storm as to lose self-control, and, unless well tethered, it will break away. If provided with handles or wheels, the sheds or day shelters can be easily moved about to fresh grazing land. For preference, sheds fitted with wheels should be used, as they only require the services of one person to move them about.