334 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



about 4.8 per cent butter fat, on the average (p. 206), although con- 

 siderable differences exist between the various breeds in this respect 

 (ranges, 2.3 to 7.6 per cent). A common doe will give a couple 

 of pounds of milk a day for five or six months, while a good milch 

 goat will yield three to four times this amount and continue to 

 produce milk from eight to ten months. Goats are easy keepers, 

 they require but little care and attention, and are economical milk 

 producers. They are often spoken of as " the poor man's cow/' on 

 account of their low cost of keep and because they are generally 

 kept by people who cannot afford to buy a cow; four or five milch 

 goats will produce as much milk as a good cow; on the other hand, 

 it is stated that eight goats can subsist and yield a good flow of 

 milk upon the amount of feed that is required by one cow. 13a It is a 

 question, however, whether milch goats have any marked advantage 

 over cows in point of economy of milk production. If they are to 

 maintain a good milk flow for a normal lactation period, they mut 

 be fed liberally of nutritious feeds and must receive considerable 

 grain. The main value of goats for milk production lies in the fact 

 that they can be kept on a small piece of land, city lots, etc., at a 

 small outlay for grain and hay ; they are less subject to tuberculosis 

 than dairy cattle, and their milk is considered especially valuable 

 for infant feeding. 14 



Milch goats should receive a supply of good hay, preferably 

 leguminous, ^such as clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, etc., throughout the 

 year. Fine, bright corn fodder, straw, or other dry feed may also 

 be given in amounts of two to four pounds per head daily, when 

 they are not on grass. Good vegetable kitchen refuse may often be 

 fed to advantage. Oats, barley, and wheat bran are excellent grain 

 feeds for goats, one-half to one pound per head being the average 

 daily allowance. These may be fed separately or equal weights of 

 each mixed. A little linseed meal, two to three ounces a day 

 per head, makes a valuable addition to the ration, epecially when 

 low-protein roughage is fed; somewhat heavier grain feeding, viz., 

 up to one and one-half or even two pounds per head daily, will pay 

 well during the early part of the lactation, in the case of milch 

 goats of exceptional productive capacity. Pure water and salt 

 should be supplied regularly, as in the case of sheep. 



"a Thompson, " Angora Goat Raising and Milch Goats," p. 200. 

 "Geneva, New York, Bulletin 413; California Bulletin 285. 



