Meet the milking goats
The goats are smart and Jane has a trick up her sleeve to manage them: food
Rosemary, Mildred, Spice and Scarlet provide the homegrown milk for Jane's feta cheese and yoghurt.
She includes her cheese in her cooking, if it doesn't disappear beforehand. Feta stored in olive oil, peppercorns and culinary lavender is a favourite. “It never lasts very long in the fridge!” Jane used to have a bigger herd, but with the change in the laws regarding the production and selling of raw milk, she now focuses on producing only enough for the family.
She chose Saanens as they generally have a very good supply of milk and are easy to train, especially when handreared. Jane says that the goats are very similar to sheep to care for. However, they are smarter and she keeps a few tricks up her sleeve when handling them. Fortunately, they respond well to food and this is usually enough to bribe them to do what she wants.
Goats like a wide range of forage. Jane's get grass, hay, tagasaste (tree lucerne), willow, palatable weeds and prepared pellets.
There's also shelter for when there are adverse weather conditions. Goats don't like getting wet and, unlike sheep, do not have a layer of fat under their skin and get chilled quickly.
“One advantage of goats is that they are very kind on pasture and don't eat it right down like sheep do. A paddock that goats have been in, when rested, will come away a lot faster than if you have had a mob of sheep grazing it."
Jane's goats and sheep never cross over into each other's paddocks, an important management technique.
“Goats will pick up the same worms as sheep, so can't be used as cross-grazing companions.”